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Strategy Report
September 2013
Consultancy Services for the Digital 21 Strategy Review
for the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Strategy Report
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Table of Contents
1. Executive summary ............................................................................................................ 5
1.1 Previous Digital 21 Strategies ....................................................................................... 5
1.2 Latest technology developments ................................................................................... 6
1.3 SWOT analysis .............................................................................................................. 7
1.4 Vision Smarter Hong Kong, Smarter Living ................................................................ 8
1.5 Strategic thrusts to deliver the vision of Smarter Hong Kong, Smarter Living .............. 9
1.6 Driving towards Smarter Hong Kong Smarter Living ................................................... 13
2. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 14
2.1 Context......................................................................................................................... 14
2.2 Report .......................................................................................................................... 14
3. Review of Hong Kongs current ICT strategy and development ...................................... 16
3.1 Looking back ................................................................................................................ 16
3.2 Facilitating a digital economy ...................................................................................... 17
3.3 Promoting advanced technology and innovation ......................................................... 19
3.4 Developing Hong Kong as a hub for technological cooperation and trade ................. 23
3.5 Enabling the next generation of public services .......................................................... 24
3.6 Building an inclusive, knowledge-based society ......................................................... 31
3.7 Summary of achievements and improvement opportunities ....................................... 34
4. Latest technology developments ..................................................................................... 35
4.1 Changes under way ..................................................................................................... 35
4.2 Technology trends ....................................................................................................... 35
4.3 A fundamental rethink of the way people live and work .............................................. 46
5. SWOT analysis of ICT development ................................................................................ 48
5.1 SWOT context ............................................................................................................. 48
5.2 SWOT analysis ............................................................................................................ 49
5.3 SWOT analysis conclusion .......................................................................................... 54
6. Vision Smarter Hong Kong, Smarter Living .................................................................. 56
6.1 Articulating the vision ................................................................................................... 56
6.2 Anticipated impacts...................................................................................................... 57
7. Strategic thrusts to achieve Smarter Hong Kong, Smarter Living ................................... 63
7.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 63
7.2 Empowering everyone through technology ................................................................. 64
7.3 Igniting business innovation through exploitation of technology ................................. 65
7.4 Supporting a thriving Hong Kong ICT industry and research and development ......... 66
7.5 Transforming and integrating public services through technology .............................. 67
8. Programmes in support of the strategic thrusts ............................................................... 68
8.1 Programmes ................................................................................................................ 68
8.2 Empowering everyone through technology ................................................................. 71
8.3 Igniting business innovation through exploitation of technology ................................. 87
8.4 Supporting a thriving Hong Kong ICT Industry and research and development ......... 95
8.5 Transforming and integrating public services through technology ............................ 111
9. Summary ........................................................................................................................ 121
Appendix A Acronyms ......................................................................................................... 122
Appendix B Secondary source documents reviewed .......................................................... 124
Appendix C Acknowledgement ............................................................................................ 127
Appendix D ICT-related measures under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic
Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) .......................................................................................... 129
Appendix E Location of Wi-Fi hotspots in Hong Kong ......................................................... 130
1. Executive summary
Hong Kong was early to recognise the importance of information and communications
technology (ICT) developments. In 1998, the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region Government (the Government) published the first Digital 21 Strategy, which
was updated in 2001, 2004 and 2008. This study reviews the 2008 Digital 21 Strategy
and formulates a blueprint to steer and guide the development of ICT in Hong Kong for
the next few years.
1.2.1 Mobile
Recent years have seen an explosive growth in the proliferation of mobile devices and
consequently in mobile e-services too. Modern citizens have a rapidly growing
expectation to do anything at anytime and anywhere using their mobile devices and
therefore both businesses and governments have to rethink how they design and
deliver mobile e-services to customers and citizens.
purchase transaction records, and mobile device Global Positioning System (GPS)
signals to name a few. And the types of data are becoming more diverse and varied.
The analysis of this big data can provide new and useful insights into all aspects of life
for the benefit of the whole community.
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
In conclusion, Hong Kong has excellent hard and soft infrastructure and a population
with a strong global and regional reputation for trade and financial business acumen.
Although the domestic market is small, the opportunities arising from physical and
cultural proximity to Mainland China combined with the next generation of technology
trends provide potential for Hong Kong to thrive among other competitive economies.
