NCS Partners Global Players To Advance A Collaborative, Empowered and Safer Tomorrow

Collaborates with seven industry leaders to address escalating cyber threats and leverage data insights and artificial intelligence (AI) with confidence.

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 7 September 2023 - NCS today announced seven transformative partnerships with Dell Technologies, Mandiant, and Visa as well as AI Singapore, Assurity Trusted Solutions, Globe Group (Philippines) and Singapore Institute of Directors to provide enterprises and governments the combined expertise of industry leaders and best in class solutions together with NCS' end-to-end tech services. This enables organisations to harness cybersecurity, Generative AI and other technologies with confidence, so they develop the resilience to thrive in a rapidly evolving business landscape.

Based on a shared vision of harnessing technology and innovation, the partnerships were announced at the NCS' inaugural Impact forum that brought together over 1,000 decision makers and distinguished experts from enterprises and governments across Asia Pacific (APAC).

Ng Kuo Pin, CEO of NCS, said, "Today's world is not an easy one to navigate. Businesses and governments face complexities on many fronts, such as geopolitical tensions, technology inflexion and changing expectations of work. To address these challenges and rise above the turbulence, there's a need to ask the right questions, starting with what matters most to us as communities and how we can make tomorrow safer, empowered and collaborative."

"None of us have all the answers. We believe collaboration is the way everyone can harness technology more confidently to achieve the outcomes we want. Through our partnerships with global and leading players to harness AI, Metaverse, Digital Trust and other technologies, clients can tap into NCS' expanded capabilities and networks for advanced and comprehensive solutions, and together, we can better navigate the multiple complexities," Kuo Pin added.

Make Tomorrow Safer – Creating Advanced Cybersecurity Solutions

The growth of the digital economy has brought about escalating digital threats, where damage from cyberattacks could amount to about US$10.5 trillion annually by 2025 – a 300 percent increase from 2015 levels.[1] To mitigate these threats, NCS has partnered Mandiant, now part of Google Cloud, to deliver secure large-scale implementations with Mandiant's intelligence-led, multi-vendor approach to cybersecurity.

The partnership leverages joint deep expertise to secure enterprises' digital infrastructure with end-to-end comprehensive cybersecurity capabilities and services, specifically in the areas of cyber threat intelligence and governance, risk and compliance (GRC). NCS and Mandiant will jointly offer a suite of industry-leading solutions and services. This includes Security Validation, Threat Hunting, Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR), Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC), and CISO Advisory.

In addition, they will jointly conduct research and development on Generative AI for cybersecurity and explore opportunities to develop solutions for Cyber Risk Management in the emerging AI space. This will accelerate the development of products and solutions to strengthen digital trust and enable enterprises to use AI technology more confidently.

Eric Hoh, Mandiant's President for JAPAC, Google Cloud, said, "We are excited about our partnership with NCS, which marks a significant step in enhancing cybersecurity for enterprises. By combining NCS' technology services expertise and Mandiant's global expertise in cybersecurity, we are able to help businesses better safeguard their digital assets and maintain trust with their customers. Together, we are committed to providing enterprises with cutting-edge cybersecurity capabilities, helping to ensure their digital transformation journey remains secure and successful."

The proliferation of online scams and phishing emails has led to greater concerns about personal data theft, malware attacks, and online scams. In exploration of a collaboration with Assurity Trusted Solutions (Assurity), NCS will work with clients to tackle these concerns, creating a safer digital landscape by providing solutions in email security and other areas.

"We are delighted to explore this collaboration with NCS. With its extensive reach across the partnership ecosystem, we aim to bring innovative products and services that enhance the cyber resiliency of enterprises," said Lim Bee Kwan, CEO, Assurity Trusted Solutions.

Make Tomorrow Empowered – Driving AI Development

In an increasingly competitive landscape, more enterprises are looking to adopt and invest in AI solutions to drive operational optimisation and make better decisions. AI spending in APAC is expected to grow to US$49.2 billion in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.5% from 2021 to 2026.[2] To address growing demand, NCS and Dell Technologies (Dell) have entered into a landmark collaboration to bring secure and localised Generative AI solutions to enterprises across Asia Pacific and Japan. This partnership will empower businesses in Singapore, Australia, and Southeast Asia to deploy AI tools at scale and securely on-premise.

Under this partnership, Dell will provide its cutting-edge full-stack technology developed jointly with NVIDIA. Enterprises can engage NCS for a "Quick-Start" AI-acceleration bundle to jumpstart and embark on their Generative AI journey quickly, with an option to adopt a GPU-as-a-Service offering, leveraging on Dell's APEX Compute program.

Dell will provide the foundation for evaluation, trial, and development of Generative AI solutions, while NCS will bring Generative AI consultancy and implementation services to clients. Building upon Dell Validated Design for Generative AI platform, NCS will introduce a suite of offerings including Kai Sense (an open video AI platform to automate business operations), Ins8 AI (a hyperlocal automated speech recognition solution) and NEXTgpt (an open multi-modal platform to build and test Generative AI applications quickly). Together, the collaboration addresses a spectrum of use cases, from sophisticated chatbots to proactive campus security video monitoring.

Ng Tian Beng, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific & Japan Channel, Dell Technologies, said, "We are excited to join forces with NCS to pioneer cutting-edge AI solutions empowering organisations in Asia Pacific and Japan to harness Generative AI securely while placing data privacy at the forefront. Our full-stack Generative AI solutions are built on the best of Dell infrastructure and software, in combination with the latest NVIDIA accelerators, AI software and expertise. This partnership stands testament to our shared commitment to reshape industries, establish trust as a fundamental requirement and ensure innovation with integrity."

