Friday, 3 September 2010
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Education
Educators pursue FutureGov Award
As entries for the FutureGov Awards flood in to meet the deadline for entries, which has been extended to Thursday 9th September, competition is heating up in a new category introduced this year: education. So far, entries from Malaysia, Australia, and Singapore, are in the running to impress the judges.
Technology
Competition heats up for FutureGov Awards
An application system that could save Australian businesses US$4 ...
Local Government
23 August 2010 | News
Malaysia’s cyber defences ready for Independence Day
There is one week to go before Hari Medeka, Malaysia’s Independence Day celebrations (August 31st), which last year were blighted by attacks by Indonesian hackers on Malaysian web sites. In an interview with FutureGov, the head of national security agency CyberSecurity Malaysia revealed how the government has been securing its cyber borders.
6 August 2010 | News
BlackBerry data encryption in Asia
After a jittery week for Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, the Indonesian government has said that it will not ban the popular device. But what about governments elsewhere around the world?
30 July 2010 | News
How useful is Twitter’s government service?
The news that Twitter will launch a service for public servants has been met with interest from prominent tweeting officials in Asia. However, Trudy Rankin, CIO of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, told FutureGov that government business should not be dictated to by the popular micro-blogging site.
22 July 2010 | News
Mobile security risks for the public sector
According to a survey published this week, the biggest digital security concerns among Asian citizens relate to their mobile devices. In an interview with FutureGov, a leading academic has urged governments to do more to educate citizens and public sector workers on the importance of information security on mobile devices.
21 July 2010 | News
Seoul tops global cities ranking for e-govt
The South Korean capital of Seoul is the world’s most advanced municipal e-government, according to a global survey of city web sites. The “Soul of Asia” topped the UN-sponsored table ahead of Prague, Hong Kong, New York and Singapore on the usability, content, services, privacy and inclusiveness of its online operations.
21 July 2010 | Spotlight
A roadmap to managing costs and the environment
A FutureGov discussion with Mr. Jeffrey Yeow, Senior Country Head of Solutions, Datacraft Singapore and Mr. Zaqy Mohamad Sales Director, Datacraft Singapore
20 July 2010 | News
The dangers of teaching in virtual worlds
Virtual worlds such as Second Life and Facebook are engaging and motivating students as never before. There are, however, risks beyond the teachers’ control that students could access undesirable content or interact with anonymous users.
20 July 2010 | News
IT literacy tackled in Indian state
With less than two months to go, time is running out to show results from a key digital inclusion project in the Indian State of Kerala. Dr Rathan Kelkar, Director of the Kerala State IT Mission, spoke to FutureGov to highlight the achievements of Project Sameeksha.
19 July 2010 | News
Cloud helps universities cut costs by 74%
Queensland University of Technology in Australia leveraged cloud computing to provide enterprise software to more than 140 universities in Asia Pacific. Glenn Stewart, Professor of Information Systems revealed how the university dramatically reduced costs while it enjoyed greater assurance and scaleability.
15 July 2010 | Spotlight
Environmental interference to security
As sophisticated security threats continue to rise, environmental factors have become a key issue impacting organisation’s ability to prevent and detect crime. FutureGov spoke to Mr Yoshikazu Hirano, General Manager - Security Solutions Asia Pacific, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific, about the technologies in high definition (HD) surveillance cameras that address these challenges.
13 July 2010 | News
Sabah government’s first major digital inclusion project
Malaysia’s second largest state, Sabah, announced its first major investment – worth a total of RM383 million (US$119 million) – to bridge the digital divide.
13 July 2010 | Research
Asian E-Government in 2010
FutureGov announces the availability of a new report Asian E-government in 2010 – winning citizen trust for Government ICT initiatives. The study, based on a survey of 121 public sector officials from eight Asia Pacific countries and economies (within the Government, Education and Healthcare sectors) found that there was scope for increased deployment of E-government services across all organisations. Over 45 per cent of respondents indicated that they offered less than ten such e-services to citizens.
13 July 2010 | Interview
What does a future school look like?
Hwa Chong Institute was the first independent school in Singapore selected by the Ministry of Education to be a Future School in 2008. Deputy Principal Chung Wen Chee revealed how the school translated its commitment to leverage educational technology into rewarding lessons in the classroom.
12 July 2010 | Feature
Should policy be debated in social media?
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently appointed 200 people to read through the 50,000 messages he has received from his 250,000 followers since he opened a Twitter account. His critics complain that the rambunctious President should spend less time tweeting and more time trying to solve the country’s problems. But are the two …
12 July 2010 | News
Green growth is key to city’s success, says Busan Mayor
“The number one measure of a successful city is environmental sustainability,” Vice Mayor Jeong Lak-hyong of Busan Metropolitan City told FutureGov in an exclusive interview.
6 July 2010 | News
HK varsity builds collaborative environment
The digital and physical learning environment must respond to, and reflect, the increased need for collaboration among students and educators, Geoffrey Dengate, Director, Information Technology Services, The University of Hong Kong told FutureGov.
6 July 2010 | News
Should internet access be a basic human right?
How valuable to human life is information? Well, in Finland it is now a basic human right - like food, shelter or clean water. Every citizen and business in the home of Nokia should - by law – be granted access to broadband internet services, the government decreed on July 1st 2010. Should Asia follow suit?
1 July 2010 | News
China info chief hails smart city project
Guangzhou is investing RMB100 million (US$15 million) annually in new technologies as part of a plan to develop into a ‘smart’ city. The ‘Intelligent Guangzhou’ project will see ‘internet of things’ applications designed, manufactured and deployed across the city - China’s third largest - with a major roll-out expected by 2013.
21 June 2010 | Feature
Learning beyond the classroom
The majority of learning takes place outside the classroom. How can educators take advantage of this reality through anywhere, anytime learning solutions, such as iPads, smart phones, eReaders and laptops? Kelly Ng investigates.
21 June 2010 | News
Are cancer maps a good idea?
The New York State Department of Health recently launched a series of ‘cancer maps’ which allow users to view incidences of cancer in a given geographical area. These maps, which are freely available online, are not without controversy. Could the idea work in Asia?
10 June 2010 | News
Singapore’s healthcare IT journey: lessons learned
The head of IT for Singapore’s healthcare institutions has revealed the lessons she has learned in implementing new projects. Speaking at the FutureHealth Forum yesterday (9th May 2010), Dr Chong Yoke Sin, CEO of Integrated Health Information Systems, said that patient safety is the most powerful argument to get buy-in from clinicians.
7 June 2010 | News
Asia dominates global spam league
More than one third of the world’s spam originates from Asia, with India, South Korea and Vietnam in the top-five worst offending countries. However, spam coming from China has dramatically reduced, according to a Sophos report.
7 June 2010 | News
UN reveals changes to E-Government rankings
In an interview with FutureGov, the director of the United Nations E-Government rankings has revealed how the next survey will be modified to stay up to date with emerging trends.
3 June 2010 | Interview
Medical imaging's capacity building shortfall
To tackle the challenges when different medical imaging disciplines go digital, the region’s healthcare industry need to do more, according to an industry expert.
31 May 2010 | News
Should civil servants be paid by performance?
Civil servants have a reputation for complacency at work, and doing only the bare minimum to get by to keep their jobs. Unfair? Probably. With this in mind, FutureGov asked senior public sector modernisers in China, India, Malaysia and Singapore if they think civil servants should be paid by performance.
31 May 2010 | News
Public sector network management - improving?
Some good news and some bad news. Education and healthcare institutions in Asia are managing the lifecycle of their IT assets more efficiently, and are getting better at making their systems more secure. But configuration errors, such as faulty encryption settings or incompatible device drivers, are an area the public sector did not improve on over the past year, according to a survey by Datacraft.
