Instrumentation Monthly Test | Measurement | Control
ABB is setting up a new Digital Solutions Centre in Singapore to drive innovation and bring pioneering solutions to its customers worldwide. Scheduled to open by the end of the first quarter of 2018, the centre is part of ABB’s Control Technologies business. It will develop innovative solutions, merging cloud, information and operational (IT and OT) technologies. These developments will help customers harness digitalisation to improve energy efficiency and increase operational agility across a number of industries.
“As more enterprises are exploring digital strategy to transform their business models and improve customer experience, we aim to be part of their transformation journey. With this investment we are able to build up local capability for application development and ensure we are well equipped to meet our customers’ increasing need for advanced Internet of Things (IoT) solutions,” says Anne-JiaQi Yang, manager of ABB’s Control Technologies business for the Asia-Pacific region.
Focused on fast-paced, agile development for direct implementation in customer projects, the center will use a mix of ABB’s own technology and new developments in research and development. This approach will allow customers to have access to the very best solutions fit for their needs, ahead of schedule, and under budget. It will include key technologies from the company’s comprehensive digital offering, ABB Ability , ranging from the leading distributed control system ABB Ability System 800xA to ABB Ability Data Centre Automation for control, monitoring and optimisation of mission-critical infrastructure. In addition, ABB Ability Manufacturing Operations Management offers end-to-end visibility of industrial operations.
The centre is the result of strong collaboration and ongoing support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). Lim Kok Kiang, assistant managing director, EDB, adds, “We are pleased that ABB has chosen Singapore to anchor its global Digital Solutions Centre. ABB’s latest investment is aligned with Singapore’s efforts to digitally transform our manufacturing industry. We look forward to ABB partnering key industry partners in Singapore and the region to develop new digital solutions in the Industrial IoT space.”
Singapore was recently identified as the most digitally competitive economy by IMD. The centre will support Singapore’s industrial transformation and growth journey by harnessing technologies and developing digital capabilities that will help it realise its ‘Smart Nation’ vision.
The global Digital Solutions Centre is the latest development strengthening ABB’s strategic presence in Singapore, adding to its advanced manufacturing footprint that already includes a Regional Robotics Application Centre and Marine Collaborative Operations Centre. ABB is also behind a number of pioneering projects that are changing Singapore’s infrastructure landscape, such as the Volvo-NTU autonomous e-bus project, floating solar photovoltaic test-bed at the Tengeh Reservoir and the iconic Marina East Desalination Plant. ABB in Singapore employs over 1,000 people, of which about one-third work in digital and software areas.
“Singapore is a natural choice considering how the economy is willing to explore and adopt digital technologies to transform government practices and business models. ABB will continue to deepen its commitment to Singapore as a key growth market and an important talent base to power growth,” acknowledges Ilpo Ruohonen, managing director of ABB’s Control Technologies business.
