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DIRECTORY OF SINGAPORE PROCESS & CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES 2021/2022
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS |
“To promote member’s adoption of Digitalisation, Innovation and Technology so as to enhance their productivity and competitiveness”
Digitalisation, Innovation & Technology Adoption (DITA)
HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY, TRANSFORMING BUSINESSES: SESSION 1
W ith more companies adopting digital tools to increase productivity and overcome challenges caused by the pandemic, ASPRI launched a new webinar
series on 25 November 2020 for its members.
Titled “Harnessing Technology, Transforming Businesses”, it was initiated by ASPRI’s Digitalisation, Innovation & Technology Adoption (DITA) Workgroup to encourage members to come forward to share their journey in implementing digital solutions.
Mr Danny Chua, Secretary of ASPRI’s 13th Executive Council and the Lead of ASPRI’s DITA Workgroup, opened the first session of the webinar by highlighting the benefits of digitalisation and called on industry members to persevere during this period.
Members then learned from Mr Alagu Thirunavirkarasu, Director of Universal Solution Pte Ltd, how his company had used Microsoft Office 365 Cloud to transform the way his company worked remotely during the pandemic.
Universal Solution is a specialist in the design fabrication, testing and installation of heat exchangers, pressure vessels, tanks and site piping. With a workforce of less than 50,
including 15 in engineering and administration, the company does not have an IT department.
In its early years, the company relied on local network-attached storage (NAS) to store documents. Any form of back-up was also stored in the NAS. Unfortunately, the company’s email network was a victim of email spoofing, and as a result, the company lost a lot of money in a bogus online transaction. The company’s documents were also compromised as its network was infected by malware. With the use of NAS, Mr Alagu also found that whenever his staff needed to access files urgently, they would have to return to the office as documents could only be retrieved from the office system.
Not wanting to face a similar experience again, Mr Alagu decided to adopt a digital workflow. After much consideration, the
company decided on Microsoft 365, mainly OneDrive, SharePoint, Outlook, and Teams.
The implementation of these programs is a tremendous boost for the company. Unlike the past, Mr Alagu said staff do not have to return to the office to retrieve documents as all the documents are stored online and can be retrieved from any location with an Internet connection. Productivity has also increased as staff can access documents for easy collaboration. They can also make changes to the documents, which are instantaneously updated on the Cloud.
Meetings have become easier with the adoption of Microsoft Teams. Mr Alagu even opted for an add-on called Planner, which can be seamlessly integrated into Teams. Planner allows him to assign tasks to staff and monitor their progress.
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