27 May 2010 | Research
Study shows innovation partnerships produce growth
Synopsis of an econometric study of macroeconomic effects in 15 economies in the Asia Pacific region
24 May 2010 | News
Facebook warns govt users on privacy
More than 2000 Facebook pages are used by 35 federal agencies in the United States. Many more government agencies in Asia are now on Facebook, amassing millions of fans. But government Facebookers should be mindful of privacy issues when archiving content, a Facebook spokesman has cautioned in an interview with FutureGov.
21 May 2010 | News
World City Prize winner revealed
The inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize has been awarded to Bilbao. The Spanish city famous for the Guggenheim art museum was picked from 78 nominations from 32 countries for a “knowledge revolution” that transformed a fading post-industrial city into a vibrant culture and business hub.
18 May 2010 | News
OECD plots next generation e-govt indicators
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has entered talks with the producers of the major global e-government surveys with a view to launching new e-government indicators that focus on public sector performance.
12 May 2010 | News
Role of ICT in education debated at FutureCampus
Is technology driving teaching, or teaching driving technology? This question was at the centre of debate among Asia’s leading educators at the FutureCampus Forum in Singapore last week (Wednesday 12th May 2010).
11 May 2010 | News
World Bank opens up development data
The World Bank is the latest information-rich organisation to free up its data for public consumption. The portal data.worldbank.org will give policymakers access to more than 2000 financial, business, health, economic and human development statistics, information that was previously exclusive to paying subscribers.
7 May 2010 | News
Are you ready for the digital Big Bang?
Within the next decade, the volume of data amassed in the world will be equivalent to a stack of DVDs reaching halfway from earth to mars. Data streaming through cables and airwaves will amount to 35 trillion gigabytes by 2020, a 44-fold increase in the volume of information around today.
4 May 2010 | News
ADB urges developing govts to engage private sector
The Asian Development Bank has called on governments in developing countries to create more opportunities for the private sector to “turn the digital divide into a digital opportunity” to aid the fight against poverty.
30 April 2010 | Feature
Making Malaysia's Schools Smarter
Malaysia launched the national Smart School programme more than a decade ago. Has the initiative produced ‘smarter’ students? Kelly Ng speaks to the Ministry of Education and the Multimedia Development Corporation to reveal their progress in modernising Malaysia’s schools.
28 April 2010 | News
How govts are making sense of social media
Social media presents government with a headache-inducing glut of unstructured data from which it is difficult to make any sense. But as governments in Australia, Hong Kong and Europe reveal in interviews with FutureGov, analytics tools that trawl blogs and social networks are helping to test public sentiment and shape policy with increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
27 April 2010 | Feature
Can mobiles close the digital divide?
Everyone in the world above the age of five is expected to own a mobile phone within the next decade. So how can and will governments in Asia use these ubiquitous devices to deliver services to its poorest citizens?
22 April 2010 | Spotlight
Why large format printing has a future
Even as disaster response teams begins to embrace smaller format devices that make operations more flexible and mobile, large format printing still plays an important role in how the public sector responds to emergency situations. So says Santiago Morera, the Vice President & General Manager of Hewlett Packard’s large format printing business.
20 April 2010 | News
Why CCTV is a priority for Asian homeland security
Surveillance technology continues to be a focus of Asian governments’ public safety strategies. Over 100 security professionals gathered at the fourth annual FutureCCTV Forum this week to discuss the most effective ways of using CCTV. Government officials from Hong Kong, Brunei and Singapore shared their experiences with FutureGov.
20 April 2010 | News
What role will govt play in social web of the future?
In the not too distant future, a new generation of social media will be administered by virtual civil servants and patrolled by cyber sheriffs. Highly evolved versions of Second Life, where netizens meet, trade, and play, will also become places where policy is debated and decided. Sound fanciful? Well, this is the way the world is headed, predicts futurist and author Thornton May.
14 April 2010 | Spotlight
Business Intelligence in the Public Sector
Combine, visualise, and analyse
11 April 2010 | News
Why gov 2.0 calls for risk managers
If governments are to use social media more effectively, they must learn to operate in environments over which they have no control. In interviews with FutureGov, government modernisers from Hong Kong, Australia and the UK said that the “wild west” of web 2.0 calls for a new approach to risk management.
9 April 2010 | Spotlight
The 5Cs
A Fuji Xerox Vision for Education. Aware of the challenges the education industry faces, Fuji Xerox’s broad approach to helping education institutions achieve Lifelong Learning Beyond Classroom, is outlined by the 5Cs to allow teachers, IT and administrators to focus on their value added work.
9 April 2010 | Spotlight
Discussions from FutureGov Forum Hong Kong
FutureGov caught up with Peter Man, General Manager, Novell Hong Kong, on the sidelines of the recent FutureGov Forum Hong Kong, to discuss some of the challenges faced by governments in response to new technologies and demands placed upon them by their citizens.
8 April 2010 | News
Do the benefits of open govt data outweigh the costs?
“Data belongs to the people, particularly that held by the public sector,” Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said recently. But putting government data online is not without risks. FutureGov asked officials in Singapore - which launched an open data initiative last week - South Korea, the UK and the Netherlands whether they feel that the benefits of open government data outweigh the costs.
5 April 2010 | Spotlight
Open cloud: Game changing technology for govts
Cloud computing is next generation IT which governments can use to change how they operate IT,
5 April 2010 | News
Are civil servants cut out for social media?
Most senior civil servants are Baby Boomers or Generation Xers, born at a time without the internet. But does this mean that web communities are too ‘young’ for top officials to operate in effectively? In interviews with FutureGov, government officials from Australia, Malaysia and the UK argue that although civil servants may not feel comfortable using social media to reach young citizens, the rewards are worth the risks.
24 March 2010 | Spotlight
Enterprise Content Management – Is it for you?
Enterprise Content Management is fast becoming a vital strategic tool for organisations wanting to stay on top of the ever growing sea of information that is being churned by the minute. Business information is highly diverse; it can exist in the form of a text document, a spreadsheet, websites, audio and video files, customer records, reports and real-time transactions, among others. Given the exponential growth of digital information and a dependence on content in business activities, organisations are finding that by deploying ECM solutions and technology into their enterprise-wide IT architectures, revenue goals can be achieved while keeping costs down.
19 March 2010 | News
Will Facebook profiles replace govt web sites?
It’s all the rage for ministries and agencies to have a Facebook pages these days. Government is going where its citizens are. So why bother having a web site at all? The idea may seem farfetched. But as officials from Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Netherlands reveal in interviews with FutureGov, government web sites could disappear into the ‘social cloud’ sooner than we think.
12 March 2010 | News
How government web sites build citizen trust
Government modernisers in Asia and Europe have stressed the importance of building transparent official web sites as a way to boost citizen trust. In interviews with FutureGov, public sector experts from Singapore and the Netherlands said that more needs to be done to make information on government web sites more accessible, timely and searchable if closer ties are to be built with netizens.
9 March 2010 | News
Singapore primary school skypes America
Students from Singapore and California overcame physical boundaries and engaged in real-time cultural exchange. Troy Tenhet and Rose Manuel, Directors of Global Learning Exchange programme told FutureGov how internet video calls closed the 14,000 kilometres gap.
9 March 2010 | Spotlight
Data De-duplication - Finding The Right Fit For Your Organisation
With global drivers such as rising IT operating costs, exponential data growth, regulatory compliance, strict service level agreements, and shrinking backup windows, enterprises around the world are forced to re-evaluate their data protection methodologies. In addition to the aggressive virtualization strategies being adopted by many global companies, IT managers are faced with an entirely new set of challenges – on top of their current concerns about data protection residing at remote or branch offices.
9 March 2010 | News
Japanese uni embraces mobile learning
Mobile learning has gained popularity among Japanese students at the Keio University. Fumitoshi Kato, Associate Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, explained to FutureGov how social networking and new media tools have enhanced the learning experience.
