SMEs need open innovation for Fourth Industrial Revolution

THE month of October last year saw two large-scale events gearing local enterprises for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: the inaugural Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific 2018 (ITAP) was held on Oct 16 and the Future Economy Conference and Exhibition (FECE) was held on Oct 22. Interestingly, the same clarion call for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to transcend traditional boundaries and collaborate was sounded by the two different ministers who officiated at these respective events.

At the ITAP, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam shared that "to harness the full potential of Industry 4.0, we need to look beyond traditional geographical and industry boundaries ... (this) can be especially useful for SMEs." At the FECE, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing explained why SMEs should come together "to build real capabilities" in their transformation journey through the use of technology.

This call for SMEs to transcend traditional boundaries and collaborate echoes the findings from a case study research. The study traced the journey of a SME in the information-communication technology (ICT) sector, examining how it had thrived and grown amid waves of technological disruption since its inception in 1993.