CommerceNet Singapore

Last updated
CommerceNet Singapore Limited
Company type Public, Limited by Guarantee
Founded1997 location = Singapore
Key people
Charlie C. Tan, Founder (Singapore Chapter)
Tay Kheng Tiong, Chairman
Wong Jeh Shyan, CEO
Ramesh Vakkiprath, COO
Products Technology incubation
Catalyst Venture Funding
Online Certification
Number of employees
155 in group
Website www.cnsg.com.sg

CommerceNet Singapore is a not-for-profit organisation. It is part of the Palo Alto, California based global CommerceNet [1] [2] consortium of business partners that organises resources from the industry, plans and executes key strategies. CommerceNet Singapore seeks to sustain market initiatives that promote security, innovations and develop human, intellectual, financial and cultural capitals within the self-sustaining enterprise ecosystems. [3]

Contents

CommerceNet Singapore has also assisted and turned around failing technopreneurs and entrepreneurs; reviving start ups and advising corporate entities in financial difficulties often prior to their bankruptcies. It has become one of the organisations acting as a place of last resort for those seeking assistance in Singapore.

Goals

The consortium has been involved in initiatives that pioneer and advance new and usually untested technology. The consortium's main aim is to keep up a strategic role as a pilot project initiator. They usually influence and encourage innovation [4] and driving progress in new areas of operation through grants, market access and other technical assistance. Although the name implies the geographic region of Singapore, the consortium is known to operate beyond its territory. As most members of the consortium are MNCs operating out of Singapore, CommerceNet Singapore follows its members to new markets regionally. This anomaly occurred as Singapore is known to host the 'operation headquarters' of many MNCs. [5] [6]

CommerceNet Singapore has established a reputation as a neutral technology facilitator and catalyst. It helps create environments that encourage the flow of new ideas and concepts. Initial activities include creating a unified eCommerce and eBusiness movement. It is now the leading independent non-profit technology organisation in ASEAN. Member-driven initiatives today include diverse test-beds that advance eBusiness, industry-wide strategic initiatives, creation of business value, advanced education, mediation and certification worldwide. Among some of its better known certification is the TrustSg [7] [8] initiatives. It is one of the few organization still promoting online commerce in Singapore and ASEAN.

In a strong departure from its earlier years, from 2006, CommerceNet Singapore had refocused to take on and implement a portfolio mix of long-term and short-term initiatives. Among the initiatives requested by its members are those of high-risk, untried and theoretical ideas that fulfil the promise of the general commercialisation of technologies, especially pertaining to the Internet, and project finance.

The structure of CommerceNet Singapore is designed to be neutral, allowing it tap market intelligence for more effective decision-making. New complex programmes are usually designed, redefined during incubation process or when implemented by CommerceNet Singapore. The projects are usually for industry-wide application, with focus often resulting to lowering of transaction costs and allowing the creation of new categories of products and services.

Fundings for the consortium come largely from sponsorships, membership dues, government grants, pilot projects grants as well as project management fees.

History

The CommerceNet consortium history in Singapore is well documented. Its early days saw the consortium engaging many of the industry players in its daily activities. This has brought in large amount of financing to the consortium allowing it to grow rapidly.

The pro tem committee of CommerceNet Singapore signed the Global Partner MOU with CommerceNet. That brought Singapore member companies into the fold of the 500-strong CommerceNet members worldwide. The consortium also sits on Global Electronic Commerce Board (GECB). Following the MOU, CommerceNet Singapore was formed and incorporated in February 1998 as a not-for-profit public company limited by guarantee. Among the key initiators are entrepreneur Mr. Charlie Tan assisted by Dr. Toh See Kiat, [9] a former Member of Parliament in Singapore.

The first inaugural board meeting was held in March 1998. Membership grew rapidly, and by April 1998, the consortium achieved 20 funding members. The consortium sent its representatives to GECB meeting in Amsterdam in April 1998. The first corporate members' meeting was held in May 1998, setting the tone and pace of the consortium in Singapore. CommerceNet Singapore become the first Singapore organisation to launch XML and Metadata seminar, held in November 1998. The high-profile international seminar attracted a keen following with more and more industry players joining the consortium.