1 March 2010 | News
Citizens of Asia speak out on ID cards
In the run-up to the launch of the biggest citizen identity project ever attempted, privacy concerns are playing a defining role in the Unique Identification Authority of India’s plans to issue 1.2 billion people with their own ID number. With this in mind, FutureGov quizzed citizens in Asia for a regional snapshot of what people really think about ID cards.
1 March 2010 | Spotlight
Supporting the Department of Homeland Security
How Motorola’s Federal Technical Centre handles radio support for new P25 digital radio systems, while ensuring top-notch radio communications for federal agencies.
24 February 2010 | Interview
Leveraging cloud to sustain 200Gbps attack traffic
With a proper mechanism and tools, governments should be able to better defend themselves against Denial-of-service attacks, which are becoming bigger and more frequent
23 February 2010 | Spotlight
What is the big deal about Unified Storage?
The premise of the dedicated unified storage platform is that it is inexpensive, easy to use and fast for file sharing.
23 February 2010 | Feature
Malaysia banks on ICT to meet 2020 development goals
Malaysia’s Government CIO has hailed ICT as a “key enabler” to fulfil Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s mission to transform Malaysia into a developed nation by 2020. Speaking at the FutureGov Forum Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday (23rd February 2010), Dr Nor Aliah Zahri, Government CIO and Deputy Director General of the Malaysian …
22 February 2010 | Spotlight
Evaluating Desktop Software From A Security Perspective
Citizens have high expectations for their …
17 February 2010 | Spotlight
Campus-wide internet connectivity
In issue 6.2 of FutureGov (April 2009, Future Campus pg 36-42) we discussed the rise of technology used in universities across Asia and the growth of wireless internet on campus was discussed. Here, we look at two examples of how Motorola has implemented wireless networks in universities in Asia to enable new approach to the existing pedagogy as well as to enrich and empower both the students and the faculty.
9 February 2010 | News
Eat an elephant bite by bite, and digest accordingly
Business process is an incremental journey. Will government CIOs become government Chief Process Managers in the future?
9 February 2010 | News
Interpol rebuffs calls for web police
Calls for the creation of an internet police force to tackle unprecedented levels of cyber crime have been rebuffed by the director of IT at Interpol in an interview with FutureGov. Noboru Nakatani, Director for Information Systems and Technology for the global police network Interpol said that setting up a net police would be “reinventing the wheel” and the …
9 February 2010 | News
Should govts archive social media posts?
It is fashionable for government agencies to have a Facebook or Twitter account these days. But should tweets and status updates be backed up to leave a digital trail for transparency’s sake? Not all policymakers have made their minds up, as perspectives from the United States, Europe and Asia reveal in interviews with FutureGov.
9 February 2010 | Spotlight
A Year with Enterprise Flash Drives – Lessons Learned
Enterprise flash drives are different from the traditional consumer flash in that the technology used inside of the drives uses chips with higher capacities and also higher performance.
9 February 2010 | News
Process-driven govt enjoys higher efficiencies
Citizens are demanding better and faster services from a more open government. Lars Bengtsson, ASEAN Managing Director, IDS Scheer revealed how a process-driven approach can improve efficiency to meet rising expectations from the public.
8 February 2010 | News
Unified Application and Data Delivery
A model for creating a dynamic IT infrastructure
5 February 2010 | News
Tweeting officials warned about security risks
Tweeting government officials with Facebook pages and LinkedIn accounts beware. The volume of spam and malware sent via social networking sites increased by 70 per cent last year, with MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter all falling victim to rising levels of malicious activity in 2009. Of them all, Facebook poses the biggest risk to security, according to a survey by cyber security firm Sophos.
4 February 2010 | News
Medicine ‘much more complicated’ than aviation
People often compare safety of medical practice with that of flying an airplane. Dr David Bates, Chief of General Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a leading researcher in Health IT, told FutureGov that while medicine as a whole could never reach the safety level of civil aviation, there are areas which IT can help bring medical safety to comparable levels of civil aviation.
2 February 2010 | News
World’s first CCTV Regulator appointed
The world’s first CCTV regulator is coming to Singapore to take the pulse of Asia’s security industry.
2 February 2010 | News
Corruption rises among HK govt officials
Corruption among government officials in Hong Kong rose considerably during the global financial crisis, although not by as much as was expected, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has told FutureGov. Corruption complaints made against government departments jumped by 11 per cent in 2009, but the number of pursuable cases rose by just four per cent, according to ICAC figures.
29 January 2010 | Spotlight
Decoding Social Messages from Complaints Intelligence System
Efficiency Unit helps government departments uncover public concerns using SAS
27 January 2010 | News
Gov 2.0 championed at FutureGov Forum Singapore
Government modernisers from South Korea and Europe urged delegates at the FutureGov Forum Singapore today (Wednesday 27, 2010) to be bold in embracing social media and open information as ways to help solve society’s problems. Dr Jung-hee Song, Assistant Mayor for IT and Chief Information Officer, Seoul Metropolitan Government, pointed to …
26 January 2010 | News
Politicians ponder what’s next at FutureGov Forum
Elected politicians from Hong Kong and Singapore shared their perspectives on the future of governance and public service delivery at the FutureGov Forum in Singapore today. Zaqy Mohamad, Member of Parliament & Chairman for the Government Parliamentary Committee for Singapore’s Ministry of Information Communication and the Arts, told delegates that while his country has always …
25 January 2010 | Spotlight
Meeting SLAs in Virtual Data Center Environments
Virtualisation is on every CIO’s radar, and for good reason. It is widely considered to be one of the best ways to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency in IT, and the economic downturn has increased its prominence. After all, which CIO isn’t under pressure to do more with less today? VMware, with its commanding market lead and more than 120,000 customers is the virtualisation solution most often turned to.
25 January 2010 | News
Asian schools automate attendance tracking
Gone are days when classes start with roll-calls. FutureGov reveals how schools in Hong Kong, Japan, India and Singapore have taken the load off teachers by deploying biometric or smart card technology to track students’ entering and leaving the campus.
25 January 2010 | Spotlight
The next generation of green technologies
The need for climate and environment friendly initiatives has been well-documented in recent years: if businesses go on as usual, with no regard to the adverse impact their processes may have on the earth, the result will be natural disasters on an unprecedented scale.
19 January 2010 | Spotlight
Increasing Government Effectiveness
New Thinking for a New Decade
19 January 2010 | Feature
Ending the tyranny of distance
In remote areas such as Qinghai Province in China or the northern reaches of Thailand, videoconferencing is proving to be the most effective way yet of connecting disparate communities in far flung places. Robin Hicks and Wang Zhen explain how.
19 January 2010 | Feature
Should data centres be outsourced?
Government data centre outsourcing contracts can help local IT players grow. This creates jobs and boosts the local economy. But the real dynamics of data centre outsourcing have been slow to take off in Asia. Why?
19 January 2010 | Interview
What are government’s security weak spots?
Microsoft’s global public safety and national security head Tim Bloechl has a Facebook account, but doesn’t trust social media as a reliable source of intelligence. Not yet anyway. When confronted with a threat to public safety, dealing with it should be second nature. So says Tim Bloechl, Microsoft’s Managing Director for Worldwide Public Safety and National Security.
19 January 2010 | Interview
Acute care, astute IT
Going by its location in central Kuala Lumpur and state-of-the-art design, people tend to perceive Prince Court Medical Centre as a very expensive facility. But Harald Feiel, PCMC’s Chief Information Officer, says this is a myth. “Although we aspire to become the best acute care hospital in Asia with unique, top-notch facilities, we are no more expensive than other private hospitals here in Malaysia,” he explains. “We have done market analysis and in most areas our fees are comparable with those of other hospitals.”
19 January 2010 | Feature
Government Cloud: Public or Private?
Asia‘s first ever public sector summit on cloud computing suggested that the economics of cloud computing trumped other concerns - but that private clouds would be the necessary first stepping stone to prove the technology could deliver.
