Information Technology Application in Emerging Economies : A Monograph of Symposium at HICSS 40

“An Intelligent Nation, a Global City, powered by Infocomm”, this is Singapore’s vision unveiled in June 2006. The 10-year multi-billion dollar IT plan known as the Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) –– is Singapore’s latest information and communication technology (ICT) roadmap that focuses on three concepts “innovation, integration and internationalization” to create a digital ecosystem that contributes to enhancing the social well being as well as to develop a sustainable competitive economy in Singapore. Singapore’s concerted efforts in deploying the use information technologies (IT) goes back to the early 1980s. Today, IT investments have pay off as IT has been deployed pervasively in government, businesses, and homes. The IT industry has also contributed a successful digital economy for Singapore. Singapore’s IT successes are attributed to its policy makers who had the foresight and vision to provide comprehensive IT plans, map proactive strategies, and execute the IT plans effectively. Since the country’s first IT plan on computerizing government agencies, the government has consistently implemented a 5-year strategic IT plan to harness the potentials of IT so as to transform all facets of living, at work, at play and at home. Most plans are articulated to tap on the opportunities provided by technological advancements and also considering the competitive environments at the time. For example, in the early days, it was simply to computerize for efficiencies and productivity, however, as the world moved into Internet technologies, Singapore responded with its IT2000 plan to build a National Information Infrastructure (NII) to wire up the island into an Intelligent Island connected by Singapore ONE (one network for everyone), a nation-wide network. ‘Connected Singapore’ emphasize the potentials of the convergence of computing, communication and content, and more recently, iN2015 aims to create Singapore as a choice for the world’s digital hub using ubiquitous and intelligent digital technologies. Singapore’s innovative, dynamic and forward-looking IT blueprints have impressed and attracted attention form many countries, with some emulating the Republic’s approaches and policies whilst others such as Jordan, Kuwait, Middle East, and Sri Lanka are seeking Singapore’s advice in developing similar Singapore’s e-Government solutions which have been ranked highly in international benchmarking studies. Using the supply-push and demand-pull model, this paper provides an analysis of how Singapore conceptualizes and develops the fundamental information infrastructure to create its digital