For the Community, the achievement of the vision would mean having easy and
ready access to most public services and private sector services generally available
on personal mobile devices from any location. The services will usually be highly
personalised to give richer user experiences and fully integrated for maximum
convenience.
For the business community, the smarter city would be able to build the necessary
infrastructure to enable fast ubiquitous high bandwidth access, extensive choice of ICT
services and platforms for trading and payment, for example. In addition, through the
broad promotion and adoption of e-commerce, businesses will further enhance their
capabilities in reaching to their customers more effectively and more broadly
including crossing the border beyond Hong Kong and Mainland China.
For the ICT Industry, the smarter city is expected to drive further development of the
ICT industry, and by becoming a role model in exploiting technologies, Hong Kong will
provide unique opportunities to the local lCT industry. Hong Kong will provide the eco-
system to support the development of ICT startups and also the more mature services
and environment needed to encourage the development of City ICT champions
recognised as leaders in their fields both regionally and globally.
For the Government, the enhanced e-enabled public services will allow civil servants
to respond more effectively to citizens by offering more personalised and targeted
services. In particular, civil servants would be able to provide more face-to-face time in
consulting and helping citizens directly rather than spending time on administrative
matters.
For each of these four major constituents of Hong Kong society, we have proposed a
specific strategic thrust designed to deliver the Smarter Hong Kong, Smarter Living
vision.
drives the availability of high bandwidth Internet access through wired, mobile and/or
other wireless mechanisms throughout all the main areas of the city.
While the primary focus of the vision outlined in this report is the people of Hong Kong,
there is also an opportunity to significantly improve the experience of people visiting
Hong Kong whether for business, tourism or visiting friends and family. Another
important concern is to include and enable the participation of all groups in this new
digital environment also specifically considering the elderly, people with disabilities,
those with less / limited financial means, etc. It is also important to look at the
possibilities for technology to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged groups for
example better facilitate people with disabilities to find and make their way around the
city.
To support the realisation of this thrust, the key initiatives include:
Providing every citizen with a free and universal Hong Kong Digital ID
enables every citizen to conveniently and securely use a much broader range of
smarter city e-services (that are more personalised and richer in function) to
process everyday transactions (e.g. e-cheques)
Facilitating access to technology and broadband aims to remove the barriers
that may prevent citizens from enjoying the benefit of living in one of the leading
digital cities in the world
Boosting education by enabling e-learning for the whole curriculum in every
classroom through high bandwidth access for all schools truly revolutionises
the experience and quality of learning for students in Hong Kong by allowing multi-
media online access to relevant multi-lingual courses, teaching materials, test
evaluations and other collaborative e-learning tools; and liberates teaching
professionals to devote more focused attention on individual students to drive
enhanced learning outcomes
Including elements of programming in every childs education programme to
inculcate a generic logical mindset and a proclivity to look to ICT for
solutions provides an exciting new way to help our children to become familiar
with harnessing the immense power of technology, to personally develop creative
solutions to everyday problems and to be trained in structured and logical thinking
Providing visitors and citizens targeted information enriches the engagement
of visitors and citizens via advanced, personalised and multi-media online
experiences; and maximises each visitors and citizens enjoyment and
convenience.
One measure of success for Hong Kong will be any measurable increase in the
number of business startups at the intersection of business and technology and the
emergence of potential ICT champions, amidst a competitive marketplace for talent
and ideas.
To support the realisation of this thrust, the key initiatives include:
Supporting the evolving ecosystem to groom technology startups creates
the culture and environment to bring together all the necessary ingredients for
successful growth of new start-ups at the intersection of business and technology
to foster the emergence of Hong ICT champions
Growing top talent in ICT and business technology application puts in place
the right professional frameworks and provides more focused training in
collaboration with ICT industry leaders for the mutual advantage of prospective
employers and employees alike
Establishing Hong Kong as a Centre of Excellence for Multi-Platform Apps
actively facilitates and encourages more business opportunities, events and
competitions for multi-platform solutions
Continuing to develop Cloud Computing and Data Centre Hub tries more
effective promotion methods for cloud computing and data centre provisioning
Exploiting convergence to combine Hong Kongs strengths in the media,
creative and technology industries to make the city a Centre of Excellence in
Digital Media builds a collaborative and innovative platform for professionals,
amateurs and regular citizens to innovate, co-create and distribute new content
through the latest digital media
Continuing to leverage Hong Kongs unique position by enabling ICT
businesses to access Mainland opportunities seizes full advantage of the
physical and cultural proximity to expand the market for highly-prized solutions and
services derived from Hong Kongs business acumen and technological innovation
into the Mainland
2. Introduction
2.1 Context
Globally, Information and Communications Technology (ICT, such as the Internet,
broadband and mobile technologies) continues to transform the way that people live,
spend their leisure time, work and consume products and services. The impact has
become all the more fundamental as ICT has become mobile, and as more of the
infrastructure and things around us have become instrumented and interconnected.