19 January 2010 | Spotlight
Virtualisation Technologies: Past, Present and Future
In the last few years there has been a tremendous amount of interest in virtualisation. Initially the interest was in pure play server consolidation, with its corresponding savings in capital expenditure and management – still a very compelling argument to customers.
13 January 2010 | News
Asian govts eye gains from setting data free
More of the huge reserves of information locked away in the basements of government buildings should be made available to the public. So say government modernisers in Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia following the news that the Mayor of London has sparked an “information revolution” in the British capital by putting data online for public consumption for the first time, free of charge.
11 January 2010 | Spotlight
Future of CCTV blends old with new
For many years, analogue CCTV systems have been the only video surveillance option in the market. It is only in recent years that video surveillance became digitised and equipped with many technologies and functions which the analogue CCTV systems could not provide to users previously.
8 January 2010 | Spotlight
Enterprise Virtualisation Powers Cost-Effective Growth
There are encouraging signs that the worst of the recession is behind us: in the stock markets, in better corporate results, in manufacturing activity. The time is now for businesses to lay the ground for growth.
7 January 2010 | Feature
Building a healthy Malaysia
Like many of its neighbours, Malaysia has been experiencing changing disease patterns. The era of acute infectious diseases and malnutrition has been succeeded by one of chronic diseases and lifestyle related illnesses. So the country’s healthcare strategy has had to shift from making traditional health and hygiene improvements to promoting healthier lifestyles and managing chronic diseases.
7 January 2010 | Feature
Moving from planning to impact
Government is back, and it is not going away anytime soon. Following a tumultuous 12 months in which governments throughout the region had dramatically increased their role within national economies, the 132 delegates to the FutureGov Summit, Asia’s annual gathering of senior government officials, took time out of the busy schedules to share what had worked well, and lay out their plans for the future of public administration.
5 January 2010 | News
How will ICT change the future of education?
Educators from Malaysia, Australia and India foresee a future in which digital books, hybrid mobile computers and touch-screen writing tablets will replace the text book, chalk and blackboard, according to a series of FutureGov interviews on how technology will change the future of education.
5 January 2010 | Interview
Putting government to the test
Two candidates enter the hall for the same examination. As the examination proceeds, the computer selects the next question from a database based on each examinee’s performance so far. The stronger candidate gets presented with more difficult questions while the other get easier ones. Immediately after, the computer generates equitable scores even though both have experienced a different test set.
5 January 2010 | Feature
Schools: The Public sector’s green Champions
169 education executives participated in a FutureGov Research survey on the future trends transforming teaching and learning in June. The results, from 13 countries across Asia Pacific, will have put a smile on the faces of tree huggers.
29 December 2009 | News
HK PolyU enhances learning with Web 2.0 tools
Many educators today still see online learning as merely putting up content on the web for students to download, failing to take advantage of the potential of transforming teaching and learning. Professor Eric Tsui, Faculty of Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University told FutureGov how he leveraged web 2.0 tools to enhance the learning experience.
29 December 2009 | News
Queensland schools eye 30 per cent energy savings
Queensland’s Department of Education and Training aims to reduce the energy consumption of its state schools by 30 per cent by 2012. Cam Mackenzie, Principal Advisor for Environmental Sustainability, Queensland Department of Education and Training, told FutureGov how the department plans to achieve this and detailed the challenges it must overcome.
18 December 2009 | News
Australian govt centralises ICT procurement
All information communications and technology products and services will be centrally procured by the end of this financial year, the Australian government has announced.
10 December 2009 | News
Mobile phones close literacy gap in Pakistan
A literacy programme delivered through the mobile phone to disadvantaged female learners in Punjab showed improved literacy skills.
19 November 2009 | News
Asians split on the future role of government
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and just as the global economy begins to recover from a painful downturn, Asian citizens have mixed feelings on whether government should have more control over industry and the distribution of wealth, according to a global BBC poll.
17 November 2009 | News
Yahoo! CEO trumpets the power of blogging
Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz told an audience of Asian business leaders and government officials last week that specialist blogging is the “ultimate targeting” for reaching audiences young and old, and called the mobile phone the “new frontier” in communication for government.
13 November 2009 | Feature
Industry experts: private cloud is where the action is
Cloud computing has been drawing attention from public sector organisations, as well as the IT industry. To many, the paradigm is no longer dismissed as conceptual hype, but a too-good-to-miss opportunity to save money, energy and be more efficient.
10 November 2009 | News
Thin client wins hearts of Asian educators
The education sector was a major contributor to the growth of the thin client market in Asia Pacific’s public sector, a recent report has shown.
10 November 2009 | News
Govt calls IT industry’s green bluff
IT industry leaders are not doing enough to deal with electronic waste, governments, environmental activists, and community groups have claimed.
2 November 2009 | Feature
Improving tax collection efficiency in Asia
The pressure on government to efficiently deliver services has probably never been greater. Such is life for governments during downturns. Systems are under stress. And yet extracting tax revenue from citizens and businesses to fund huge economic stimulus packages has probably never been more difficult.
27 October 2009 | News
Security officials ponder use of social media
Government officials from Australia and Singapore have admitted that there is much to be done to understand how social media can be used to gather intelligence on security matters from the public, at a security event organised by FutureGov in Singapore last week.
26 October 2009 | News
How China’s Customs Retrieves Duty Losses and Controls Smuggling
How does a country keep track of all the goods crossing its borders? What is the best way to achieve tax harmony? Avoid smuggling? Heavyweight international trader China looks to its statistics department to achieve all this. China Custom’s SAS-based Enforcement Assessment System (EAS) has now been live for over two years, and the results are undeniably impressive.
26 October 2009 | News
E-learning tops discussion among education CIOs
Malaysia has ambitious plans to increase entry to higher education to 40 per cent by 2010, up from 30 per cent in 2005. With that in mind, the Malaysian government is working hard at improving the availability of online education, shared Dr Zubaidah Aman, Principal Assistant Director, Ministry of Higher Education at the FutureGov Summit in Bali.
23 October 2009 | News
'Govt 2.0 should come with health warning'
Governments need to be more wary of the security risks posed by the consumerisation of the internet and the changing working habits of the public sector work force. So senior executives at global cyber security firms have warned civil servants in interviews with FutureGov.
15 October 2009 | Feature
Doing the rounds
Mobility solutions for healthcare professionals have been advancing rapidly. Here is FutureGov’s annual review of the key issues facing the fast-growing sector
14 October 2009 | News
IMPACT boss warns of long struggle with cyber crime
Datuk Mohd Noor Amin, the Chairman of the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats, or IMPACT, has warned governments of the “long-term struggle” with cyber criminality and the need for international cooperation to fight it.
13 October 2009 | News
Standards up at Government Technology Awards 2009
Winners at the Government Technology Awards 2009 have received praised for the “very high quality” of entries, particularly from developing countries in the region. However, there is still room for improvement in the Green Government category, noted Laurence Millar, former Government Chief Information Officer of…
12 October 2009 | News
Asian govts mix carrot and stick approach to e-services
Asian governments revealed their differences on how to boost the uptake of e-services in a rambunctious discussion at last week’s FutureGov Summit in Bali, Indonesia.
12 October 2009 | Research
Looking Ahead
The Development of Information Management in Asia’s Public Sector. A survey of public sector IT executives in Asia
Government agencies in Asia now better realise the importance of information, as there is much demand from the public. In the past, people would accept what was offered to them from their government. Now, people are generally well-versed with information-and-communication-technology tools and are more aware of what government is doing for them. So the public in Asian countries wants more information and they want it faster.
5 October 2009 | Spotlight
Reduce Storage Costs and Risks in the Enterprise Now
This article examines how enterprises can reduce storage capital costs by increasing storage utilisation and managing change to remove risk in the data center.