The consortium set its sights beyond its members and launched a Common Accreditation Scheme to Enhance Trust known as "CaseTrust" in collaboration with Retail Promotion Centre and Consumer Association of Singapore in April 1999. [10] It was a founding partner in Global Trustmark Alliance [11] with BBBOnLine. [12]

The consortium was promoting intellectual property protection, sitting on IP Taskforce [13] and had worked with Business Software Alliance (BSA) [14] to achieve its goal.

Projects

Investments

One specialty of CommerceNet Singapore is its ability to arrange funding for early-stage and high-risk projects. It has built a close working relationship with CNSG Consulting Group, which consists mostly of ex-CommerceNet Singapore's consultative partners, or CPs.

The common investment quantum varies from bite-size US$100,000 to syndicated US$10,000,000 for technological projects that have an industry-wide impact. Smaller amounts are usually given out as one-off grants, mostly to Singapore- and ASEAN-based companies. More than 515 companies in Singapore alone had received grants from CommerceNet Singapore from 2005 to end-2007, with the bulk approved for e-commerce and trustmark certification projects.

Partners

CommerceNet Singapore collaborates with international consortia and agencies like KIEC, [19] KOTBA, [20] KOTRA, JIPDEC, ECOM, IE Singapore, SEDB, Singapore IDA and others including private sector industrial R&D Labs as well as universities, colleges and institutes of higher learning. CommerceNet Singapore also played an active role in Asia Trustmark Alliance (ATA) and worked closely within ATA framework with bodies like GBDe. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telecommunications in Singapore</span> Description of telecommunications in Singapore

The telecommunication infrastructure of Singapore spans the entire city-state. Its development level is high, with close accessibility to the infrastructure from nearly all inhabited parts of the island and for all of the population, with exceptions. Today, the country is considered an international telecommunications hub, an achievement that was driven by Singapore's view that high-quality telecommunications is one of the critical factors that support its economic growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet Assigned Numbers Authority</span> Standards organization overseeing IP addresses

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System (DNS), media types, and other Internet Protocol–related symbols and Internet numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Chamber of Commerce</span> Business organization

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its over 45 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry</span> Non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. Dr. Anish Shah, Group CEO and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, is the current President of FICCI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group</span> Climate change organization

C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a group of 96 cities around the world that represents one twelfth of the world's population and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on fighting the climate crisis and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence F. Johnson</span> American futurist, author, and educator (born 1950)

Larry Johnson is an American futurist, author, and educator. Currently, Johnson serves as the Founder and CEO of EdFutures.org, an international think tank, and as a Senior Fellow of the Center for Digital Education. From 2001-2016, he served as Chief Executive Officer of the New Media Consortium an international consortium of hundreds of universities, colleges, museums, research centers, and technology companies.

Lee Yi Shyan is a Singaporean politician. In 2020, Lee retired and did not stand in the 2020 Singaporean general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Software Alliance</span> Trade group

The Software Alliance, also known as BSA, is a trade group of business software companies established in 1998. Its principal activity is trying to stop copyright infringement of software produced by its members. It is a member of the International Intellectual Property Alliance. Founded as the Business Software Alliance, it dropped "Business" from its name in October 2012, and styles itself "BSA | The Software Alliance".

Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) is a 10-year master plan by the Government of Singapore to improve Singapore's infocomm infrastructure over the next decade. Led by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), iN2015 involves several organizations.

Established on June 16, 2007, the SME Infocomm Resource Centre, is a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore to advance their use of Info-Communications Technology (ICT).

