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NTT around the World  NTT Singapore
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| † | NTT Singapore Pte Ltd 20 Cecil Street Equity Plaza #11-01/08 Singapore 049705 |
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1. Introduction
Singapore is renowned as one of the most business-friendly environments. It is also rapidly emerging as an ideal location for the centralisation of services such as information and communications technology (ICT), finance, and logistics. The Singapore Government is making proactive efforts to facilitate the adoption of ICT technologies by various industries such as manufacturing, financial, logistics, and healthcare to enhance Singapore’s competitiveness and position it as a regional hub [1]. Singapore is one of the key nodes in the global networks of many of the top technology companies: a strong testament to Singapore’s strategic position as a global ICT hub (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Marina Bay Sands—Currently the No. 1 Singapore landmark.
NTT Singapore [2], which established in 1997, is a subsidiary of NTT Communications (NTT Com) [3], the long-distance and international telecommunications provider in the NTT Group. It started out as a systems integrator providing information technology (IT) services mainly to Japanese companies in Singapore. Over the years, it has evolved to provide a whole suite of ICT solutions to enterprises worldwide (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Equity Plaza Building, in which the NTT Singapore office is located.
2. Growth and development
2.1 Partnerships and collaborations
In order to offer high-quality end-to-end solutions, NTT Singapore has been actively expanding to include more services to better serve the needs of its customers. Its parent company, NTT Com has acquired Integralis [4], which specializes in security services, to enhance its managed services. NTT Com has also acquired GlobeSoft Pte Ltd (Emerio) [5], a global IT outsourcing service provider, to reinforce its IT outsourcing capabilities around the world. With Dimension Data [6] having joined the NTT Group and with working partnerships having been established with StarHub and Orange Business, NTT Singapore is well positioned to serve the needs of multinational companies.
2.2 Investments
In April 2010, NTT Com’s Arcstar™* Global IP-VPN became the first international IP-VPN service provided by a Japanese telecommunications company to support IPv4/IPv6 dual stack (IP: Internet protocol, VPN: virtual private network, v4: version 4, v6: version 6).
In response to the growing demand for cloud services, NTT Com offers Global Virtualization Services (GVS) [7] in several countries, including Singapore. NTT Singapore’s GVS offers a suite of virtual hosting services for the Singapore market. It is a dedicated virtualisation infrastructure and virtualised network with improved server availability and enhanced network security. It enables end-users to manage their virtualised server clusters, which can be located in Singapore or elsewhere.
With the positioning of Singapore as the global ICT hub, NTT Com has invested in the Serangoon Data Center, its first greenfield datacentre outside Japan. We expect the new datacentre to significantly upgrade our world-class ICT solutions and quality of service for enterprise customers, especially for multinationals with multi-hub operations in Asia. Our datacentre will also boast a large-capacity backbone for high-speed, seamless rack-to-rack connectivity between core datacentres in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and the USA.
The Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE), constructed by a consortium of NTT Com, Malaysia-based Telekom Malaysia, Philippines-based PLDT, and Singapore-based StarHub, will serve Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. A separate route to Hong Kong will be added in December 2012. ASE will be equipped with the latest 40-Gbit/s optical technology, which will boost the capacity and strengthen the redundancy of NTT Com’s Asian cable networks. It can also incorporate 100-Gbit/s optical technology in the future. ASE is specially designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons, particularly in areas such as the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan. Routes between Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore will take the shortest possible distances to maximise reliability and minimise latency.
| * | Arcstar is a registered trademark of NTT Communications. |
3. Services
3.1 ICT solutions portfolio
The main ICT solutions provided by NTT Singapore are listed in Table 1 below.
Table 1. ICT solutions portfolio.
e-Kamo
Our NTT i-net Mascot
e-Kamo (from the Japanese ii kamo, meaning not bad).
3.2 One-stop solutions
NTT Singapore is rapidly expanding to cater to the needs of enterprises. The ability to offer a one-stop shop for customized solutions, coupled with NTT Com’s strengths in global connectivity, makes NTT Singapore an ideal ICT partner for many enterprises. With new partnerships and with the Serangoon Data Center coming online soon, NTT Singapore is set to take centre stage in Singapore’s ICT arena.
3.3 High-quality consumer Internet services
NTT Singapore has built a reputation as a leading provider of end-to-end network and IT solutions for multinational corporations. We currently provide the same high-quality solutions and exemplary customer service to residential customers as well. If you are planning to stay in Singapore, please sign up for our Internet plans [8].
References
| [1] | IDA Singapore (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, under the Government of Singapore). http://www.ida.gov.sg |
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| [2] | NTT Singapore. http://www.sg.ntt.com/en/about-us.html |
| [3] | NTT Communications.
http://www.ntt.com/ |
| [4] | NTT Com press release.
http://www.ntt.com/aboutus_e/news/data/20091019.html |
| [5] | NTT Com press release.
http://www.ntt.com/aboutus_e/news/data/20100422.html |
| [6] | Dimension Data. http://www.dimensiondata.com/ |
| [7] | GVS. http://www.sg.ntt.com/en/business/data-center-services/hosting-and-managed-services/global-virtualization-services.html |
| [8] | http://www.sg.ntt.com/en/residential |
NTT Singapore—short column
Singapore is a multiracial country and its ethnic diversity is reflected in the food it offers. The food is influenced by the native Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, India, as well as Western traditions since the founding of Singapore by the British in the 19th century. Traces of cuisines such as Thai and Middle Eastern also exist in local food culture.
Lau Pa Sat Festival Market, the largest Hogarths (food stall village) market that opens 24 hours, 365 days.
Inside the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market.
If you visit Singapore, the following are dishes you should try.
1) Hainanese Chicken Rice (though not available on Hainan island)
2) Singapore Laksa
3) Black Pepper Crab (a favourite among many Japanese expatriates)
4) Bak Kut The (pork ribs in spiced soup)
5) Rojak (a mixture of fried dough, pineapple, dried bean curd, fruits, and vegetables in prawn bean paste)
Chicken rice is a famous type of local food, as seen in a restaurant at Lau Pa Sat.
Menus at a food court at the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market.
Did you know that in Singapore’s Central Business District you can reserve a seat simply by putting a packet of tissues on it? Owing to the limited time for lunch, people have started putting tissue packets on seats to reserve them while they queue at the food counter. This trend has led to some indigenous suppliers starting to print “Seat Reserved” on their tissue packets!
Other common items used to reserve seats include newspapers, umbrellas, and even company ID badges. If someone forgets to remove the tissues, the seat may be left empty all day. When you visit Singapore, do keep a packet of tissues with you. It will come in handy when you need to find a seat!
The packets of tissues mean the seats here are reserved.