30 September 2009 | Spotlight
Prevention is ALWAYS better than cure
What is Data Loss Prevention and why should companies in Asia Pacific care?
22 September 2009 | Spotlight
Three ways to go green: Fuji Xerox
Fuji Xerox recently launched The Eco Solution that will empower organisations to reduce cost, improve productivity, strengthen security and save the ecosphere in one seamless and efficient workflow with our know-how in document management.
22 September 2009 | Spotlight
A Storage Strategy for Tough Times: Symantec
The current economic crisis has injected a disconcerting amount of uncertainty into the business climate. This article focuses on four key areas where IT departments can take action to reap significant near-term benefits from their storage systems.
15 September 2009 | Spotlight
How to get better value security: Symantec
A scattered approach to enterprise security is problematic. It’s costly to implement, a pain to manage, and not as effective as it needs to be.
15 September 2009 | News
HK hospital rolls out bedside terminals
Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital has installed Patient Infotainment Terminals in every inpatient area, as part of the extension programme to offer a ‘brand new hospital experience’ for patients.
8 September 2009 | Spotlight
Put Your Data Storage on a Diet: Symantec
Learn how an information exposure assessment provides you with a detailed analysis of how your information is exposed internally and externally, along with a clear plan for reducing and eliminating your areas of exposure.
1 September 2009 | News
Teachers block the path to modernisation
India’s ambitious National Mission on Education through ICT may be undermined by teachers’ reluctance to use technology in the classroom.
1 September 2009 | Spotlight
How to turn risk into return: Symantec
How IT governance, risk management, and compliance drive better business outcomes
1 September 2009 | Feature
How will technology change the future of healthcare?
The future does not bear thinking about for many healthcare practitioners in Asia, which is faced with the world’s fastest ageing population. FutureGov asked a group of experts for their views on how technology could clear a safer path for the sector.
25 August 2009 | News
The great debate: is e-learning effective?
Is e-learning really effective or is it a buzzword that promises much but deliver less? Trying to learn a language online has been likened to learning how to swim without entering the water. But more learning is likely to be delivered electronically in the future. Two key factors are speed and scale, says Dr Tay Chor Ter, CEO of regional e-learning company Inchone.
25 August 2009 | News
South Korea to launch smart offices
South Korea’s civil servants will be able to work in smart working centres in their own neighbourhood instead of commuting to their offices, according to Dr Kim Seang-Tae, President of the National Information Agency (NIA).
25 August 2009 | Spotlight
How to weather the storm: Symantec
Making IT Work in Tough Times—and Coming Out Ahead
19 August 2009 | Spotlight
Medical services: case studies from Thailand and China
Jianggan Li, FutureGov’s healthcare specialist, recently wrote about the role that enterprise mobility is playing in hospitals (FutureGov issue 5.4 p 8). Jianggan spoke to heads of hospitals at the forefront of providing best tools to clinicians at the bedside, and found that mobile data computing devices are increasingly becoming a mode of operation within hospitals.
19 August 2009 | Spotlight
Achieving Public Policy Goals Through Open Source
With information technology at the heart of all businesses and government agencies delivering efficiency, productivity and competitiveness, decision makers would do well to pay attention to changes in the IT landscape.
19 August 2009 | Spotlight
Get Your Money Out of Storage
The need for storage is projected to grow at two to three times the rate of IT budgets in coming years. Some organisations, however, are finding ways to not only increase their control over storage growth, but even reclaim up to six and seven figures in costs from current storage investments.
17 August 2009 | News
Blue sky thinking for mobile weather application
Scaleability was the key challenge when Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) designed the country’s first mobile weather service.
12 August 2009 | Spotlight
Critical Government Services Are Becoming Event Driven: Tibco
Whether they’re ready for it or not, in line with the new models of Citizen Centric Government, or System Centric Services, many government agencies are becoming event driven.
12 August 2009 | Spotlight
Blue Coat to Present at Government Information Forum Hong Kong
Blue Coat Systems, Inc. the technology leader in Application Delivery Networking, today announced that Director of Product Marketing, Asia-Pacific, Blue Coat Systems, Jonathan Andresen, will present “Security Today’s Public Sector Networks with Cloud Security and Layered defence Architecture” at the 6th Government Information Forum 2009. The conference will convene August 19-21, 2009, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong.
12 August 2009 | News
How forecasting technology can fight tax fraud
Taxation fraud is a key challenge faced by Asia Pacific’s public sector. Governments can reduce this monetary leak using forecasting technologies, CEO of SAS Jim Goodnight told FutureGov.
10 August 2009 | Spotlight
Government enhances social analytics with SAS
Governments are increasingly aware of the importance of social analytics to build a high-quality society. Applications of social analytics can be very broad, including building a surveillance and early warning system on social issues, and understanding and predicting various aspects of citizens’ behavioral patterns in order to improve efficiency of policy implementation and maintain good citizen relationship.
29 July 2009 | Spotlight
Performance-Driven Government: Are You There Yet?
In today’s world, the performance of government agencies is measured by immediate results and outcomes – much like the private sector. This translates to greater levels of accountability and transparency. Government agencies now have to offer more choices, channels and customisation of …
20 July 2009 | Spotlight
ST Electronics: why we lead in e-govt and e-learning
Partnering with Governments for Networked Nations ST Electronics is one of Singapore’s leading ICT (Information Communication Technology) companies and e-Government solutions provider – a reputation earned by developing and customising ICT, electronics and infrastructure systems for governments worldwide.
17 July 2009 | Feature
Legislator keynotes at Hong Kong govt event
Honourable Dr Samson Tam, Hong Kong’s Legislative IT Councillor, will open the Government Information Forum in Hong Kong on 19 August at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
15 July 2009 | Spotlight
The unification of information
With the Internet making the world flatter, the world has changed profoundly over the last ten years. Citizens are expecting higher information quality delivered from their Government agencies more than ever before.
30 June 2009 | News
Could the mobile phone replace the blackboard?
The mobile phone could replace the blackboard in classrooms across Asia Pacific before long, a report on digital trends in the region has predicted.
23 June 2009 | News
Govt lags private sector SaaS adoption in Asia
While Asia Pacific’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market is expected to reach a high of US$298 million in 2009, little of this growth is expected to come from the government sector.
23 June 2009 | Feature
Connecting the countryside
Programmes for rural communities will only be successful if local concerns are taken into account and local people are empowered.
23 June 2009 | News
Supply chain management key to green govt: analyst
Supply-chain management software has a key role to play in helping the public sector meet its green mandate - but the products available are far from mature, according to analyst firm Ovum.
16 June 2009 | News
E-govt is low on UN Development Agenda
While countries such as Singapore and Canada are recognised leaders in e-government, other United Nations (UN) member countries are still backward in their embrace of e-government practices, a UN representative has told FutureGov.
15 June 2009 | News
Mobile workforce poses cybersecurity threat: expert
Governments need to develop strategies to bolster cyber security as their workforces become more mobile, an information security expert has urged.
15 June 2009 | News
Govts buck trend for data storage growth decline
Enterprise disk storage revenue fell 18.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year as a willingness to pay to store information has fallen, a global study by IDC Research has found. However government storage spend is still growing, claims tech giant IBM.
15 June 2009 | News
Tight govt IT budgets boost cloud appeal: Google
A senior Google executive has said that tight public sector information technology (IT) budgets are provoking interest in cloud computing, but adoption of the media giant’s services in Asia has so far been limited to the education sector.
9 June 2009 | Spotlight
How government can gain from the cloud
With cloud computing playing a major role in application delivery, enterprises are seeing it as a natural extension of virtualisation. But what have governments to gain from the cloud?
8 June 2009 | News
World’s first tuition-free online university opens
The United Nations (UN) has launched the world’s first tuition-free, online university.
8 June 2009 | News
Asian govts to spend more on software in downturn
Governments in Asia Pacific will continue to spend on software despite the economic downturn, an IDC study has shown.
