Diversity of thought creates an innovation mindset which, in turn, uses a process of constant iteration to develop products and services. It is this process that will help businesses thrive in uncertain times.
Singtel combines this diversity of thought with innovation to produce efficiency-focused technologies such as Singtel Paragon. Working with partners and customers to bring different perspectives on 5G use cases helped build the revolutionary platform and create an industry-first for 5G edge computing and cloud services.
There is no doubt that uncertainty requires innovation. Without knowing if raw materials, factories or the workforce will be available tomorrow, business leaders cannot thrive without adopting new technologies and approaches to these challenges. Increasing efforts to digitise operations and automate processes will allow us to tackle never-been-seen problems at the pace at which they arrive.
Digitalisation
Climate uncertainty impacts multiple areas of our business, so we must commit to decarbonisation. But this move to a global, net-zero economy is not without cost, and an estimated USD$3.5 trillion must be sourced to fund the transition. Taking into account the rising cost of energy, steel and concrete, this eye-watering figure is still less than the cost of doing nothing.3
Digitalisation will play a critical role in this transition by reducing overhead costs from resource use and waste. In industrial processes, for example, digitalisation from IIoT will direct energy only where needed and shut down parts of the production line that are otherwise idle.
Singtel’s collaboration with Intel is one of these digitalisation efforts in practice. By creating a 5G Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) incubator, the collaboration aims to help enterprises adopt 5G-powered services and infiltrate more aspects of daily business operations. In times of rapid uncertainty, this means deploying applications that need low-latency processing at the edge and accelerating the transition to digital services.
Automation
Using AI to complete tasks removes the uncertainty of workforce availability and downtime. These savings are significant; using Robotic Process Automation (RPA), it is possible to automate up to 70% of a typical, rules-based process.4
With fossil fuel energy sources becoming increasingly unreliable and costly, the switch to electricity-powered, automated machines also builds resilience in uncertainty. Electric machines create significantly fewer emissions than fossil-fuelled, manually operated ones and deliver the flexibility, scalability and consistency that human-driven machines cannot. Also, robots don’t have the energy requirements of humans, who need lighting, heat and cooling to work.
Singtel joined forces with Accenture to create an efficient, automated operation in the form of a 5G-connected warehouse for the pharmaceutical company Zuellig Pharma. The warehouse uses automated solutions to improve efficiencies such as inventory visibility, worker safety and throughput (the number of orders fulfilled). Applying 5G in this way allows for automation at a speed not seen in the pre-5G era.