Aloysius Cheang is the Managing Director APAC for the Cloud Security Alliance. He has another role as their Standards Secretariat overseeing all standardization efforts within CSA and owning the relationships with other SDOs. Aloysius was a former member of the Singapore government's Chief Security Officer roundtable, and founder of SIG^2 in 2001. He also held senior executive positions with various consulting companies and telco with a worldwide remit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Polman</span> Dutch businessman (born 1956)

Paulus Gerardus Josephus Maria Polman, is a Dutch businessman and author. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the British/Dutch consumer goods company Unilever. Polman is also the author of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kantara Initiative</span> Digital identity organization

Kantara Initiative, Inc. is a non-profit trade association that works to develop standards for identity and personal data management. It focuses on improving the trustworthy use of identity and personal data in digital identity management and data privacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajah & Tann</span> Singaporean law firm

Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP is a Singaporean law firm with affiliate offices in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Founded in 1976, the firm is regarded as one of the Big Four law firms in Singapore. It is a member firm of Rajah & Tann Asia, a network of law firms in Southeast Asia with over 970 fee earners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloud Security Alliance</span>

Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is a not-for-profit organization with the mission to “promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within cloud computing, and to provide education on the uses of cloud computing to help secure all other forms of computing.”

Pacific Forest Trust is an accredited non-profit conservation land trust that advances forest conservation and stewardship solutions. Its mission is to sustain America's forests for their public benefits of wood, water, wildlife, and people's wellbeing, in cooperation with landowners and communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia</span> Venture capital company in Singapore

Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA) is an angel investment network based in Singapore that provides information to potential investors about newly established businesses. The stated goal of BANSEA is to create business opportunities for angel investors, and aid in the development of profitable business networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherie Nursalim</span>

Cherie Nursalim is an Indonesian businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the Vice Chairman of GITI Group and a special advisor to the government of the Republic

NetLink Trust, formerly known as OpenNet, is the owner, designer, builder and operator of the passive fibre network structure of Singapore's Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (NGNBN).

A trustmark is an image, logo, or badge that is typically displayed on an E-commerce website, indicating that the site has passed certain digital security tests or is operated by a member of a professional organization. The trustmark is intended to show approval of the brand by a recognizable third party. Customers gain confidence and may be more inclined to transact business with a brand bearing a trustmark.

References

  1. "CommerceNet". CommerceNet. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  2. "CommerceNet Snapshot". BusinessWeek. 2009. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  3. "CommerceNet Singapore". CommerceNet Singapore. 2007. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  4. "Republic Polytechnic launches first ever 'Hybrid' Specialist Diploma catering to today's Multi-skilled, Time-tight workers". Republic Polytechnic. 2003. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  5. "International Hub for Business". Singapore Economic Development Board SEDB. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  6. "Uniquely Singapore". AsiaBiz Strategy. 2007. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  7. 1 2 "Authorised Code Owners". Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore iDA. August 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  8. "Privacy White Lists - Don't be Fooled (2009)". Galexia. August 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  9. "Toh See Kiat". Captel, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  10. 1 2 "PHR2004 - The Republic of Singapore". Privacy International. 16 November 2004. Archived from the original on 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  11. "Global Trustmark Alliance". Global Trustmark Alliance GTA. 2004-11-30. Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
  12. "BBB Online". BBB. 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  13. "IPOS Announces IP Taskforce Members - Taskforce to Educate Business Community on New IP Laws". Intellectual Property Office of Singapore IPOS. 2003-06-24. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
  14. "BSA and CommerceNet Singapore Sign MoU on Software Usage". Business Software Alliance BSA. 2007-06-27. Archived from the original on 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  15. "BSA insures companies against illegal risks". ZDnetAsia. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  16. "Directory of science and technology parks, incubators and cities in IDB member countries". IDB EducationDev.net. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  17. "CommerceNet explores high-tech park possibilities". Arab News, Saudi Arabia. 8 October 2002 [01 Sha`ban 1423]. Retrieved 2009-06-15.[ dead link ]
  18. "Launch of the FIRST National Infocomm Awards - National Recognition for Excellence in Infocomm Innovations". Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. 3 September 2001. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  19. "Korea Institute for Electronic Commerce". KIEC. 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
  20. "Korea Telematics Business Association". KOTBA. 2008. Archived from the original on 2005-04-09. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
  21. "Global Business Dialogue on electronic commerce". GBDe. 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-21.