HOME    AUTHORS    RESOURCES

 
General Information
Telecommunications
Liberalization
Government R&D
Internet activity
Hardware manufacturing
Software development
B2C E-commerce
B2B E-Commerce
IT Usage
IT Geographics
IT Financing
IT Labor Market
Government Policies
Legal Environment
Analysis
Recomendations
 

Analysis
by Patty O'Donnell, Robert You, and Janine Harris
 

 

 

 

Information Systems Strengths

 

Singapore is position well to be a technology hub for Asia.  Some of the advantages that Singapore has include:

 

  1. Small country size
  2. Strong financial economy
  3. Strong commitment and involvement from Government
  4. Advanced infrastructure

 

Country Size

 Singapore is a small city-state with about 3.5 million residents.  Because of its size, Singapore is able to implement policies more easily and rapidly than a larger, widely dispersed country such as China.  Singapore has used it size as a way to place itself at an advantage against its competitors. Its size leads Singapore to have a healthy financial economy.

 

Financial Economy

Singapore has one of the strongest GDP in the world and it the Asia region.  Because of their consistent economic growth, they have not had to rely heavily on outside investments and are do not have a lot of debt.   Singapore has used its finances to develop research and development facilities and advanced infrastructure.

 

Government Commitment

Singapore has a very strong and active government.   Singapore government was able to encourage labor growth by creating programs that would be used to develop their people with technological skills to do the job. Manufacturing electronics has become a huge asset to Singapore because it was ability to build radios, televisions, and MP3 players at a cheaper price the their United States competitors.

 

Advanced Infrastructure

Singapore is considered the wired island.  This is a result of wiring the country to allow businesses and homes to connect to the internet.  Singapore has one f the highest internet and PC penetration rates in its region and is not that far behind European countries. 

 

Weakness

 There are some weaknesses that still plague Singapore and may hinder it’s ability to be the high tech hub of the Asia region.   These weaknesses include:

 

  1. Persistent labor shortages
  2. Economy dominated by electronic manufacturing
  3. Risk adverse culture

 

Labor Shortages

Singapore has a consistent labor shortage and is now relying on India and China to provide resources for high tech jobs.  In fact, Singapore is creating a research and development facility in China in order to off set the need for labor resources.  In addition, Singapore and India entered into an agreement to provide contract resources to Singapore.  The contract resources were secured to off-set the need for labor for software development.

 

Electronics Manufacturing

Singapore’s high tech industry is dominated by electronic hardware manufacturing.  Because it focuses on assembly and manufacturing, it lags behind the United States in terms of software development start ups.  The country has not been producing innovative software products that would compete with other countries. 

 

Risk Adverse Culture

Singaporeans are adverse to risk which contributes to the labor shortage in start up companies that are known for taking risks.    People prefer to work for a stable, well-known multi national company (MCN) than work for an unknown startup.  MCNs offer higher salaries than startups. In addition, there is little venture capital given to companies until they prove themselves.  This model of funding is opposite the Unites States where venture capital is provided based on an acceptable business plan.