Retail News CRM

Tag: Digital

  • New Zeeland among world’s technology elite

    New Zeeland among world’s technology elite

    New Zealand is among the world’s stand out digital economies, according to the Digital Evolution Index 2017 launched yesterday by The Fletcher School at Tufts University and Mastercard.

    The research tracks the progress countries have made in developing their digital economies and integrating connectivity into the lives of billions – and put New Zealand with a group of digital elites – characterised by high levels of digital development and a fast rate of digital evolution.

    “We all know technology can do more to improve economies and make our lives better, but growth is only achievable if everyone has confidence in the developing ecosystem,” said Ajay Bhalla, president, global enterprise risk & security, Mastercard. “In our pursuit of a truly connected world, trust and security are critical to successful digital development.”

    With nearly half of the world’s population online, the research examined the development of 60 countries, demonstrating their competitiveness and market potential for further digital economic growth. The Index measures four key drivers and 170 unique indicators to chart each country’s respective course:

    •         Supply (or internet access and infrastructure)
    •         Consumer demand for digital technologies
    •         Institutional environment (government policies/laws and resources)
    •         Innovation (investments into R&D and digital start-ups etc.)

    “Adoption, the quality of digital infrastructure and institutions, and innovation collectively shape a country’s digital competitiveness, but governments also play a key role,” said Bhaskar Chakravorti, senior associate dean of international business & finance at The Fletcher School at Tufts University. “The report also found that consumers’ trust in digital technologies correlates with digital competitiveness.”

    According to their overall digital evolution scores, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and the United States make the top ten list of advanced digital economies.

    The research found developed countries including in Western Europe, the Nordics, Australia and South Korea have a history of strong growth, but their momentum is slowing and are at risk of falling behind. Countries such as South Africa, Peru, Egypt, Greece and Pakistan face significant challenges, constrained both by low levels of digital advancement and a slow pace of growth.

  • Malaysian retailers urged to go digital

    Malaysian retailers urged to go digital

    The Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) wants to drive the retail industry to go into the online arena, in line with the government’s aspirations, for better opportunities and to compete better.

    President Datuk Garry Chua said online adoption among Malaysian retailers is still relatively low, but the initiative to start thinking and adopting digital strategies is there. He said members are putting their products for sale online and gauging feedback from online channels.

    “Some of our members have started adopting online initiatives but it takes time to pick up. But it’s a good start. Since the government is bringing in Alibaba, we have to rely on that wave to benefit the retailers and SMEs to the maximum,” he told reporters after opening the MRCA Retail Conference 2017 yesterday.

    He said online sales contribution is growing, but on a gradual mode.

    “This depends on the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ). If it kicks off faster, the process (online sales) will be faster. We’re looking at the next three years (for a pick-up in online sales). Definitely a double-digit growth for online after this,” said Chua.

    Despite the growing importance of e-commerce, he said brick-and-mortar stores will not totally lose its presence.

    “You have to fine tune the balancing game. Countries like the US, Singapore and Malaysia always have a supply of malls, so some have to be wiped out. It’s like a rationalisation process. You can’t have too many, so there’s a balancing of online and offline,” he said.

    He reiterated MRCA’s expectation of a 4.5% growth in retail sales this year, driven by tourism.

    Themed “Retail Innovation: The Future is Now”, the MRCA Retail Conference 2017 discussed shifting retail landscapes, disruptive technology, digital economy, DFTZ and understanding Gen Y, in line with the government’s aspirations of spurring Malaysia’s economic growth by providing cross-border e-trade facilities for SMEs.

    The conference was officiated by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

    In his speech, Mustapa said the government launched the Productivity Blueprint a couple of months ago and has set up three groups of Productivity Nexus, in which one is a Productivity Nexus for retail and food & beverage (F&B) to be led by the private sector. The Nexus also comprises of organisations such as MRCA, Bumiputra Retail Organisation, Malaysia Franchise Association among others, in partnership with the government.

