The 2025 Budget of Singapore brings a ray of hope with a $150 million allocation in the Enterprise Compute Initiative, a move that promises to revolutionise business operations through the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).
"Under this initiative, eligible enterprises will be partnered with major cloud service providers to access AI tools and computing power, as well as expert consultancy services. This will help enterprises leverage AI more effectively in their transformation journey," Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong explained.
Highly welcome
Simon Lee, senior vice president and managing director of Asia-Pacific and Japan at New Relic, strongly advocates the initiative, believing it will propel Singapore's National AI strategy to new heights.
"The Enterprise Compute Initiative in the Singapore Budget is highly welcome, as it will further advance the nation's vision to become the driver of global AI collaboration and development as outlined in National AI Strategy 2.0. Singapore's strong interest in emerging technologies puts the nation in good stead with practices like observability," Lee said.
Mark Tan, vice president and country general manager for Tech Data Singapore, called the initiative "heartening."
"As local firms seek to compete with local and international players, initiatives like Enterprise Compute will be key to augmenting digitalisation and transforming the enterprise ecosystem. High-growth technologies such as AI, networking, cloud, and security will be critical to this transformation; per our estimates, channel partners in Asia Pacific & Japan are already seeing a growing demand for these technologies," Tan continued.
Security amidst AI adoption
While he acknowledges the initiative as a 'noteworthy step forward' toward business growth, Steven Scheurmann, regional vice president for ASEAN of Palo Alto Networks, underscores the crucial importance of ensuring the security and protection of sensitive data and intellectual property in AI adoption.
"This means building AI with security embedded from the start—reducing data exposure, strengthening compliance, and ensuring robust protections throughout its lifecycle. AI-driven efficiencies should not come at the cost of cybersecurity risks. By embedding security at the core of AI adoption, businesses can harness its full potential while safeguarding their most valuable assets," he added.
