Singapore – As part of their series of partner pledges in support of the Digital Enterprise Blueprint, customer relationship management company Salesforce has recently announced the introduction of the Data + AI Boost SME Program in collaboration with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
This move aspires to strengthen AI adoption among a broad base of SMEs in support of Singapore’s Digital Enterprise Blueprint (DEB), launched by the Ministry of Communications and Information.
It further targets equipping 5,000 small and medium enterprises in Singapore with the tools and knowledge to harness artificial intelligence by tapping into the value of their data. This encompasses SMEs across all stages of digital maturity.
As a newly launched initiative, the programme will include webinars, workshops, and events that offer Salesforce training tailored for SMEs, allowing them to utilise reliable AI and data to enhance business growth, operational efficiency, and customer relationships.
Moreover, it will also involve complimentary 1-on-1 consultation sessions with Salesforce to understand an SME’s business challenges and needs and uncover ways to catalyse their innovation and growth.
Lastly, access to Salesforce’s online learning platform, Trailhead, will also be provided to assist employees in understanding the use of generative AI in their daily work. This includes dedicated modules, such as Ethical Data Use in Personalisation and Ethical Data Use Best Practices, which will equip SME workers to better discern and use data and generative AI responsibly.
Leong Der Yao, assistant chief executive, sectoral transformation group at IMDA, said, “Aligned with Singapore Digital Enterprise Blueprint, IMDA is excited to partner with Salesforce to enable our SMEs to stay ahead of the curve. The Data + AI Boost SME programme by Salesforce will help strengthen AI adoption for the broad base of SMEs by firstly providing them with the know-how to unlock the full potential of their data assets as well as providing access to resources to understand the ethical use of data and AI.”
Leong further notes, “We look forward to the support of industry partners to enable SMEs to leverage technology to be more competitive and scale faster in today’s fast-moving digital economy.”
Meanwhile, Sujith Abraham, senior vice president and general manager for Salesforce ASEAN, also said, “SMEs are the bedrock of the Singapore economy and need access to AI and its foundational building blocks to support their growth and competitiveness in the future.”
“Setting up the right data foundations will put them in the best possible position to embrace AI. After all, AI tools are only as good as the data those tools are accessing and acting upon. The immediate challenge for SMEs is to ensure that their data sets are interconnected in a way that is valuable,” continued Sujith.
“Through the Data + AI Boost SME Programme, Salesforce is making AI more accessible for SMEs to compete and succeed in today’s economy,” he concluded.
With the launch of the programme, Salesforce aims to help SMEs leverage their rich but often-underused data assets, typically disconnected across multiple systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, data lakes, and legacy systems, to build a strong data foundation for AI.