NCS and AI Singapore (AISG), the national AI programme launched by the National Research Foundation, Singapore, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly explore and develop Generative AI Technologies and Applied AI Solutions to drive innovation, create impactful solutions, and strengthen Singapore's position in the global AI landscape.

This partnership leverages AISG's expertise in deep AI capabilities and NCS' extensive experience in providing technology, cybersecurity, and digital solutions in the Asia Pacific region. The partners will also work together to build stronger connections with local communities and foster sustainable growth for the industry. This collaboration adds to NCS' aim to deliver experiences and possibilities that will advance communities through breakthrough innovation in areas including experience design and digital twins.

Dr Leslie Teo, Senior Director of AI Products, AISG said, "We are excited about this collaboration with NCS. NCS has extensive experience in delivering large-scale projects and can build on our open AI research capabilities. We hope this partnership will grow the local talent, foster the AI ecosystem, and place Singapore at the forefront of AI innovation on the global stage."

Make Tomorrow Collaborative – PIONEERING NEW SERVICES JOINTLY

DataSpark, an NCS subsidiary that provides highly accurate and privacy-centric geospatial mobility data, inked a partnership with Visa to provide data insights for commercial property, retail, tourism, government, and telco organisations. Through this partnership, enterprises and governments will be able to harness the power of highly accurate and anonymised mobility data and depersonalised, aggregated transactional data to better meet consumers' preferences, reduce business risks, and create new opportunities.

For example, tourism promotion agencies can use the insights to understand visitor behaviour, inclinations, and spending patterns. This allows them to plan resources more effectively, develop more engaging visits through tailored messaging, and optimise marketing and data-driven investment strategies for key destinations. For retail establishments, stakeholders can utilise DataSpark's powerful location analytics with Visa's world-leading depersonalised and aggregated transactional data to not only understand and serve their customers better, but also analyse international audience consumption patterns to encourage brands to expand into new markets. This unparalleled approach is set to bring novel shopping experiences to these markets.

NCS and Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) have forged a transformative partnership to create a prototype for SIDgpt, a Generative AI-powered contextual search engine. This engine will cater specifically to SID members, providing them with precise and pertinent answers in natural language format to questions relating to directorship and governance. By integrating NCS' advanced Generative AI technologies with SID's knowledge base comprising board guides, articles on best practices, case studies, as well as relevant rules and guidelines from regulatory bodies, the collaboration seeks to enrich SID members' learning and increase their awareness and understanding of directorship matters.

Wong Su-Yen, Chair of the Singapore Institute of Directors said, "In this era of rapid digital transformation, boards and directors must enhance their digital literacy to adeptly navigate the evolving landscape of risks and opportunities. We are proud to harness the advanced technologies and expertise of NCS by piloting SIDgpt, a cutting-edge generative AI-powered contextual search engine for directorship and corporate governance. This collaboration empowers SID members to elevate their digital proficiency as well as experience firsthand the potential of AI in their roles as board directors. We extend our gratitude to NCS, a founding partner of the SID Governance for Good Alliance, for their dedicated partnership and for facilitating our agile learning and growth as an institute."

NCS and Globe, a leading digital platform in the Philippines with major holdings in telecommunications, fintech, and healthtech, have inked an MOU that fortifies their current engagement on improving Globe's Enterprise architecture and ICT capabilities. With NCS continuing its role as a key solution partner, Globe aims to further the digital aspirations of companies and enterprises in the Philippines that will bring tangible transformative benefits to local communities.

Globe Chief Finance Officer, Rizza Maniego-Eala said, "We are pleased with the on-going collaboration with NCS and their continued support to Globe's ICT ambitions as we continue to go through our strategic digital journey. This continued engagement stands as a testament to both companies' commitments to better serve the needs of clients. Leveraging NCS' technological capabilities and consulting expertise in the telco domain, we continue our efforts on developing next-generation solutions that will drive Globe's digital transformation for improved operational flexibility, efficiency and time-to-market."

About NCS Impact

The inaugural NCS Impact is a by-invite forum aimed at providing a platform for governments and enterprises to have conversations and exchange ideas on navigating challenges in an increasingly complex world. It also aims to foster collaboration in harnessing technology to advance communities. Held at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, the forum included close to 50 speakers from private and public organisations, such as Chengtun Mining Group, Dell Technologies, GovTech, Insurance Australia Group, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, SAP, SingPost, Temasek Holdings, xFusion and many more.

Along the theme of "Asking the Right Questions", the speakers shed light on the impact of the various socio-political, economic, and environmental turbulences, the pivotal role of technology in overcoming challenges, and how organisations can build resilience and trust while unleashing innovation.

The discussions also examined the divergent technological landscapes that have formed across markets with increased enterprise cybersecurity and national security demands.

For a full list of speakers and programme details, please visit ncsimpact.co.

Resources
Annex A: Factsheet on strategic partnerships announced at NCS Impact 2023
Hashtag: #NCS #Dell #Mandiant #Visa #AISG #Assurity #Globe #SingaporeInstituteDirectors


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About NCS

NCS, a subsidiary of Singtel Group, is a leading technology services firm with presence in Asia Pacific and partners with governments and enterprises to advance communities through technology. Combining the experience and expertise of its 12,000-strong team across 69 specialisations, NCS provides differentiated and end-to-end technology services to clients with its NEXT capabilities in digital, data, cloud and platforms, as well as core offerings in application, infrastructure, engineering and cybersecurity. NCS also believes in building a strong partner ecosystem with leading technology players, research institutions and start-ups to support open innovation and co-creation. For more information, visit ncs.co.