Hong Kong was early to recognise the importance of ICT developments and the
potential contribution that technologies could make to Hong Kongs continued success.
In 1998, the first Digital 21 Strategy was published by the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region Government (the Government) to set out the vision of Hong
Kong as a digital city. As the needs of community changed and the technology
advanced over the next decade, the Strategy was updated in 2001, 2004 and 2008.
The Digital 21 Strategy has served Hong Kong well, and in the light of the scale of the
changes during the currency of the different editions of the strategy, and the progress
made, the Government has embarked on a more extensive review of the current
position in Hong Kong, the role of ICT, international developments, the future strategy
Hong Kong should adopt and the programmes and actions the Government and others
should take to ensure that Hong Kong is able to fully exploit the benefits of ICT in
future. Of course Hong Kongs success in the effective exploitation of ICT rests on the
contributions of many organisations and indeed the community as a whole. This
strategy review both looks at the actions the Government can take, and how it can
work with other important stakeholders and enable them to make their full contributions.
2.2 Report
Smarter Hong Kong, Smarter Living is the strategy for the overall ICT development in
Hong Kong in the next few years. It moves away from a particular date or century and
reflects that ICT or digital developments are now integrated with every aspect of Hong
Kongs community, economy and public sector so the strategy is not so much a
separate digital programme. Of course, it continues to be very important to have a
clear blueprint, actions and timescales for the programme itself, and we recommend
the approach to this later in our report.
Strength Weakness
SWOT analysis
(chapter 5)
Opportunity Threats
Vision Vision
Smarter Hong Kong, Smarter Living (chapter 6)
Igniting
Supporting a Transforming
Empowering business
thriving Hong and integrating Strategic Thrusts
everyone innovation
Kong ICT public services
through through (chapter 7)
industry and through
technology exploitation of
R&D technology
technology
IBM would like to express its gratitude to all those who helped and shared their views
in the course of this study.
1998
High capacity communications systems
Common software interface for secure
electronic transactions
People who know how to use IT
A cultural environment that stimulates
creativity and welcomes advances in the
use of IT
2001
To enhance the world class e-business
environment in Hong Kong
To ensure that the Hong Kong
Government leads by example
To develop Hong Kong's workforce for the
information economy
To strengthen the Hong Kong community
for digital exploitation Digitisation
To leverage Hong Kong's strengths in
exploitation of enabling technologies 2008
Facilitating a digital economy
Acceleration Promoting advanced technology and innovation
Developing Hong Kong as a hub for technological
Connection cooperation and trade
Foundation Enabling the next generation of public services
2004
Building an inclusive, knowledge-based society
Government leadership
Sustainable e-government programme
Infrastructure and business environment
Institutional review
Technological development
Vibrant IT industry
Human resources in a knowledge economy
Bridging the digital divide
Our review of the outcomes of the 2008 Digital 21 Strategy has confirmed significant
achievements in the last few years and, at the same time, has identified areas that
could be further developed. The following paragraphs examine the results against each
of the five key focus areas in the 2008 Strategy.
250%
Hong Kong
200%
Penetration rate
Singapore
150%
Taiw an
South Korea
100%
50%
0%
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Reference: IBM analysis, Office of the Communications Authority, iDA (Singapore), Ministry of Economic Affairs
(Taiwan), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
1
Reference: Office of the Communications Authority, Key Communications Statistics
(http://www.ofca.gov.hk/en/media_focus/data_statistics/key_stat/index.html), Figures as of March 2013
2
Reference: Akamai, State of the Internet, 4th Quarter, 2012 Report
Million HKD
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
2013-14 (budgeted)
2008-09
2009-10
2012-13
2010-11
2011-12
Reference: OGCIO official website Facts & Figures, Government IT Expenditure. Last updated 31 May 2013.