2 June 2009 | News
Seattle CTO to speak at Hong Kong govt event
Bill Schrier, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Seattle, Bob Correll, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Australia’s Immigration and Citizenship Department, and Lee Hsang-Chen, the Director of Information Systems for Taiwan’s National Police Agency are the latest additions to the speaker line-up for the Government Information Forum (GIF) in Hong Kong this summer.
2 June 2009 | News
Healthcare IT budgets will continue to grow: analyst
Despite the economic downturn, healthcare organisations are increasing the amount they spend on information technology (IT) solutions and services, according to figures from Frost & Sullivan.
2 June 2009 | News
Is Singapore's e-govt model exportable?
Singapore wants to sell its e-government model to the world. But do other countries want or need what Singapore is offering? FutureGov asked government information officers in India, China, South Korea and the Philippines…
29 May 2009 | News
ECM to grow despite economic gloom
The value of the enterprise content management (ECM) solutions market in Asia Pacific will grow by between four and seven per cent over the next three years, regardless of the economic outlook, an IT analyst has predicted.
27 May 2009 | News
GCIO to deliver keynote at Government Information Forum 09
Hong Kong’s Government Chief Information Officer Jeremy Godfrey is delivering the keynote presentation at this year’s Government Information Forum in Hong Kong.
26 May 2009 | News
Swine flu calls for tougher IT security for home workers
With the threat of a global swine flu pandemic looming, IT consolidation and virtualization initiatives may be the solution to enable workers to work from home, an IT infrastructure and security vendor has suggested.
19 May 2009 | News
Stimulus packages to add to rising data burden
Government efforts to stimulate their economies will lead to a dramatic increase in the volume of digital information created, a report by EMC and IDC has predicted.
19 May 2009 | Feature
Elections electrified: the end of the paper ballot?
Election fever is gripping Asia, from India to Indonesia. And the elections are increasingly going digital. Why is electronic voting gradually displacing the paper ballot? Robin Hicks sizes up the candidates
14 May 2009 | News
South Korea Commits to Green Investment
The Green Growth Commission announced yesterday (13 May) that the South Korean government will commit to spending 12.6 trillion won (US$10 billion) to develop environmental technology in the next five years.
12 May 2009 | Spotlight
Modernising case management in the public sector
Today, many federal, state, and local agencies throughout the United States have installed some type of case management system. Their attempt to coordinate with other systems or centralise the information to provide a standard approach throughout a jurisdiction has not been successful due to the complexities of their existing legacy environment…
12 May 2009 | News
Singapore Announces Government IT Priorities For 2009
More than US$1.18 billion of new IT initiatives were announced this morning (12 May) at a dedicated IT briefing organized by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.
11 May 2009 | Spotlight
Building a comprehensive e-learning solution to enhance the student experience
Are you equipped with the right tools to help your students succeed? Pearson eCollege shares insights on key challenges Asian universities’ CIOs are facing this year and how they can capitalise on technology to move ahead of their peers. Report: Kelly Ng
6 May 2009 | Spotlight
How to manage the IT to BT transformation: Sun
Today, every aspect of the enterprise is increasingly embodied in the technology it uses, from process application-driven business operations to Internet-based interactions with customers and suppliers.
6 May 2009 | News
Asian govts must urgently adapt to climate change: ADB
Governments in Asia Pacific must urgently develop strategies to adapt to climate change or face soaring economic costs in the future, a seminar audience heard at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) this week.
5 May 2009 | News
Asian silver surfers surge online
Internet use among Asia’s older generations rose by 35 per cent last year, according to data from online measurement company Comscore.
4 May 2009 | News
Malaysian youth: least concerned about climate change
A survey has revealed that 67 per cent of Asia’s eight to 24 year-olds are concerned about the effects of climate change, however 13 per cent of young Malaysians said they do not believe that the climate is changing.
24 April 2009 | News
New solution to protect business communications
The offering aims to prevent lost email under its existing security infrastructure
22 April 2009 | News
Government to buck trend for cutting green IT
Governments are expected to buck an industry-wide trend for diverting spend away from green IT projects due to the global economic downturn, according to IT analyst Gartner.
22 April 2009 | News
Sun/Oracle merger: why the public sector should worry
Oracle Corporation’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems should worry the public sector because the enlarged entity could lead to price hikes and “vendor lock-in”, according to an IT analyst.
21 April 2009 | News
YouTube's education portal well received in Hong Kong
YouTube’s launch of a global education portal has been greeted with enthusiasm by educators in Hong Kong, which now have access to videos of lectures, seminars and conferences from more than 100 schools – but so far only from English-speaking countries in the West.
10 April 2009 | News
The future of a recession-proof technology
Matt Jackson, Polycom’s Global Director for Government, talks about his observations and vision on teleconferencing
7 April 2009 | News
Asian govts unaware of serious data leaks: CA
Data losses are much more serious than governments in Asia are aware of, an executive at Computer Associates has revealed to FutureGov.
7 April 2009 | Interview
What women bring to government: academic
If there were more women in government in Asia, more attention would be paid to family and social issues and the welfare of children, a leading academic on Southeast Asian gender issues has told FutureGov.
7 April 2009 | News
Govts invest in fuel-saving air traffic system
Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the US are among the countries to have supported the adoption of a new technology to reduce fuel consumption - and so carbon dioxide emissions - of air traffic.
7 April 2009 | News
Microsoft updates e-health platform
Microsoft is set to unveil a new version of its software for aggregating health records which it claims makes it easier for patients and doctors to share information electronically.
1 April 2009 | News
Downturn drives popularity of e-books in Asia
The popularily of e-books is on the rise in Asia as the region’s schools and universities look to make cost-savings and save on storage space.
31 March 2009 | News
Technology unites domestic workers in tough times
Information communications technology (ICT) is helping to keep family ties strong for Southeast Asia’s overseas domestic workers, who face increasing pressure as their job prospects shrink. So says Dr Theresa Devasahayam, Gender Studies Programme Coordinator at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
31 March 2009 | Research
Asia’s public sector boosts spend in networking
Research expects more than 40 per cent growth in enterprise networking spending over the next four years
30 March 2009 | News
Record Earth Hour participation from Asia’s governments
Many countries and municipalities switch off lights for an hour in support of the WWF-led initiative
24 March 2009 | News
SAS: business analytics should be a strategic priority
Governments are facing many priorities in tough economic circumstances, and business analytics should be a strategic priority, according to SAS head of technology practice, Singapore & emerging markets, Shanmugar Sunthar.
16 March 2009 | Feature
The identity management catch-22
FutureGov’s research arm has identified ‘ID Management’ as one of the top three priorities for the public sector in 2009. A few years ago, the United Kingdom’s Customs and Revenue admitted to losing the financials details of 25 million citizens.
13 March 2009 | Spotlight
BPM, EA to be key focus for government in 2009
Business Process Management and Enterprise Architecture will be crucial enablers for public sector managers to align IT with their agency needs in 2009, according to CrimsonLogic. “Demonstrating proven effectiveness” and “Providing measurable customer satisfaction” were the two biggest challenges from feedback at this year’s Government Information Forum.
12 March 2009 | Spotlight
Buying into Service Oriented Architecture
Shopping around for the best Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform? You might want to check out the example of Britain‘s legendary department store, Harrods.
12 March 2009 | Spotlight
The Power of Now in Government
Today it is more critical than ever for government agencies to leverage existing assets, collect and analyse information from a variety of sources and redistribute it as quickly as possible to other organisations that need it, and provide citizens with convenient access to information and services.
12 March 2009 | Spotlight
The Future of Data Protection in the Virtual Data Centre
Storage virtualisation for the sake of storage virtualisation is just not enough these days. What businesses really need are solutions that not only provision storage more efficiently, but that can virtualise, protect, migrate, dedupe, encrypt, replicate, recover, and archive any data source in real-time via policy.
