In a post-pandemic market disrupted by global conflict and recession, it is not surprising that many companies are wondering how to balance their environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments with the cost of doing business.

G7 economies are weathering record inflation. These external economic forces, coupled with the capital many businesses spent to stabilise operations during the pandemic, means that the pool of funds available for ESG initiatives is rapidly dwindling. There is a temptation to cut back on ESG spending and focus on cost-cutting and right-sizing operations. But it is possible to meet both goals.¹

In Singapore, while 60% of CEOs say they have an aggressive digital investment strategy and 48% believe rapid digital transformation is key to competitiveness, 76% are adjusting their short-term strategies by pausing or reducing spending to prepare for an anticipated recession, according to a 2022 KPMG survey.²

IT cost optimisation also emerged as a priority of organisations this year, in a Crayon survey³ of 2,008 IT decision-makers, including respondents from Singapore, Australia, and the Philippines.

According to the study:

To optimise costs, these businesses are exploring a host of solutions and strategies, including:

• Cloud optimisation
• Negotiating with service providers and software publishers
• Accelerating their migration to the cloud
• Outsourcing
• Downsizing
• Using Software Asset Management tools

Aside from these, there is another future-proof way to optimise technology costs: 5G.

By providing the speed, low latency, network capacity, and reliability that tech tools need to function at optimal levels, 5G can help organisations make the most of their digital transformation investments.

5G, or the fifth generation of mobile networks and the new global standard for wireless connectivity, is already transforming industries like healthcare, automotive, retail, public infrastructure, events, and manufacturing.

This robust network enables various use cases, including: 

Compared to 4G, its predecessor, 5G offers download speeds that are 10 times faster, latency that is 10 times lower, and a network capacity that is 100 times bigger. This means businesses can move quicker, perform more complex tasks, and significantly multiply the number of devices they can connect to a single network.

The network’s game-changing qualities that let enterprises optimise their technology costs include:

By using 5G with a few other powerful technologies, the cost optimisations improve further.

1 End-to-end orchestration – An end-to-end orchestration portal can combine, coordinate, and integrate the various automated tasks scattered across domains, helping unlock the full potential of 5G. This lets you perform network slicing to support mission-critical processes, manage traffic breakouts, and quickly develop new services. One way to do this is through Singtel Paragon, an all-in-one platform for 5G, edge computing, cloud, and services orchestration that lets users create network slices on demand.

2 Multi-access edge computing (MEC) – MEC brings cloud-computing capabilities closer to the user and the data source, effectively reducing latency and data bottlenecks, improving processing speed and efficiency, and cutting storage costs by localising data. By combining 5G with MEC, businesses can strengthen their IoT capabilities, build immersive user experiences, perform real-time video analytics, and conduct remote monitoring.

● By launching an Integrated Command Centre powered by 5G and MEC in partnership with Singtel, security solutions provider AETOS raised overall productivity by 20%, cut workforce costs by 50%, and upskilled about 5,000 staff members to help accelerate the company’s capabilities.

3 Cutting-edge technologies – With 5G, businesses can supercharge technologies like AR, VR, and IoT in order to enhance both the customer experience and the employee experience. For example, Changi Airport leveraged AR/VR training applications to let staff remotely practice safety procedures on a mobile device, making the training programme more immersive and cost-efficient.

5G also lets enterprises harness the power of Big Data analytics, automation, and AI, enabling use cases such as predictive maintenance for asset-intensive industries⁴ like mining and manufacturing, and smart warehouses for the pharmaceutical industry.

● By tapping on the 5G and automation expertise of Singtel and Accenture, Zuellig Pharma built a “5G warehouse” proof of concept that successfully demonstrated improvements in pick productivity and accuracy, counting speed and accuracy, and overall safety.

As enterprises continue to make heavy investments in technology, many of them will focus on making these costs count. One way to optimise technology spend is by relying on network connectivity that lets you operate your tools and systems at peak performance. 5G’s speed, low latency, and network capacity may be just what you need to maximise these investments and stay competitive.

References:

1. International Data Corporation, IDC Spending Guide Sees Worldwide Digital Transformation Investments Reaching $3.4 Trillion in 2026, 2022.
2. KPMG, Digital transformation in uncertainty, 2022.
3. Crayon, The state of IT cost optimization in 2023, 2023.
4. McKinsey & Company, Prediction at scale: How industry can get more value out of maintenance, 2021.