    “We recognise the importance of the retail and F&B sectors, which employ no less than 2.5 billion people and contribute 8.3% to GDP. Having said that, labour productivity in many of the sectors in the country is one of the lowest, therefore we formed the Productivity Nexus, which is about sharing of best practices,” Mustapa said.

    He added that innovation is important for retailers to move with the times and to be ahead of the curve, with digital being the way forward.

    The MRCA Retail Conference 2017 was held in conjunction with MRCA’s Malaysia International Retail Franchise & Licensing Fair 2017, which starts today.

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  • Digital driving nearly half of revenue for companies

    Digital driving nearly half of revenue for companies

    Emerging technologies such as AI, the IoT and machine learning have changed the way businesses operate and what it takes to thrive in a digital economy, a new report finds.

    An independent survey of IT leaders in more than 9,000 businesses spanning twenty-four countries across APC, EMEA and the US, conducted by Pure Storage, found that digital solutions drive around half of revenue (47% on average) for organizations, whether through customer facing applications or more back-office functionality.

    But despite this growth, technical complexity and strategic uncertainty from an infrastructure standpoint have prevented businesses from truly becoming digital. Public, private and hybrid cloud, SaaS and traditional on-premises all have momentum, but businesses still lack confidence in where to place specific workloads.

    On average, businesses are running 41% of applications with traditional on-premises IT – higher than both public cloud (26%) and private cloud (24%).

    Public cloud is poised to grow in the next 18-24 months (61% say their use will increase). Alongside this, a combined 87% of respondents see their use of either private cloud (52%) or traditional on-premises (35%) accelerating.

    Despite strong indications of public cloud growth, a significant number of companies that ran workloads in public cloud environments have actually moved some or all of those workloads back on-premises (43% of businesses in North America have done so). In EMEA, 65% say they have reduced use of public cloud in the last 12 months because of security concerns.

    Businesses run approximately one in five applications via SaaS currently (22%), and more than half (51%) see their use of SaaS increasing over the next 18-24 months.

    “Emerging technologies have started to drive true digital transformation, but businesses remain in a cycle of lure and regret when it comes to public cloud,” said Scott Dietzen, CEO of Pure Storage.

    “Rather than being viewed as competing options, companies should embrace cloud and on-premises storage as complementary offerings. By doing so, storage infrastructure becomes agile and future-proof, which drives the data advantage that enterprises seek.”

  • Singtel named a “master of digital experience”

    Singtel named a “master of digital experience”

    Singtel ranks among five operators named “masters of digital experience” in Analysys Mason’s latest Digital Experience Index (DXi).

    Singtel and subsidiary Optus, along with Telefonica, AT&T, Etisalat and Swisscom were the only operators to be classed as entering the “digitalized” stage of digital maturity, with only Swisscom considered to have fully entered this stage.

    The report ranked 50 operators worldwide on their ability to provide a digitalized user experience, graded by criteria including automation in customer support, the presence of unified omni-channel support and the option of new digital channels for customers such as in-app chat, web-to-chat or chat-to-voice.

    Operators’ capacity to provide personalized offers, basic or advanced customer self-service and social media support were also taken into consideration.

    The report also shows that nearly all operators believe that providing their customers with a modern digital experience is critical to their future.

    “Providing a modern digital experience is considered by all operators as critical to their competitive position in the future – especially among young and increasingly tech-savvy consumers whose expectations are being shaped by the newer players such as Alibaba, Amazon and Facebook,”  Analysys Mason partner and head of telecoms software and networks Larry Goldman said.

    He said the digital experience index model represents a way for operators to assess their potential new customer experience improvement projects in all aspects of the customer lifecycle, comprising investigation, buying, onboarding and support of goods and services.

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  • Singtel partners with DocuSign for digital signatures

    Singtel partners with DocuSign for digital signatures

    Singtel and DocuSign have partnered to launch a cloud solution that allows for faster document authorization and more effective tracking through the use of electronic signatures.

    The solution is aimed at businesses undergoing digital transformation that need to upgrade their workflows and approval processes and keep digital records of them.

    The DocuSign solution will be available via Singtel’s SaaS portal. It aims to offer organizations the convenience of approving documents within minutes. Electronic documents and signatures can be electronically tracked from signatory to signatory, and protected against tampering.