These rankings clearly show the strength of Hong Kongs ICT infrastructure which is a
critical factor in facilitating the development of the digital economy.
Conclusion
Through Government facilitation in the highly liberalised market, various
telecommunications, broadband and mobile service carriers are building Hong Kongs
ICT infrastructure as one of the worlds best. Also by leading as example, the
Government has continued to increase its ICT spending in the recent years. However,
given the speed of development in technology and the increasing demand for easy and
convenient access (anywhere and anytime) and faster service, combined with rapidly
multiplying volumes of data, Hong Kong will need to continue to focus on building its
technology infrastructure to support future growth.
9,000
8,000 7,751
7,545
7,359
7,028
7,000
6,352 6,194
6,055
6,000 5,767
5,474
5,265
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Reference: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Innovation Activities Statistics 2011
The following table shows some core statistics about the ongoing Cyberport Incubation
Programme and two other initiatives in Cyberport.
This programme provides incubatees with access to advanced facilities and resources,
support in business development, financing and hiring of graduate interns, as well as
entrepreneurship and technology training. On-site incubatees are also granted a rent-
free office. The Programme provides an incentive for other world-class companies and
clusters to develop business partnership with Cyberport tenants and incubatees. The
level of intellectual property generated and the size of the angel investment funding
attracted give encouraging signs of the benefits of this programme.
Table 3 Progress of the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund (as of March 2013)
3
Successful completion of projects refers to the fulfilment of the target outcomes and milestones in the project proposal
approved. They are projects that could successfully develop ICT-related business ideas into viable commercial
businesses. Many successful CCMF grantees subsequently joined the Cyberport Incubation Programme to further
develop their business.
Launched in August 2009, the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund (CCMF) Scheme
promotes innovation within the ICT industry by providing seed funding of HK$100,000
to cover concept and prototype development over a 6-month period to companies
spearheading the development of creative ICT-related products or services. Some
projects supported by CCMF were subsequently procured by major overseas
enterprises.
Such investments in physical facilities and centres can take time to generate outcomes,
but early signs of success can be seen from the presentation of 5 Grand Awards and 6
Merits of Asia Pacific Information and Communications Technology Awards (APICTA)
in 2012 to Hong Kong enterprises, with particularly impressive contributions made to e-
Health and to media and entertainment sectors.
Conclusion
While significant progress has been achieved in promoting advanced technology and
innovation since 2008, the relatively low level of private sector R&D investment in Hong
Kong is an area for attention in terms of formulating Hong Kongs next ICT blueprint.
One challenge for further consideration is that, because of Hong Kongs shortage of
land and a small domestic market, ICT startups often find it difficult to scale up due to
high initial costs. Also the ICT industry is competing for the best and the brightest
minds with other business sectors in Hong Kong e.g. financial services. Globally, Asian
and other economies are seeking to establish digital leadership to enhance competitive
advantage in the new digital age. These factors pose a challenge for Hong Kong to
maintain its lead in advanced technology and innovation.
Conclusion
There are encouraging signs of greater collaboration with the Mainland, on R&D
activity in particular, which occurred over the last few years. The CEPA provisions
continue to provide opportunities for greater economic collaboration going forward.
(in m illions)
14,000
12,912
12,000
10,000
8,000
5,536
6,000
3,431
4,000
2,000
0
2010 2011 2012
Reference: Figures from internal surveys done by OGCIO (started in year 2010)
In common with other developed economies, Hong Kong should anticipate the publics
rising expectation for more and higher quality public e-services, partly fuelled by
citizens positive experience of e-services available in the commercial sector. Therefore
it is important that Government is prepared to provide public services that are more
integrated around the needs of the citizens and more personalised to their
circumstances.
e-Government services
ICT exploitation offers the Government opportunities to increase understanding of
citizens and issues through better, more timely analysis. This provides the Government
with the means to anticipate and address issues early rather than making a lagging
response to demand. Over the years since the first Internet services, Hong Kongs e-
Government services have evolved from simple department-based information
websites through to more integrated citizen-centric e-services that have greater
interaction with the user. This evolutionary process is amply demonstrated by GovHK,
which was the Governments first step in providing a one stop shop for public e-
services in 2007. The figure below illustrates how this has since evolved into MyGovHK,
an integrated and personalised portal for citizen-centric e-Government services. A
mobile version is planned to be launched by the end of 2013.
