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Singapore to accelerate AI and tech adoption
Singapore IMDA is partnering with industry heavyweights to accelerate adoption of frontier technologies for SMEs and strengthen cyber resilience with advanced AI.
Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has announced several new partnerships with industry giants to give more local small- to medium-sized (SMEs) access to cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and cybersecurity.
These new collaborations with Alibaba Cloud, Prudential and ST Engineering in support of the nation’s Digital Enterprise Blueprint (DEB), will equip businesses to accelerate the adoption of frontier technologies and strengthen cyber resilience with advanced AI capabilities.
Global AI hub
Two new talent programmes have also been launched that will provide upskilling opportunities and create specialised AI career pathways for locals. These programmes will train AI practitioners ahead of demand as Singapore ramps up on accelerating generative AI (GenAI) adoption across the enterprise ecosystem, strengthening the nation’s position as a global AI hub.
According to Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Singapore’s SME sector continues to show strong digital adoption, with more than 7,200 businesses embracing AI-enabled, integrated and cloud-based solutions in the past year alone.
These programmes will train AI practitioners ahead of demand as Singapore ramps up on accelerating generative AI (GenAI) adoption across the enterprise ecosystem, strengthening the nation’s position as a global AI hub
Building on this momentum, IMDA will be working on three new partnerships designed to strengthen AI adoption and boost cyber resilience across the SME landscape. Specifically, these are:
- Partnership with Alibaba Cloud to raise cloud and AI capabilities – up to 3,000 SMEs and digital solution providers will receive support to raise cloud and AI capabilities through the Alibaba Cloud Digital Accelerator programme. This comprehensive initiative equips businesses with practical cloud experience and technical resources, including support through cloud credits, technical training workshops, expert consultations, and trial access to Alibaba’s Cloud AI Model Studio
- Partnership with Prudential Singapore to enhance GenAI adoption – under the GenAI Xponential programme, Prudential in partnership with its Talent Engagement Ecosystem partner, Republic Polytechnic, will produce a series of up to 10 GenAI tech explainer videos tailored for SMEs, and conduct up to four workshops to help SMEs learn more about IMDA’s pre-approved GenAI solutions and promote adoption
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- Partnership with ST Engineering to launch the SME CyberResilience programme – this initiative will provide up to 2,000 SMEs with a one-time complimentary cyber threat scanning service through IMDA’s CTO-as-a-Service platform, while equipping them with crucial insights into emerging cyber threats and defence strategies through dedicated awareness events.
The new partnerships are part of the efforts under the DEB to power the next bound of digitalisation for enterprises. Since its launch in May 2024, IMDA reports the DEB has benefited more than 10,000 enterprises under its four key focus areas: empowering enterprises to be smarter; enabling them to scale faster; equipping them to be safer; and upskilling workers to make full use of digital capabilities.
Together with AWS and Microsoft, more than 200 enterprises have been equipped with deeper technical understanding of GenAI and gained greater access to tech expertise and advice on deploying GenAI solutions
According to IMDA, many digitally mature SMEs (DMEs) may still face challenges when deploying and sustaining the use of emerging technology like GenAI to meet their complex business needs.
IMDA’s GenAI x Digital Leaders initiative was launched in 2024 with the aim to help DMEs build digital capabilities and overcome these key challenges. Together with AWS and Microsoft, more than 200 enterprises have been equipped with deeper technical understanding of GenAI and gained greater access to tech expertise and advice on deploying GenAI solutions.
Frontier technology adoption
Building on this success, IMDA reports it is strengthening its partnerships with AWS and Microsoft to accelerate frontier technology adoption. The enhanced initiative aims to reach more than 1,000 enterprises and support up to 500 projects in the coming year.
The expanded collaboration will deliver twice the number of Tech Discovery workshops and personalised Tech Deep-Dive sessions, while significantly reducing solution development costs and time by half by tapping on the latest technology development tools with pre-built GenAI modules.
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How will IMDA's partnerships enhance AI adoption among Singapore SMEs?What benefits do SMEs gain from Alibaba Cloud's Digital Accelerator programme?How does the SME CyberResilience programme improve cybersecurity for businesses?In what ways do GenAI tech explainer videos support SME digital transformation?How will expanded AWS and Microsoft collaborations reduce GenAI solution costs?4G5GAI and Machine LearningAnalyticsAnalyticsCloud and edge computingConnectivity & Datacybersecurityeconomic developmentGovernance and CitizenPeople and SkillsSingapore
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