    The solution also attaches to each document an electronic Certification of Completion seal that is admissible in court as it captures the audit trail of the signatories’ Internet Protocol addresses, time stamps and sequence of ownership.

    The passing of the Electronics Transaction Act 2010 in Singapore supports the adoption of e-documents and e-signatures.

    As the exclusive retailer reseller of DocuSign in Singapore, Singtel provides a single, dedicated local point of support to help organizations deploy the solution, with no software or hardware solution required.

    Small and medium-sized enterprises that deploy the DocuSign solution are eligible to receive tax deductions under the Government’s Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme.

    The United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA), an international school in Singapore, has started using DocuSign to improve its staff hiring and student admission processes.

    Ben Morgan, UWCSEA’s IT Director, said, “UWCSEA is constantly exploring ways to deliver better value to families, and attracting the very best teachers from around the world. Shifting from paper-based to digital documents will reduce the time taken to complete some tasks by weeks, reduce the costs and environmental impact, as well as significantly reduce administrative workloads.”

    Industry analyst Statista estimated that the global digital transaction management market is expected to grow from $13.93 billion in 2017 to $30.66 billion in 2020.

  • 40% of the world to use digital commerce by 2021

    40% of the world to use digital commerce by 2021

    Juniper Research predicts that the digital commerce sector is set to see substantial growth in user numbers over the next 4 years, as the number of unique users exceed 3 billion by 2021.

    Juniper has identified two sectors set to drive the digital commerce market, in terms of transaction values; these are digital and physical goods as well as digital banking.

    “When we analyze the digital & physical goods sector in particular; for some time now, it has been clear that the mobile device, whether it be the smartphone or tablet, is becoming increasingly important in the world of e-commerce,” Juniper Research senior research analyst Lauren Foye said.

    Juniper has observed a shift in the market from a position where the smartphone was used as a means for discovery but not purchase, to a situation where the smartphone is used for both product discovery and purchase.

    This trend appears to be a natural progression from the relatively stagnant consumer tablet industry, whose lack of steam has been compounded by the emergence, and prevalence, of larger-screened smartphones offering an improved purchasing experience.

    Indeed, mobile as a whole is gaining traction as a remote goods purchase device, although the smartphone’s growth is accelerating faster than that of the tablet.

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  • Wanda Partners With Microsoft Accelerator To Empower Digital Transformation

    Wanda Partners With Microsoft Accelerator To Empower Digital Transformation

    Wanda Group, one of the Fortune Global 500 List companies, is tapping into the resources of Microsoft Accelerator to enable the next wave of digital transformation of the retail industry and commercial properties in China.

    For the past four and a half years, Microsoft Beijing Accelerator has accelerated 140 startups in China with alumni in the areas of hybrid cloud, IoT, big data, artificial intelligence, etc. These startups have strong strengths in technology innovation. Combining Wanda Group’s customer resources and Microsoft Accelerator’s alumni, startups will be empowered to do more for digital transformation in China.

    “As an entrepreneur myself, I’ve seen many technology startups face the same challenges. They focus on technology innovation and product development without much customer insight and user data,” said Hanna Lavy, head of Microsoft Global Accelerator Program. “Partners like Wanda Group can provide in-depth business insights and rich customer data to startups. Microsoft Accelerator looks forward to working with Wanda Group to enable startups to transform retail companies and commercial properties into digital businesses.”

    “Wanda Group and Microsoft share the same views on digital technology and business. Cloud computing, big data, IoT and artificial intelligence are the main drivers of the digital transformation of business,” said Jennifer Feng, Deputy GM of IT Center at Wanda Group.” Wanda Group has rich insights and user data as the leader of commercial property and retail business in China and we will partner with Microsoft to bring startups closer to end customers. Microsoft Accelerator will also provide qualified startups to be enlisted as vendors for Wanda Group. ”

    As the world’s largest commercial property enterprise, Wanda Group has opened 189 Wanda Plaza projects in China and plans to open 50 more in 2017. Three years ago, Wanda Group began its fourth business model transformation from commercial property to modern services with the result of forming four sub business groups including Commercial Properties, Cultural Industry Group, Internet Technology Group and Financial Group. Digital transformation is at the core of Wanda Group.

