Digitising workflows and business processes allows companies to be more productive, remain connected with their clientele, and better customise the solutions to the marketplace.

We are also seeing a faster growth in the e-commerce space, as more companies are turning to online channels to reach out to potential consumers. As the e-commerce matures in terms of use in Singapore, opportunities for growth are become more apparent for companies providing support to e-commerce activities like electronic point of sales (EPOS), e-payments, virtual helpdesks and marketplace integration solutions.

2. Digital Healthcare & EdTech in the spotlight. The COVID-19 outbreak has fueled demand for digital health and education technologies (EdTech), and Temasek Holdings has started looking into actively investing in these sectors. A research compiled jointly by Temasek, Google and Bain & Co have shown that usage for digital healthcare and education apps have grown significantly during the pandemic.

It may well be boom-time for digital health and EdTech companies, as they race to meet demand for such digital services especially in countries that gone back into semi- or full lockdown in the region, such as Hong Kong, Vietnam and Japan due to resurgence of the virus.

3. Cybersecurity & data protection are a must. You may have come across phishing emails designed to make you think Google, Amazon, Paypal or Stripe have issues with your online payments. Some of you may already have fallen victim to such scams and unwittingly clicked “reply” with your personal and (gasp) credit card details.

Cybercrimes continue to be on the rise, and is estimated to cost SGD 8 trillion by 2021, more than the global drug trade combined. Cybercrime is probably the single greatest threat to the digital revolution, and is ever-growing in terms of sophistication and complexity. Unlike what many may think, hacking, computer viruses and malware form only a small part of cybercrime, with the majority of online criminal activities focused on identity fraud (stealing and using personal particulars online), cyberextortion and ransomware attacks, and credit card payment fraud.

Another food for thought: cybercriminals don’t necessarily target only large corporations – in fact, they probably do better targeting individual employees and smaller companies because the cyber vulnerabilities are more apparent and pronounced, which is why you may want to look into your cybersecurity and data protection measures seriously.