How this company uses tech to drive meaningful changes in local communities

For a long time, commuting to a place of work has been the de facto way for any regular person to earn their keep. And yet, with one swift stroke, the pandemic forced a huge digital shift that made remote work more prevalent, thanks to tools like Google Workspace and Zoom.

It’s a testament to the fact that no matter how ingrained a system is, there’s always room for tech to disrupt the way things are done.

“Every company should be proactively looking at what’s next, what’s in the future, and how they should change and respond [to technological shifts],” says Wynthia Goh, senior partner and global co-lead at NCS NEXT, which is part of NCS, a leading technology services firm that’s growing its presence in Asia Pacific.

Wynthia Goh, senior partner and global co-lead at NCS NEXT / Photo credit: NCS

The team she leads helps companies improve their operational capabilities through cutting-edge solutions – such as cloud computing and data analytics – while delivering digital experiences and services to meet clients’ needs.

However, with many new solutions coming out, businesses may have a hard time juggling between their operational needs and understanding which options are the right ones for them.

That’s where partners such as NCS NEXT come into the picture.

The next level

For more than 40 years, NCS has been a part of Singapore’s technological transformation, helping the government implement various digital projects within the country, such as an app to help the Ministry of Manpower monitor and manage migrant workers during the pandemic. It’s also partnered with governments and enterprises across Asia Pacific to help organizations with their digital needs. In 2019, it created NCS NEXT, which has expanded to a 2000-strong team of digital specialists as of last year.

For NCS, digital transformation is more than just adding new solutions and calling it a day.

“We think about innovation with a practitioner’s mindset and not just innovation for its own sake,” says Goh. “It’s all about solving a problem that our clients are facing.”

Florence, an autonomous mobile robot developed by NCS for the healthcare sector / Photo credit: NCS

So far, the company has partnered with organizations from industries such as hospitality, manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare. Despite the many differences between these sectors, there’s one thing that Goh says every business needs: the ability to capitalize on data.

Organizations can become “more intelligent enterprises” by translating data through advanced analytics and AI to improve business operations and support decision making, explains Goh. In some cases, this may help companies understand how to automate and make certain tasks faster. In others, new services are born.

Case in point: the Breeze app, which helps users navigate neighborhoods such as Tiong Bahru more efficiently by leveraging computer vision and AI.

Making navigation a breeze

In October 2022, NCS – leveraging the digital capabilities of its NEXT services arm – launched the pilot for Breeze@Tiong Bahru in partnership with the Tiong Bahru Community Centre, which organizes social activities and services, and Tiong Bahru Market Hawkers’ Association, which represents stall owners from the local hawker center when communicating with grassroots organizations, town councils, and government agencies.

Breeze@Tiong Bahru is a pilot project that’s part of the main Breeze app and launched specifically for the local community.

As part of Breeze@Tiong Bahru, NCS developed the Breeze Box, a camera that’s meant for computer vision and video analytics / Photo credit: NCS

The idea was conceived during a discussion between Ng Kuo Pin, CEO of NCS, and Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and National Development and Adviser to Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency Grassroots Organisations. During the conversation, Indranee brought up several challenges within the area, such as how drivers were having trouble finding parking during peak periods.

Given that NCS had already developed and launched the main Breeze navigation app, Ng saw an opportunity to deliver a similar solution that was tailored for Tiong Bahru. To that end, NCS sought to enhance and hyperlocalize the app for the Breeze@Tiong Bahru pilot, with the aim to ease traffic flow and encourage better parking and walking options for visitors.

“It was a combination of the right time and place to solve this problem,” says Damien Kopp, partner at NCS NEXT Product and Platforms. He manages an engineering team as well as a research and development lab.

Damien Kopp, partner at NCS NEXT Product and Platforms / Photo credit: NCS

To improve local drivers’ experiences, NCS’ digital and engineering teams developed the “Breeze box,” a camera that uses computer vision and video analytics to count cars and identify congested areas. From there, the data is fed through an AI algorithm to generate the most efficient route for drivers, with the information relayed through the app.

“It was really about bringing different capabilities and expertise from NCS together in one place,” Kopp adds.

The project also sought to address other transport-related issues that Tiong Bahru’s drivers faced. For those that use non-local navigation software, they’ve had to deal with mispronunciations of local names.

To deliver a hyperlocal experience, NCS created a Singapore-accented voice for the app that could pronounce local names correctly. To do this, it fed data consisting of correct pronunciations of Singaporean locales into a natural language processing algorithm to train the voice assistant.

The end result: “Tee-ong Bah-ru,” the right way of pronouncing the name, instead of “Tai-ong Beh-ru” or some other mangled version.

Where we’re going, we don’t need roads

Having a localized navigation app was great for road users but NCS also saw an opportunity to take things one step further for the platform.

To that end, the firm added local murals as well as food-and-beverage spots into the app to encourage users to explore the neighborhood and provide a more immersive and integrated experience.

A local market in the Tiong Bahru neighborhood / Photo credit: eddietay2001

“Our intention in doing so was to bring even more reasons for people to use the app,” Kopp explains.

Less than two months after the app’s pilot launch, Kopp says that its user base has been consistently increasing at a good pace, though he jokes that “user growth never feels fast enough.”

This success has seen Breeze expand to other neighborhoods. In November 2022, it collaborated with ActiveSG – a national movement for sport – in Tampines to come up with an interactive map. The map, used in conjunction with a non-competitive walkathon, was part of ActiveSG’s efforts to promote a healthy lifestyle among residents.

Making a difference

While the app is getting more popular, user numbers are just one measure of its performance. For NCS, the key indicator is user engagement within the app, with the ultimate goal being to provide content that is timely, personalized, and relevant.

To that end, Kopp says that the team will focus on expanding the app’s capabilities, adding more content, fine-tuning existing features, and analyzing data to further personalize users’ experiences.

Beyond hard metrics, the company also hopes to show that at the end of the day, it’s all about being able to marry deeptech and new experiences to make a difference in the local community.

“It’s a way to show how a deeply rooted company like NCS can come together with stakeholders to solve problems for real people in local communities,” Kopp says.

NCS is a leading technology services firm that has a presence across Asia Pacific and partners with governments and enterprises to advance communities through technology. NCS NEXT, its digital services arm, helps companies deliver digital transformation through the use of AI, cloud computing, data analytics, and more.

To find out more, visit the NCS website.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.