    Wanda Group IT embarked on enabling digital transformation of Wanda Group three years ago. For the past three years, Wanda Group IT has developed Wanda Building Information Modeling(BIM) System and Wanda Intelligent Building Management System in this endeavor with the adoption of Microsoft Azure and HDInsight big data analysis. Wanda BIM system seamlessly integrates the end-to-end information management process from project bidding to delivery for commercial property developers, designers, builders and supervisors.

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  • Rule change in the battle against pirates

    Rule change in the battle against pirates

    The growth of high speed broadband in Asia has changed the nature of video piracy, with downloads giving way to streaming over IP and requiring a new “360 degree” response.

    That’s the view of Roger Harvey, regional sales director for security vendor Irdeto in Asia-Pacific, who has seen the proliferation of “IP boxes” which allow users to access thousands of global television channels illegally.

    Irdeto recently commissioned a global consumer online piracy survey and found that while 78% of APAC consumers are aware that sharing pirated video is illegal, 61% still choose to watch it. This is significantly higher than the US, where the latter figure is 32%, and Europe, 45%.

    Part of the reason that piracy is lower in the US is because subscription video on demand (SVOD) models are inexpensive and easy to use, while pirate sites are often infected with malware.

    While Asia’s broadband is getting faster, content providers in the SVOD space are not as advanced, meaning that people turn to pirates more often to find what they want to watch.

    “Broadband has created a massive shift in piracy and how you deal with it,” says Harvey.

    “Five years ago you had people trying to break encryption systems, but these systems are so much more advanced, but what you have now is the broadband speed which makes it easy to take the content in the clear and put it over the internet.”

    The shift to “linear” viewing to viewing on demand has also changed the technical infrastructure and the devices people are using to view content, and each of these devices has their own digital rights management (DRM) technology which needs to be understood by service providers.

    “These days you need some sort of watermarking on content so you can trace the source,” says Harvey.

    “And once you have that you can deploy 360 degree security. And that means scouring the web using our crawlers, finding the content and then taking it down at the source.”

    Irdeto was the first western vendor to have an agreement with Alibaba, where it has succeeded in shutting down thousands of online advertisements for pirate devices from dozens of suppliers on the Alibaba platform.

    The company also works with Google, and with many subscription television providers such as Australia’s Foxtel, where the 360 approach helps minimize revenue leakage.

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  • Security issues challenge the digital future

    Security issues challenge the digital future

    A panel discussion at CommunicAsia2017 titled “Diversifying Your Business Model Through Creative Partnerships” veered straight into the critical subject of security at the outset.

    Juniper Networks’ CTO Kireeti Kompella declared that security issues will “only going to get worse unless we do something about them.”

    Failure to develop effective security solutions will hold back the development of the upcoming 5G digital landscape before next generation networks can begin to deliver new services through creative collaboration, he said.

    “We all know about SDN (Software Defined Networks), but I talk about the Self-Driving Network or the Self-Defending Network,” said Kompella, describing a network in which security was embedded and automatic.

    He said the sheer scale of the IoT means that human intervention cannot effectively counter the growing number of security threats and intrusions.

    “Humans are going to lose if you don’t have Artificial Intelligence on your side,” he said.

    Beyond security, Ericsson’s Magnus Ewerbring, CTO, Asia-Pacific, named “integrity” in addition to security as one of the key issues for the industry in the IoT era. By this he means issues around trust, privacy, fraud and data protection.

    “IoT will be both consumer and industrial, and security is important, but integrity will also be key,” he said, adding that “traditional operators enjoy integrity, trust and faith” from their customers.

    The panel, comprising representatives from carriers, vendors, and analysts, then wrestled with ongoing challenges to the traditional carriers’ business models.

    Whether they are providers of “dumb pipe or smart pipe,” and while internet giants like Facebook are highly dependent on them, Facebook and other OTT players were not significant sources of revenue for carriers.

