News

Singapore -- June 2, 2009: ILOG, an IBM company, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) and NCS with the support of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), today announced the renewal of Asia’s first Enterprise Business Rule Solutions Centre (EBRSC) collaboration for another three years.

Mr Martin Chee, General Manager, IBM Software Group, Mr Chan Lee Mun, Principal & CEO of NYP, and Mr Lim Eng, CEO of NCS Group, reiterated the commitment on the EBRSC by signing a memorandum-of-understanding (MoU) today at NYP. It was witnessed by Mr Andrew Khaw, Senior Director of IDA’s Industry Development Group.

The collaboration to establish the first Enterprise Business Rule Solutions Centre in Asia began in July 2006 between ILOG, the then Singapore Computer Systems (SCS) which was acquired by NCS, and NYP. The goal was to accelerate the adoption of Business Rules technology* and train manpower with the right skill set to meet the increasing use of business rule management system (BRMS) in companies**.

Located in NYP, the Centre trains students through academic modules, industrial attachments and final year projects. Since its 2006 opening, the Centre has trained close to 800 students and completed 10 joint industry projects.

The completed joint industry projects, developed by NYP staff and students, were also used as case studies for teaching business rules technology in NYP. These projects involved various sectors including banking, insurance, government, medical, energy, education and defense.

With demand for ILOG’s BRMS technology still growing at 27 percent in the first quarter of 2009, ILOG, NCS and NYP are committed to continue this successful partnership to leverage the current technical exchange on BRMS technologies and augment current capabilities with visualization solutions.

Together with NCS project teams and ILOG consultants, NYP staff and students will continue to undertake projects to help industry partners accelerate the adoption of Business Rules and Visualization technologies and at the same time develop capabilities for industry needs. Through industrial attachments to NCS and ILOG, the students are also given another dimension to their training.

“Our world is getting increasingly interconnected and complex. To achieve a smarter planet, with constantly improving efficiency and productivity, and stakeholders who take responsibilities for their actions, we have to think and act in new ways. IBM ILOG BRMS is a proven technology for improving systems and processes, and has tremendous opportunities in Asia. We are pleased to build upon our successful collaboration with NYP and NCS, with the support of IDA, and continue the commitment for another three years. The renewed collaboration will continue to accelerate business rule adoption, train manpower with the right skill sets, enhance and strengthen our partners’ ecosystem, and contribute to our promise of ensuring our clients’ success, when they invest in IBM technology,” said Mr Foo Jong Tong, Vice President, Asia Pacific, ILOG, an IBM Company. “

Mr Lim Eng, CEO of NCS said, "We continue to see more companies wanting to modify business rules within their IT systems to respond quickly to business policy and regulatory changes. This industry-shaping collaboration will help develop and enlarge our pool of higher-value ICT professionals to assist organisations to move to rules-based systems. As a leading ICT player in the Asia Pacific, and one of Singapore’s largest ICT employers, NCS will play a driving role to bridge the academic and commercial sectors, providing real industry opportunities for the next generation of Business Rule professionals.”

“NYP is pleased to foster a closer partnership with ILOG, and NCS in our continued collaboration in the Enterprise Business Rule Solutions Centre. With ILOG now an IBM company, we see greater synergy in our partnership and we are happy that IDA is continuing to support our collaboration. NYP remains committed to working with the industry to deliver enterprise solutions using Business Rules technology. We expect more interest from the industry especially now with the integration of Business Rules software into IBM’s WebSphere suite. NYP’s capabilities in Web 2.0 technologies, Web Services, Enterprise SOA, Software Quality and IT Security, will add value to this collaboration. Our students will also benefit greatly through working on industry projects that the Centre is engages in,” said Mr John Tan, Deputy Principal/Technology, NYP.

Mr Andrew Khaw, Senior Director, Industry Development Group of the IDA added, “In today's fast paced and highly competitive environment, it is important that our manpower acquire the relevant skills and experience to support their organisations and businesses. The Enterprise Business Rule Solutions Centre is a good initiative that will help students acquire the technical know-how in BRMS, gain invaluable exposure through industry projects, and eventually prepare them for work life. The development of the necessary infocomm manpower to support our industries and national projects will contribute towards realising Singapore's iN2015 vision of an intelligent nation, global city powered by infocomm."

* A Business Rule Management System (BRMS) is software that allows organizations to define, deploy, monitor and maintain decisions and policies used by business systems. Because a BRMS allow fast-changing policies to be maintained separately from the rest of a software application, they have become an ideal solution for managing and facilitating business change by giving non-technical people effective control over the definition and ongoing maintenance of decisions and policies. As a result of implementing a BRMS, organizations can achieve: improved regulatory compliance and operational efficiency through increased decision automation; enhanced profitability through more precise and targeted product, pricing and promotional offerings; and competitive advantage by enabling faster response to changing business conditions. In addition, a BRMS lowers application maintenance costs, ensures more consistent business policy implementation across applications, and improves collaboration between IT and Business departments.

** Revenue in the worldwide business rules management systems (BRMS) market increased by 11.4% from $234.2 million in 2006 to $260.8 million in 2007, and ILOG has been designated as the clear Business Rules Management Systems (BRMS) market leader, according to IDC in the report "Worldwide Business Rules Management Systems 2008 – 2012 Forecast and 2007 Vendor Shares"

About ILOG
ILOG, an IBM Company, delivers software and services that empower customers to make better decisions faster and manage change and complexity. Over 3,000 corporations and more than 465 leading software vendors rely on ILOG's market-leading business rule management systems (BRMS), supply chain applications and optimization and visualization software components, to achieve dramatic returns on investment, create market-defining products and services, and sharpen their competitive edge. ILOG was founded in 1987 and employs 850 people worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.ilog.com.

ABOUT IBM
For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com.

About NCS
NCS is a leading infocomm technology (ICT) and communications engineering service provider with more than 7,000 staff located in more than 10 countries across the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. With proven expertise in consulting, development, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure management and solutions gained while serving government and commercial organisations across the region, NCS delivers end-to-end support for every organisation’s technology needs. Headquartered in Singapore, NCS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SingTel Group. www.ncs.com.sg

About Nanyang Polytechnic
Established in 1992, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) (www.nyp.edu.sg) is a premier tertiary institution that offers quality education in Engineering, Information Technology, Design, Interactive & Digital Media, Business Management, Health Sciences and Chemical & Life Sciences. Currently, it offers 45 full-time diploma courses and a suite of customised courses for continuing education.

NYP constantly collaborates with the industry in cutting-edge technology projects, so as to provide relevance and a firm foundation for its students. As part of its capabilities development programme, the Polytechnic engages in applied R&D in core competencies such as Business Rule Solutions, Information Security, Service-Oriented Architecture, Web Services, Grid Computing, Enterprise Technology, Next Generation Network, and Wireless and Mobile Computing.

Media Contacts
ILOG (an IBM company)
Ter Hui Peng
Mobile: +65 96164869
Email: hpter@ilog.com.sg

NCS:
Mervin Wang
Mobile: +65 9798 6077
Email: mwangkp@ncs.com.sg

Nanyang Polytechnic:
Desmond Ho
DID: +65 6550-0225
Mobile: +65 9663-0918
Email: Desmond_Ho@nyp.gov.sg