Data and digital to take up 22% of Singapore GovTech procurement

Singapore’s GovTech Agency estimates much greater demand for digital and data projects in the government this year. The agency estimates that 22% of government technology will be data and digital technologies, compared to just 4% last year.

“In FY 2017, the Government intends to spend a larger proportion on digital and data, cybersecurity and Smart Nation applications,” Chief Executive Jacqueline Poh said at an annual industry briefing this week.

In total, the agency will call for $2.4 billion of ICT tenders this year. Cyber security will take up 22% of the spending and infrastructure 29%. Last year, the total value of tech tenders was $2.82 billion, with 2% spent on security, 1% on Smart Nation applications and 66% on infrastructure.

“In FY2016 a large component of ICT expenditure was to build the foundation for a Smart Nation and Digital Government. This is basic infrastructure that we have to lay out to ensure that there is capacity for the growth of Smart Nation applications,” Poh explained.

Separately, the public healthcare sector will procure $300 million of technology this year, IHIS, the country’s health tech unit, announced.

“Over the next five years, we expect to increase our procurement of IT services and technologies by at least 25%,” added Bruce Liang, Chief Executive Officer of IHiS and Chief Information Officer at Ministry of Health. This is owing to Singapore’s growing elderly population, an increase in chronic diseases and a shrinking workforce.

Public healthcare centres will look to buy assistive robots, tools for predictive analysis and real-time disease surveillance, home monitoring and diagnostic sets and services based on behavioural science techniques.

Image by Government Technology Agency of Singapore