    Rohit Talwar, futurist speaker, Fast Future, told the conference that many carriers “like to find a reason not to innovate” and were too focused on “boxes.”

    “Facebook and Google don’t want boxes,” he said. “They want the people who create intellectual property. They are selling people who create IP.”

    Helen Wong, director of network product technology & strategy for Asia Pacific, Verizon, countered by saying that the new technologies of virtualization and cloud-based services-by their very nature-meant that carriers are finding partnerships which were “beyond boxes and vendors.”

    Mike van den Bergh, CMO, PCCW Global, said his company actively collaborates with new players in areas from tap-and-go payments to smart housing.

    “They all deliver revenue to us,” he said. “Everything in the cloud is part of wider partnerships to deliver next generation services.”

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  • How brands use short videos for marketing in China

    How brands use short videos for marketing in China

    As the luxury industry discusses Snapchat’s marketing possibilities and, more recently, Instagram’s latest filter feature, brands looking toward the China market are facing a completely different short video industry. It’s one that has witnessed rapid development thanks to the popularity of smartphones and upgraded communication networks in China.

    In March this year, Kuaishou, a popular short video app, was on the receiving end of a US$350 million investment from Tencent, and Alibaba put RMB 2 billion toward the transformation of Tudou from a large, formerly popular online video platform to a short video community. Also, Yixia Technology, owner of Miaopai and Xiaokaxiu, both popular short video apps in China, has already spent RMB 2 billion to encourage short video content creators and producers by building several video creation bases and providing professional studios.

    Short videos are perfect for young, tech savvy consumers who take their phone with them everywhere and use it to access social media or to fill in short breaks in the day between other activities.

    But which short video apps are the most popular in China? Who are the viewers of these short videos? How can brands market to them? What should brands take into consideration when launching short video campaigns?

    China’s short video apps

    Similar to short video platforms like Viddy and Instagram, there are numerous short video platforms and apps in China where users can record real-time short videos and share them with friends. As for users, there were 153 million regularly watching China’s short videos in 2016. This is estimated to reach 242 million by 2017, an increase of 58.2 percent.

    CIWEEK, an internet content magazine, released a list of their top 10 short video apps in China in the first half year in 2016 and Kuaishou, Miaopai, and Meipai were the most popular.

    Of these, there are actually two types of short video platform in China:

    1. Comprehensive platforms: professional short video platforms

    These platforms, such as Meipai, Miaopai, and Xiaokaxiu, provide a one-stop user experience. Users can use various shooting tools, effect settings, and formats while filming or editing a video. They also offer a community for users to share their videos with friends. Short videos uploaded on those platforms can also be shared with WeChat friends, WeChat Moments, and Weibo.

    2. Content recommendation: news apps

    These platforms, such as Toutiao, NetEase, Tencent News, and Yidian Zixun, focus on suggesting popular or professional short videos. These platforms were originally news-based and mass communication oriented. They have millions of viewers and short videos recommended on these platforms can get huge amounts of traffic.

    Who are the viewers?
    The main users of China’s short video apps are young. Most of them belong to the post-90s generation. According to a report published in March 2017 by JIGUANG, a big data provider, users ages 16 to 25 make up 39.7 percent of the total, while users aged 26-35 are at 33.3 percent. Meanwhile, over half of the users are female, making them 69.4 percent of the total number of users.

    In terms of regions, 66.9 percent of the total come from third-tier and below third-tier cities in China. The top 3 provinces for viewer numbers are Guangdong, Henan, and Shandong.

    How are brands using short video?
    Short video is becoming a new favorite marketing tool for brands for several reasons. Short videos can be used for various types of promotional materials, such as product reviews, product seeding, promoting brand culture and more. With interesting and meaningful content, short videos can deliver specific brand messages to a target audience while avoiding the annoyance that longer videos may cause. The production cycle of short videos is quick with great flexibility, which works well with brands’ marketing plans and budgets. Through audience interactions with short videos, brands can better understand their preferences, rapidly improve their user experience, and come up with effective marketing plans quickly. Integrated campaigns launched on short video platforms can be creative and diverse.