12 March 2009 | Spotlight
Leading ICT, E-government and E-learning solutions
Partnering with Governments for Networked Nations. ST Electronics is Singapore’s largest ICT (Information Communication Technology) company and one of Asia’s leaders in e-Government solutions – a reputation earned by developing and customising ICT, electronics systems and infrastructure for governments around the world.
12 March 2009 | Spotlight
Go Wireless. Go Paperless. Be Automated. Be Efficient.
Since day one, the CADI SmartSense Wireless Sensing System has been specifically designed for use in the stringent healthcare environment. CADI SmartSense empowers hospitals with clear visibility of real-time patient status and resources, helping caregivers improve patient care while optimizing hospital efficiency.
12 March 2009 | Spotlight
Consolidating clinical data
Higher quality, faster service, better outcomes, and increased patient satisfaction may sound like buzzwords, but they do represent the challenges faced by any medical facility, anywhere in the world, says Christian Reinaudo, who joined Agfa HealthCare as President in January 2008.
12 March 2009 | Spotlight
Leading the way for Continuity of Care in Singapore
A pressing need. Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly, accounting for the increased prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The healthcare costs attributed to care for patients with chronic conditions are massive and are projected to rise in the years ahead.
12 March 2009 | Interview
Geography in action
Jack Dangermond, Founder and President of ESRI, is a firm believer that government should not only share GIS within its departments, but with the public too. For Jack Dangermond, President of ESRI, geography is a life long passion. “Geographic information is critical to many aspects of governing,” he says…
11 March 2009 | Feature
Security in a wireless world
Robin Hicks Editor FutureGov in interview with John Cunningham, Director of Enterprise Wireless for Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Business in the Asia Pacific region.
9 March 2009 | News
Four Asian countries make e-government top ten
Four Asian countries have made the top ten rankings of a global e-government study, with Singapore moving above the United States to top the table for the first time.
5 March 2009 | News
Malaysia: how to create a more agile government
Governments must become more agile to meet rising citizen expectations for service delivery, Haji Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, Undersecretary of Malaysia’s Ministry of Information urged delegates at the Government Information Forum last week (Wednesday 4 March).
3 March 2009 | News
Govts should release more data for innovation’s sake
The research director behind a 12-country study on ‘generation Y’ has suggested that governments in Asia should cede more control of information to citizens in the name of innovation.
2 March 2009 | News
Rising to governments’ data centre energy challenge
Green energy projects have come under mounting pressure as the economic situation worsens, but governments should be thinking about energy conservation now more than ever, insists a consultant at APC, the Schneider-owned cooling services giant.
26 February 2009 | Spotlight
Tapping new intelligence to optimise programme management in a smarter planet
The oversight, funding and administration of many government activities is typically segmented and managed through programmes. At its core, Programme Management focusses on cost-effectively fulfilling goals designed to improve citizens’ quality of life.
25 February 2009 | Spotlight
Citizen Relationship Management in action
Nanyang Technological University and the Singapore Academy of Law are reaping the benefits of CRM, by managing their valued relationships effectively and scalably. End-to-end outreach at leading Asian university. Singapore-based Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is ranked as one of the top 20 technology universities in the world…
25 February 2009 | Feature
Governing in a downturn
Tough times call for tough decisions. FutureGov investigates how governments are modernising as the global economy begins to unravel
25 February 2009 | Research
Healthcare and government shine amid gloomy 2009 IT forecasts
Worldwide IT spending is projected to take a big hit this year, however healthcare and government are expected to be among the most resilient segments, according to a Gartner report.
24 February 2009 | News
The region’s healthcare sector sees strong SAP adoption
Despite the current economic downturn, the company continues to witness strong momentum in the healthcare sector.
18 February 2009 | Spotlight
Improving Citizen Services and Patient Relationships Using CRM
One concept that now transcends both commercial business and the Public Sector is the notion of customer relationship management, writes Jonathan Farmer, CRM Lead - Asia, Microsoft. For over 15 years, businesses have used Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technologies to drive competitive…
17 February 2009 | News
ADB to probe health spending in Asia
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is planning a study on how spending on maternal, newborn and child healthcare is hurting the poor in the Asia Pacific region.
16 February 2009 | Spotlight
Managing the transition to SharePoint in Singapore
Many Singaporean government agencies are considering the move from IBM Lotus Notes to Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint because of the rich feature set of the Microsoft solutions, the strategic value of partnering with Microsoft and the high availability of IT staff trained on Microsoft technology.
13 February 2009 | Spotlight
Transforming government with SAS business analytics
Government agencies are now entering an unprecedented time of transition and scrutiny – tasked to do much more with far less. The ability to provide “smart” access to massive amounts of data is at the top of the technology agenda for agencies across the board.
11 February 2009 | News
Investment in HK Clinical Management System paying off
Over the past decade, Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HKHA) has dedicated itself to bringing world-class healthcare systems to its citizens. The growing popularity of the web has opened up various windows of opportunities…
3 February 2009 | News
Taking the best of Web 2.0 into the public sector
With the widespread use of the internet and the enormous success of social network platforms, governments around the world are jumping on the bandwagon and work on strategies how to expand their services by incorporating Web 2.0 technologies.
16 January 2009 | News
“There is room for both”
Both WiMAX & LTE will thrive, according to Ben Cardwell, Vice President of Andrew
19 December 2008 | Feature
Governments need to enhance operations with Business Intelligence
Adaire Fox-Martin, Vice president, Public Services, SAP Asia Pacific and Japan, discusses the importance of Business Intelligence to APJ’s public sector agencies.
10 December 2008 | Research
Storage is top priority for Asia's CIOs
A survey of CIOs, conducted by Hitachi Data Systems has found that 88 per cent of them agreed that storage remains a top priority. The survey also discovered that across the Asia Pacific region, IT is embedded closely in all business operations, which make leveraging IT efficiently a critical task.
3 December 2008 | News
New department in Microsoft for mobile services in Asia
Microsoft has a new Mobile Platform, Applications and Services Business Development Asia team which will be promoting Microsoft’s mobile platform and deploying new mobile services and applications from the company across Asia.
1 December 2008 | Research
Mobile phone growth fails to bridge digital divide
Despite significant progress Asia and the Pacific has made in using information and communication technology, disparity still remains in access to the internet between high-income and low-income countries.
27 November 2008 | News
Virtual doctor in your bedroom
A new care management tool designed for health care professionals who manage patients with chronic conditions has been launched.
26 November 2008 | News
The region’s significant disparity in internet access remains
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific said that despite significant progress that Asia and the Pacific had made in using ICT, a significant disparity in internet access remained within the region.
14 November 2008 | News
Health Informatics user community launched
The Committee of Healthcare Informatics Users for Asia was officially launched in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
13 November 2008 | Research
Asia’s leading government agencies announced
It was an exciting evening at Asia’s 2nd annual Government Technology Awards in Bali, Indonesia – the “Oscars” of Asia’s public sector modernisation efforts – where outstanding government projects across Asia were recognised and rewarded at a regional ceremony in front of an invited guest list of senior government officials from 15 countries.
6 November 2008 | Spotlight
The perpetual collaboration mandate
Globalisation, ecological issues, technological impact and other modern challenges are driving the need for streamlined government collaboration, says Jeffrey Rhoda.
5 November 2008 | Spotlight
Shaping governments of the future
Leong Peng Kiong talks about pioneering new ways of building, implementing and operating e-government services.
5 November 2008 | Spotlight
Cutting edge technology is not enough
Alan Chng, Vice President - Business Imaging Solutions Group of Canon Singapore, sheds light on how the company makes service innovation a priority through the GTA.
3 November 2008 | News
Microsoft unveils cloud computing system
Microsoft has introduced Windows Azure – an operating system that allows developers to build cloud-based applications.
