Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), in consultation with industry technologists, business leaders and other stakeholders, has identified nine key themes that will shape ICT development in the coming three to five years. 

The 2012 Roadmap—now in its sixth edition—identifies Cloud Computing, Big Data, User Interface, Communications of the Future, Cyber Security, Social Media, ICT and Sustainability, The ‘Internet of Things’, and the New Digital Economy as the nine points of focus that will drive ICT development in the immediate future.

At the Infocomm Technology Roadmap 2012 Symposium, IDA CEO Ronnie Tay explained that “these roadmaps aim to help the industry and vertical sectors stay abreast of global ICT trends and developments.”

“This infocomm technology roadmap therefore seeks to identify infocomm technology trends that have the potential to impact and even disrupt our lives, and the opportunities that the public and private sectors can leverage,” he added, addressing delegates from government and industry.

Meanwhile, IDA CTO Leong Mun Yuen urged the attendees to participate in “co-creation” by providing input on the technologies identified, as the IDA sought to “tap on the invaluable industry insights, experiences and feedback from the community to improve the roadmap and develop a shared technology vision.”

This public feedback to refine the Roadmap further is being sought on the official website until September 2012, after which the revised roadmap will be compiled and made available online.

The Symposium divided the nine themes into three tracks that had threads in common, and potential technologies for development in each of the nine sectors were charted according to their immediate (less than three years), mid-term (three to five years) and long-term (over five years) relevance.

For example, Quantum Computing was identified as one of the long-term innovation prospects in the Big Data theme, while predictive and in-memory analytics were highlighted as immediate prospects. Christopher Sia, Assistant Manager, Technology & Planning Group, IDA, identified retail, transport and health IT as the three sectors in which management of big data would prove crucial.