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  • Asia ahead of the digital engagement curve

    Asia ahead of the digital engagement curve

    Asian economies are more digitally engaged relative to their global peers at similar stages of development, according to Deloitte.

    The company’s second edition of its Voice of Asia series shows that Asian economies are leveraging digital technologies to help them leapfrog development hurdles, resulting in them winning the race on connectivity.

    Asia has become the center of global economic growth and by embracing digital, it will continue to lead global economic growth over the coming decade.Ric Simes, Deloitte Australia Economist explained that, “digital technologies have been synonymous with rapid and evolving change over the past four decades. While we have made significant progress, we are only at the tip of the digital iceberg when it comes to what’s possible in the future. When applied on a global scale, we can see that Asian economies and societies are at the forefront of this revolution. Asia is leading the way in how digital developments can enable individuals, businesses and governments to do things differently and, often, more efficiently.”

    As the fastest growing region in the world and a significant driver of global economic growth over the past decade, Asia is assuming the digital leadership position in the 21st century. According to the Deloitte digital engagement indices for government, business and consumers, Asian economies are ahead in digital engagement terms, with almost all Asian countries above the world average.

    Government and business engagement is high relative to the rest of the world, with individual engagement about average. The Deloitte digital engagement index scores each countries’ Networked Readiness Index (NRI) against GDP per capita, showing that every country in Asia apart from Myanmar has above average levels of digital engagement for the level of their economic development.

    Singapore and Hong Kong are world leaders, while the large population bases in countries such as China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam have considerable opportunities for the future. In middle-income countries in Asia, governments have been able to maintain strong growth agendas based on policies in areas such as trade, infrastructure and savings. Today, these countries are pursuing growth agendas with digital taking a leading role.

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  • Time for ocean shippers to digitize is now

    Time for ocean shippers to digitize is now

    Digitization is rapidly transforming the ocean container shipping industry, according to INTTRA, a neutral electronic transaction platform, software and information provider for the ocean shipping industry.

    In a new whitepaper — Blueprint 2032: How Technology Transforms Ocean Container Shipping – INTTRA reports that the pace of technology innovation is accelerating as businesses seek new and more efficient ways to optimize.

    “Digitization is now a competitive necessity,” says John Fay, CEO of INTTRA. “We’ve reached a tipping point in the global shipping industry when information technology is now the primary means for CEOs and their companies to achieve and increase long-term profitability. We are enabling shippers to rethink processes, and to digitize their operations through our unique position as a neutral service provider.”

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  • The Body Shop rolls out £10m digital transformation strategy

    The Body Shop rolls out £10m digital transformation strategy

    L’Oréal-owned cosmetics brand The Body Shop has launched a £10m, three-year digital transformation strategy in a bid to revamp its online appeal and boost the e-commerce channel.

    As part of the strategy, the British retailer has launched in 11 countries a new mobile-first e-commerce site which integrates content and commerce. The countries where the site is now live include the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Brazil and Indonesia, with 20 further countries expected to be added throughout the year.

    Given the scale of the business, The Body Shop has given regional variations to its new platform, which means its presence will be adapted to each relevant market according to consumer preferences for merchandising, payment and delivery fulfillment.

    The new website has a live appointment booking service for in-store consultations and a personalised skincare diagnostic tool. A click & collect functionality is also expected to launch later in the year.

    The Body Shop was founded in 1976 and quickly became a retail favourite with its colourful range of body butters, but in recent years it has struggled to remain relevant in a highly competitive market.

    The £10m investment to expand its global e-commerce footprint comes after the retailer saw a 19% increase in online sales in 2016 – double than the prior year’s figure. The share is expected to reach 20% this year.

    “With the successful launch of a responsive, content-rich digital platform, we have established a strong foundation to support our future innovation agenda and global rollout,” said chief digital officer Harriet Williams.

    “The Body Shop is a big business, operating in a large number of countries with both franchise and non-franchise markets. The platform needed to strike the right balance between global brand consistency and local relevance, being flexible enough to meet the needs of each individual market.”