23 October 2008 | Feature
Medics on the move: enterprise mobility in Asia's hospitals
Jianggan Li speaks to those who are on the forefront of providing best tools to clinicians at the bedside
23 October 2008 | Feature
Buyers’ guide to: secure printing
We review the latest generation of MFPs to see how government offices can manage sensitive data without sacrificing productivity.
16 October 2008 | News
Standards & interoperability priority for Health IT execs
A new survey on using HIT systems to support care management interventions highlights the need for many HIT applications to offer more functionality, standardisation and interoperability to optimise clinical and financial outcomes for patients.
10 October 2008 | Feature
Grey govt - Asia's public sector learns to cope with an ageing population
Asia is ageing. We look at the impact an ageing population has on government service delivery and its efforts to retain talent and knowledge as a large percentage of workers reach retirement age.
10 October 2008 | Feature
City Hall and GIS
Mapping technologies are changing the way city and local government operates.
25 September 2008 | News
South Korea shares egov insights
Civil servants from Paraguay are visiting South Korea to learn how to establish and run an e-government platform. The visit was organised by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security’s training centre for public employees and the Korea International Cooperation Agency.
25 September 2008 | Feature
SOA: Enabling next generation govt
We take a look at how the government is using Service-Oriented Architecture to reduce the cost and increase the agility of public sector IT infrastructure.
23 September 2008 | News
IBM tops security software report
A new report has rated IBM as the leading vendor worldwide in identity and access management security software in 2007.
23 September 2008 | Feature
Home alone: Govt gets serious about remote working
In the past decade, working from home, otherwise known as telecommuting, has been drawing attention globally in both the private and public sectors.
18 September 2008 | News
R&D centre launched for social software
IBM has launched a centre for social software, which will bring together the top talent at the company who will work with university students and faculty, clients and partners, for the research, development and testing of social software.
17 September 2008 | Feature
Why WiMax?
The wireless broadband technology has been the ‘next big thing’ for some time. FutureGov assesses when and in what circumstances it will take off and what it means for the public sector. Report: Jianggan Li.
11 September 2008 | Research
Poverty rate in Asia to be halved by 2015
The region is on track to halve the poverty rate by 2015 and achieve the number one target of the Millennium Development Goals, largely due to progress made in East Asia, particularly China, according to the United Nations’ latest report.
2 September 2008 | News
Google launches web browser
Google is joining the browser war by launching its own application which aims at offering safer and richer web experience.
1 September 2008 | Deals
Fuji Xerox pushes green IT solutions
Fuji Xerox has just launched a range of multifunction devices – focusing on efficiency, security and crucially, the environment.
29 August 2008 | Feature
The rise and rise of green printing
Amelia Kwok reviews solutions that can help largescale public sector organisations conserve energy, reduce waste, and use other environmentally-friendly features.
29 August 2008 | Research
Having everyone equipped with PCs has green flaws
Across the globe, the number of personal computers in use has exceeded one billion and the figures will double by 2014. This development will account for PCs dumped into landfills without consideration for its toxic content, says Meike Escherich, Principal Research Analyst at Gartner.
3 August 2008 | Feature
IT recycling
As awareness about toxic e-waste grows, more of the region’s government agencies are promoting the message of re-use and recycle.
1 August 2008 | Interview
Focusing on ends rather than means
A shift to local government delivery, and a rapidly converging IT ecosystem is pressuring the region’s public sector to think strategically rather than tactically about the role of IT, says Microsoft’s point man for public sector, Ralph Young. Interview: James Smith.
1 August 2008 | Feature
Why e-government isn’t working
E-government needs to go niche if it is to remain relevant and it needs to be relevant if it is to succeed online. James Smith thinks aloud.
3 February 2008 | Interview
Leading the way in healthcare IT
Alan Payne, Chief Information Officer of health solutions provider Healthe, explains how IT is transforming Australia’s largest private hospital network.
24 September 2007 | News
Best broadband in the world
Japan has the world’s fastest broadband connection
29 August 2007 | News
Villages in Myanmar get connected
Myanmar government plans to wire villages
29 August 2007 | News
Sri Lanka launches e-Champions
The program was intended to equip 30 CIOs with the skills to drive a successful e-Government
25 August 2007 | Feature
Campus networks in Asia
Students today learn in a connected, information-rich world that exists outside the campus and IT is upgrading to mee the new expectations.
15 August 2007 | Feature
Fighting dengue fever with GIS
The National Environment Agency (NEA) in Singapore started deploying GIS in 1992 in order to develop a real-time Aedes mosquito control and monitoring system.
3 May 2007 | Spotlight
Transparent, interoperable, secure: the Office Open XML file format
Oliver Bell, Regional Technology Officer, Microsoft Asia, highlights the importance of choice and compatibility in achieving the maximum benefits through effective XML data representation.
17 April 2007 | News
Government contact centres and citizen service
The humble contact centre has a growing role to play as the central hub for government-citizen interactions. Report: Raj Kumar Prasad.
28 December 2006 | Feature
Driving user participation for government intranets
Dr Mingu Jumaan, Director of Sabah State Computer Services Department explains the process of achieving organizational buy-in for your intranet.
20 December 2006 | Feature
Singapore school leverages ICT for global immersion
Technology is making the world a virtual classroom at Nanyang Girls High School.
12 December 2006 | Feature
Overcoming obstacles to PPP in Singapore
Singapore is farming out S$1.3 billion (US$843 million) worth of projects to the private sector over the next 3-5 years, allowing it to operate big public projects. Analysis: Professor Wang Shou Qing & James Tan.
7 May 2006 | News
Extending the enterprise: ruggedised government computing
There is no longer a trade off between knowledge-based working and mobility as a new generation of Panasonic ruggedised notebooks find favour with government users.
16 February 2006 | News
Autodesk web mapping goes open source
Design and data visualisation giant Autodesk has revolutionised the prospects for open source web mapping by making the code of its next-generation web mapping platform freely available.
4 July 2005 | News
The struggle to meet rising citizen expectations
The publication in April of Accenture’s sixth annual report on global government service delivery highlighted a persistent gap between citizen expectations and public sector delivery. Report: James Smith.
29 April 2005 | News
Building a public feedback mechanism
James George Chacko, Programme Specialist with the United Nations’ Asia Pacific Development Information Programme, discusses the policy and operational advantages of listening to citizen feedback. Interview: James Smith.
21 April 2005 | News
Does civil service = poor service?
The private sector has invested heavily in improving the customer experience. Now it’s time for government agencies to play catch-up. Report: James Smith.
24 December 2004 | Deals
Self-service deployments: best practice guide
Welcome to the second volume in a series of Best Practices Guides written by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories.
9 November 2004 | News
E-government and the surveillance society?
The fight against terrorism, and the data requirements of e-government, raise the issue of finding the right balance between security and privacy, writes Thomas Riley.
20 September 2004 | News
E-Government Rankings 2004: Asia comes first, second
Taiwan and Singapore lead the world in the latest annual E-Government Rankings. Report: James Smith.
19 July 2004 | News
NEW RESEARCH: Asian government IT priorities revealed
New research by Public Sector Technology & Management uncovers the key priorities of Asia Pacific’s government IT community. Filed by PSTM Staff.
24 February 2004 | News
From disappearing boundaries to security governance
Two seemingly contradictory movements have recently appeared on the IT landscape, writes Philippe Langlois.
28 December 2003 | News
Moving your Malware strategy out of the dark ages
It’s time to review your organisation’s approach to external threats to your network, says Greg Day.
30 September 2003 | News
Asia's top 20 e-government nations
A new study of global e-government undertaken by researchers at Brown University has ranked the world’s 198 countries for e-government capability, with surprising results. Reporting: Edmund Tan.
30 August 2001 | News
Asian governance and the 'Knowledge Economy'
A more knowledge-intensive approach to governance will redefine how the public sector relates internally to its own agencies and its own employees, writes James Smith.
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