100,000
10,438
3,738 Mobile version
1,609
75,000
Desktop version
50,000
22,800
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
4
Reference: Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting (Papers), http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr11-
12/english/panels/itb/papers/itb_eb.htm
Figure 9 Top 10 most popular transactional e-services in the period from 1 January to 31 December 2012
Figure 10 Top 10 most popular informational e-services in the period from 1 January to 31 December 2012
Mobile versions of e-Government services, such as the GovHK Notifications and Tell
me@1823 mobile apps, have been rolled out to provide anytime/anywhere two-way
communications between the Government and the public. In one way, GovHK
Notifications provides a one-stop platform for citizens to receive notifications from
various Government departments at their choice. In the other way, Tell me@1823 co-
launched by GovHK and the Efficiency Unit allows members of the public to submit
enquiries, information and comments to the Government with texts, photographs,
voice/video recordings and their GPS location. This helps the Government better be
more responsive to public needs and concerns, and enhance public services.
As of May 2013, the Government has developed 59 mobile websites and 56 mobile
apps, three of which are cross-departmental, including the above-mentioned GovHK
Notifications, GovHK Apps and EventHK. 26 Government departments have developed
mobile apps and 32 Government departments have developed mobile websites as
other electronic channels to deliver their services to the public.
The most popular of all Government information e-Services is the MyObservatory
mobile app which jumped from 1.9 billion visitors in 2011 to 9.2 billion in 2012
Conclusion
The volume and variety of Government e-services has continued to grow since 2008
and we can expect increasing public expectation and demand for even more e-
Government services in the future, particularly for those mobile e-services where
citizens can enjoy more integrated and personalised experiences delivered to them on
the go. Besides adding new services based on the known demand voiced out by the
citizens, the Government could consider formulating cross-departmental initiatives to
explore and exploit the vast data collected for proactively developing new e-services.
5
Reference: http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr12-13/english/panels/itb/papers/itb0610cb4-711-4-e.pdf
Mainstream community
Elderly
Conclusion
There have been many initiatives undertaken by the Government to stimulate greater
digital inclusion amongst disadvantaged groups. The higher indicators of digital
inclusion since 2008, particularly for the elderly, are encouraging. The Government
should continue the effort to implement more targeted digital inclusion initiatives to
further narrow down the digital gap for elderly and persons with disabilities.
6
Reference: Gartner, Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for Smart Government 2013.
two common examples of mobile computing but the types of mobile devices continue
to evolve. For instance, Google has recently launched mobile computing in the form of
wearable technology through Google Glass. The enhanced functionality of mobile
computing using location-based services, social networking and multimedia has
brought numerous ways of innovation to everyday life.
For the first time in history, global shipments of smartphones 7 surpassed personal
computer (PC) shipments 8 in 4Q 2010. In addition, global shipment of tablets is also
forecasted to surpass PC in 2013. 9 As shown in the below graph, shipments of
smartphones and media tablet is predicted to reach 1.86 billion units by 2017,
compared with 0.85 billion units in 2012. 10
Unit millions
2,500
2,000
Smartphones
1,500
PCs
Media tablet
1,000
500
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Reference: IDC, Worldwide Smart Connected Devices Market Forecast Unit Shipments (Millions), 4Q 2012
Given the explosive growth in mobile devices, and peoples growing expectation to be
able to do anything anywhere, governments and businesses will need to rethink how
they re-architect systems to deliver value to citizens and customers via mobile
computing.
7
Reference: IDC, Android Rises, Symbian^3 and Windows Phone 7 Launch as Worldwide Smartphone Shipments
Increase 87.2% Year Over Year. 7 February 2011.
8
Reference: IDC, PC Market Records Modest Gains During Fourth Quarter of 2010. 12 January 2011.
9
Reference: IDC, Worldwide Smart Connected Device Market Crossed 1 Billion Shipments in 2012, Apple Pulls Near
Samsung in Fourth Quarter. 26 March 2013.
10
Reference: IDC, Worldwide Smart Connected Devices Market Forecast Unit Shipments (Millions), 4Q 2012
11
Reference: Mark van Harmelen, Personal Learning Environment, IEEE Computer Society. 2006.
Figure 13 Global cloud computing market is forecast to grow 22% per year through 2020
12
Reference: Gartner, Forecast Overview: Public Cloud Services, Worldwide, 2011-2017, 1Q13 Update.
