NCS’ new partnerships signpost what the tech sector needs to look out for

A huge stage. An even bigger hall. A shower of spotlights that make me feel like I’m about to witness the concert of a lifetime.

I’m at the very first edition of NCS Impact, a marquee event hosted by – as the name suggests – NCS, a leading tech services firm.

NCS CEO Ng Kuo Pin delivering his opening address / Photo credit: NCS

Taking a look at the event agenda, I see some big names in the tech sector coming together to talk about pertinent issues – cybersecurity, genAI, robotics, and more are all on the menu.

“Through this event, we also had the goal of bringing our enterprise and government clients together – both local and overseas – to exchange ideas and listen to pre-eminent speakers on navigating current complexities and harnessing technology to advance communities,” says Sam Liew, managing partner for Gov+, the government strategic business group at NCS.

Rising above turbulence

When Liew says “pre-eminent speakers,” he’s definitely on the money about how noteworthy the lineup is. After NCS CEO Ng Kuo Pin makes his opening speech, Dilhan Pillay, CEO of Temasek Holdings, takes to the stage.

He talks about how Temasek approaches investments and plans for upcoming changes in Asia and around the world. In particular, he mentions how the state-owned investment firm is focusing on sustainable investments “as its core,” as well as how geopolitical changes will impact Southeast Asia’s economies.

The main plenary of top speakers hail from around the region as well, including the likes of Ahmed Mazhari, president of Microsoft Asia; Goh Wei Boon, CEO of GovTech; and Rowena Yeo, CTO and global vice president of technology services at Johnson & Johnson.

A star-studded lineup indeed / Photo credit: NCS

They discuss how each of their companies is harnessing tech to drive positive changes amid current complexities such as geopolitical tensions, technology inflexion, and changing expectations of work. For instance, language models can be used to teach new languages, while other kinds of AI can have a significant impact on industries such as healthcare or even postal services.

“I found those sessions really enlightening,” says one attendee, Arthi Chandra, who’s the course manager for the Diploma in Infocomm and Security program at Nanyang Polytechnic.

“It was a good look at how Singapore’s going to progress, [which is important] as we have to train our young ones to take the jobs that are coming in 20, 30 years’ time.”

Building a better tomorrow

Main stage discussions aren’t the only thing in store at NCS Impact. NCS also announces several partnerships with major firms to drive collaborative innovation, strengthen its capabilities as a tech services firm, and provide companies and governments with best-in-class expertise.

According to Liew, these partnerships are very much in line with NCS Impact’s main theme, which is all about how companies can ask the right questions to remain relevant amid changes. Some examples include:

1. How can companies create a safer tomorrow?
2. How can companies create a more empowered tomorrow?
3. How can companies create a more collaborative tomorrow?

“In a disruptive world, the answers of today may not be relevant tomorrow. But with the right questions, even in an ever-changing future, you’d have a good guidepost,” he points out.

(Left) Sam Liew, managing partner for Gov+, NCS / Photo credit: NCS

First things first, NCS announces its partnership with Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm Google recently acquired. With Mandiant, NCS aims to deepen its capabilities in cyber threat intelligence, governance, risk, and compliance, as well as manage potential new threats in emerging areas such as AI.

NCS also reveals its tie-up with Assurity Trusted Solutions, a GovTech subsidiary that helps authenticate online transactions. Liew says that the idea is to not only market joint solutions to NCS clients together, but also for the firm to adopt Assurity’s solutions. On top of boosting NCS’ own cybersecurity, this collaboration lets the tech services firm put its money where its mouth is.

Asking the right questions

To drive a more empowered future, companies not only have to be aware of AI development – especially considering how much tech like genAI has been whipping up a storm – but also know how to capitalize on it effectively.

With this in mind, two more NCS partnerships are of particular relevance: one with Dell and one with AI Singapore, a national program hosted by the National University of Singapore (NUS) to promote AI development.

Looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship / Photo credit: NCS

For the partnership with Dell, the two companies will work together to bring on-premise, localized genAI solutions to Asia-Pacific firms. While cloud computing has taken a foothold in many operations, on-premise solutions bring a certain level of security, says Liew, as it gives firms more control over their AI models and data usage without online exposure.

With AI Singapore, NCS will develop tailored open-source AI solutions to fit local contexts and languages across Southeast Asia, as well as the nuances that come with those, such as enabling the AI models to understand regional lingo or accents.

“They have the right platform and solutions to meet those needs, which is the exact reason why we’re partnering with them to develop those capabilities and take them to the market,” Liew adds.

Cool, innovative collaborations

NCS’ slew of new partnerships is a strong indicator that companies need to work with – and not against – each other to drive a brighter future not just for tech, but for everyone else too.

NCS’ partnership with payment services major Visa – through its subsidiary DSpark – as well as its collaboration with Globe, a Philippines-based telco, further emphasize this notion.

Across the two collaborations, the overall outcome is to capitalize on the available anonymized and aggregated data, allowing NCS to develop more innovative solutions that might not have been possible before.

In a disruptive world, the answers of today may not be relevant tomorrow. But with the right questions, even in an ever-changing future, you’d have a good guidepost

With DSpark and Visa, for instance, NCS will get access to expenditure patterns and information, allowing it to provide more targeted solutions to boost payments infrastructure in Asia Pacific.

“With Globe, the partnership will help us jointly develop digital capabilities and offerings within the Philippines,” he says.

Entering a brighter future

As the day comes to a close, the avid conversations between different groups of attendees remind me that while we all come from different backgrounds, being open to communicating and collaborating can lead to some wonderful things – new partnerships and new pathways into the future.

NCS is looking forward to making NCS Impact a flagship event, and the firm is already discussing what next year’s theme could be, says Liew.

Liew adds that more partnerships could very well happen at next year’s edition too, as these will remain a core part of NCS’ strategy.

“Gone are the days when companies could do everything themselves,” he continues. “The ability to leverage the broader partner ecosystem is now a must to find success.”

NCS is a leading technology services firm with a presence in Asia Pacific that partners with governments and enterprises to advance communities through technology. Click here to find out how it’s working with like-minded individuals and organizations to create a safer, empowered, and collaborative future.

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