In the book “The Future is Faster Than You Think!”, the authors examine how
the convergence of
technologies is changing our
lives faster than we can
imagine. Consider these
examples given in the book.
In 2015, we have about 15
billion connected devices;
by 2030, the number is
projected to go up to 500
billion. And, how in less
than two decades after the
arrival of the internet,
Google and Facebook together
now command more advertising
dollars than all the print
media on the planet.
Are you ready for the
future? The immediate future
we face, unfortunately, must
account for COVID-19. On a
positive note, COVID-19 has
been an impetus for many
countries around the world
to spur their digital
transformation. In
Singapore, digitalisation
has been going on for some
time, but with the pandemic,
the Government will
accelerate the process
further by pledging a 30%
increase in ICT spending
this year (estimated total
spending of $3.5 billion).
Indeed, we see that
businesses with a strong
online presence weathered
the Circuit Breaker better.
For businesses that have yet
to come onboard, Government
has launched various
measures to make
digitalisation more
accessible amid COVID-19.
For example, the “Stay
Healthy, Go Digital”
initiative by IMDA and
Enterprise Singapore
provides funding for
businesses to build digital
capabilities and covers
costs for hardware,
software, cybersecurity and
so on. Now, therefore, is an
opportune time to start
thinking about how to better
equip your business for the
future.
As the future brings about
increased digitalisation,
innovation and growth can
only happen alongside robust
data management practices.
The role of a DPO will
correspondingly become
increasingly important and
multi-faceted. To remain
relevant, a DPO’s role
should evolve from being a
gatekeeper, to actively
helping your organisation
embrace and harness the
power of data. Have you prepared
yourself to fulfil the
role of the
future-DPO? Our DPO Competency
Framework and Training
Roadmap sets out the skills
a DPO should have in this
regard. It is a unique
approach in that we place
equal emphasis on skills to
manage data responsibly as
well as skills that support
your organisation’s
innovation journey. This
approach reflects our view
of what an ideal DPO should
be: a facilitator, advocate,
and internal partner to
business units who
understands the value of
data and customer trust. I
encourage you to use the
framework to assess your
competencies and to
undertake the relevant
training to plug any gaps.
COVID-19 had created much
uncertainty and bad news all
round. As PDPC’s new
Commissioner, I would like
to take this opportunity to
renew PDPC’s commitment that
we will continue to foster
an environment of trust and
innovation amongst
businesses and consumers.
With this, we hope to help
businesses build up the
necessary resilience to meet
the challenges the future
may bring; COVID-19 and
beyond. Let’s navigate the
future together.