    The Body Shop sells its nature-inspired products in more than 3,000 stores in 66 countries.

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  • Oracle, Fujitsu launch public cloud services in Japan

    Oracle, Fujitsu launch public cloud services in Japan

    Fujitsu and Oracle Japan have launched Oracle Cloud Platform services, including Oracle Database Cloud Service, via a Fujitsu data center, a first for Japan.

    Oracle and Fujitsu have a long history of collaboration when it comes to processors, servers, and software. This synergy now extends to the data center, where Oracle’s cloud services will be available locally to Japanese customers backed by Fujitsu.

    Fujitsu has the largest number of Oracle-certified Oracle Cloud engineers in Japan, and offers a coordinated portfolio of services to assist in the deployment and operations of Oracle Public Cloud, to help organizations build new modern cloud-based solutions and transition their enterprise systems, including mission-critical operations, to the cloud.

    Fujitsu and Oracle formed a strategic alliance in July last year, based on a strategic collaboration to deliver enterprise-grade, world-class cloud services to customers in Japan and their subsidiaries around the world.

    Together with making Oracle Public Cloud services available from Fujitsu’s robust and reliable data center in Japan, can now be used as part of Fujitsu Cloud Service K5, Fujitsu’s public cloud service.

    “The Oracle Cloud Platform running in Fujitsu’s Japan datacenter alongside Fujitsu Cloud Service K5 DB powered by Oracle Cloud is a natural continuation of the three decade history Oracle and Fujitsu have working together to help customers achieve competitive advantage,” said Edward Screven, Chief Corporate Architect, Oracle.

    “By combining Fujitsu’s system integration expertise with Oracle’s cloud services, Fujitsu and Oracle will accelerate the transition of our joint customers’ enterprise systems to cloud.”

    Oracle Cloud offers a complete range of public cloud services across SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. Oracle Cloud Platform, which includes Oracle’s analytics, application development, data management, and integration services, has experienced steady growth, adding thousands of customers in fiscal 2017.

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  • Maritime industries need to gear-up for digital transformation

    Maritime industries need to gear-up for digital transformation

    Singapore’s port and maritime industries need to gear up to deal with digitalization and disruption of global transport supply chains – that was the message of Khaw Boon Wan, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister of Transport at the official opening of Sea Asia 2017.

    The role of hub ports such as Singapore, the world’s largest container transhipment hub, are set to change as digitalization takes a hold.

    “The landscape is changing rapidly digitalization is disrupting and transforming the global transport supply chains,” Khaw said.

    “The lines between e-commerce, shipping and supply chains are blurring, for example Amazon is looking at having its own shipping and logistics operations. Freight forwarders will also have noticed Maersk and CMA CGM partnerships with Alibaba to allow shippers to book space on containerships online.”

    The downside to disruption is that there would be winners and losers, and Singapore would have to “gear up” to be on the right side of that dividing line.

    Painting a picture of the new landscape Khaw said: “Nearer to home we are seeing the rise of multi-modal logistics infrastructure and the growth of other hubs in Asia fuelled by e-commerce. These trends have also sparked talk about the emergence of new trade routes and even a multi-hub network in the longer term where no single hub will enjoy superior connectivity.”

    Exactly how these developments will pan out no-one knows but the Minister said Singapore had ensure it was ready for transformation.

    “Superior connectivity will be measured in multi-modal terms and maybe as much digital as physical,” he stated.

    While digital disruption has loomed large over many sectors such as taxis, hotels and retail, Singapore Maritime Foundation chairman Andreas Sohmen-Pao highlighted that goods and commodities will still require ocean shipping.

    “I know there has recently been plenty of talk about the challenges facing the maritime industry buts lets remember this industry is a cornerstone of the modern global economy even as we advance into an era of modern technology the vehicles that provide our Uber rides, the steel that holds up our Air B&B houses, and the goods that arrive in our Amazon boxes have typically spent some of their life on a ship,” Sohmen-Pao said in his opening speech.