Singapore Digital Plans and Procurement

The Singapore Government recently announced that they would spend an estimated SGD3.3 billion(USD2.4 billion) on info-communications technology(ICT) in 2023 to build on past investments, modernize their digital infrastructure, and develop better services for citizens, businesses, and public officers. 

More than 30 percent or SGD 1 billion(USD742 million) will be for applications developed on the Government Commercial Cloud (GCC). Government agencies can access a range of ready-made, subscription-based software over the Internet to meet operational needs and “low code” platforms that minimize the coding required to create software applications. 

Projects co-developed with industry will increase to about 45 percent or SGD 1.49 billion(USD 1.11 billion). Different agencies can use secure projects that are on government platforms.  

Almost 76 percent or SGD2.5 billion (USD1.9 billion) of the Government’s ICT spending will go to projects awarded through bulk tenders as they reduce public agencies’ costs, time, and effort. There will be three bulk tenders amounting to SGD 1.85 billion(USD1.37 billion) in FY23: 

(a) Enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) SGD 0.6 billion(USD 0.4 billion).

(b) Hosting Support Services SGD0.85 billion(USD0.6 billion) for standardized core services to support cloud and on-premises hosting.

(c) Personal Computers & Printer SGD0.4 billion(USD0.3 billion) for 100,000 personal computers and printers.

Nearly 80 percent of all procurement opportunities for FY23 will be open to SMEs.

Government ICT contracts will include environmental sustainability criteria from 2024. Sustainability will constitute five percent of the tender evaluation. The government is also working towards reducing the cloud infrastructure carbon footprint in GCC and government data centers to meet BCA-IMDA Green Mark standards.  They will optimize code reuse for cloud projects, increasing the containerization of applications and usage of microservices to further automate and streamline the application development process in FY24.

More than half of spending will go towards application development to deliver “better human-centric digital services.” 

The newly announced Digital Connectivity Blueprint outlines Singapore’s strategic priorities to stay ahead of the curve. Singapore will continue investing early to ensure its future-ready digital infrastructure.

Singapore will double down on the following strategic priorities:

1. Double submarine cable landings within the next ten years – potential to catalyze SGD10 billion (USD7.4 billion).
2. Build seamless end-to-end 10 Gbps domestic connectivity within the next five years – commence upgrade in mid-2024.
3. Ensure resilience and security for our digital infrastructure by working with providers to enhance transparency, accountability for stability, and security risk in computing infrastructure.
4. Pioneer a roadmap to grow new Green Data Centres and push the sustainability envelope – requires SGD10-12 billion(USD 7.4 -8.9 billion) in investments.  
5. Drive greater adoption of the Singapore Digital Utility Stack to expand the benefits of seamless digital transactions. 

Additionally, Singapore will work in developing areas to reap future opportunities:

1. Advance Quantum-safe Singapore within the next ten years.
2. Put in place foundations for pervasive autonomy.
3. “Green software” to mitigate intensified computing. Building the nascent ecosystem for sustainable software.
4. Enable innovative solutions with Low Earth Orbit satellite services in critical industries.

To find out more about how the Commercial Service can help you tap into these procurement opportunities, please contact Commercial Specialist Amelia Yeo.