13
Reference: Rackspace, Economic Impact of Cloud Blog
14
Reference: Cisco, The Internet of Things How the Next Evolution of the Internet Is Changing Everything. April 2011.
4
3.47
30
20
1.84
2
10
1
0.08
0 0
2003 2010 2015 2020
Reference: Cisco, The Internet of Things How the Next Evolution of the Internet Is Changing Everything.
Looking forward, the ability to work anytime, anywhere, on any trusted device, in any
language will intensify where workers will be evaluated based on performance, not
merely presence, in the results-oriented work environment. Social networking services
with mobile technologies will replace e-mail as the primary form of business
communication in the very near future 15 and workers will collaborate based on the
swarming work style where teams are formed quickly to tackle a problem or an
opportunity and then dissipate. 16 Knowledge is collective through mass collaboration
and can be easily shared and accessed.
The Government has already embarked on the digitisation of its records through the
electronic information management (EIM) initiative. The records, eventually in digital
form, laid the foundation for access by Government officers off site. The ability to
further enhance collaboration and contribute to and share the collective knowledge
from anywhere will help meet workers expectation of the future workplace.
To cope with the challenges posed by the volume, speed and variety of big data,
radically new thinking is required to figure out how best to store and retrieve such data
and information. Firstly, as data is generated almost everywhere, some are residing in
structured data sources (e.g. transaction record systems in banks) and others are
content generated by customers and citizens and residing in unstructured data sources
(e.g. pictures and free text comments on social media sites). Data is often stored in
many different systems and silos. Given this situation, businesses and governments
need to rethink how they could retrieve and access such diverse data sets in order to
take advantage of big data to support their day-to-day operations as well as important
decision-making processes. For example, an open-source software framework called
Hadoop has been developed to handle such a demand in accessing such large volume,
diverse and distributed data sets.
Secondly, businesses and governments need to ensure data storage is optimised and
develop a mechanism to determine what data should be moved to the data warehouse,
and what data should be offloaded e.g. infrequently accessed or aged data.
15
Gartner, Worldwide Wireless E-Mail Users to Reach 1 Billion by Year-End 2014, June 30 2010
16
Gartner, World of Work Will Witness 10 Changes During the Next 10 Years, August 4, 2010
17
Reference: IBM Research
The explosion of data however also means there is a greater need for data collectors
to provide full disclosure on when data is being collected and if so, how the data is
being used. Transparency is the best way to achieve trust and confidence in decisions
being made using big data.
With its sheer volume, diversity and speed of accumulation across different aspects of
life, big data provides new possibilities in generating insight about customers and
citizens, in terms of their needs, preferences, and behavioural patterns. Businesses
and governments can significantly improve how they serve their customers and citizens
by providing more targeted products and services. In turn, the society as a whole can
further reduce wastage and increase overall efficiency and effectiveness.
8000
The total number of social media
7000
Global Data Volume in exabytes
s)
ing
rs
5000
rn nso
Th
of
Se
0 Enterprise Data
A new set of analytical tools are needed to take advantage of big data, namely
advanced analytics. Advanced analytics usually refers to the set of ICT tools that are
built on various proven mathematical and statistical modelling techniques (e.g.
correlation, stochastics) for developing data patterns. With big data, advanced
analytics can process and analyze structured (e.g. relational data) and unstructured
data (e.g. free texts, image, video) using these modelling techniques in order to
uncover patterns of customers and citizens product and service consumption,
preferences, timing, as well as their deeper emotive reactions. With proper analyses
and interpretations, these patterns can then be turned into useful insights about
customers and citizens.
This in turn provides new capabilities for businesses and governments to not only track
the historical records, but more importantly, to predict and anticipate changing needs
and wants of customers and citizens ahead of time, and enable decision makers to
make more informed and timely decisions.
Reference: ComScore Media Metrix, Worldwide, March 2007 October 2011. Its a Social World: Top 10 Need-to-
knows about Social Networking and where its headed. 7 December 2012.
Figure 17 Percentage of Fortune Global 100 companies with a presence on major social media platforms
100%
82%
77% 79%
74%
65%
61%
57%
54%
50%
2010
2011
2012
Reference: Burson-Marsteller. Global Social Media Checkup 2012 released August 15, 2012
into smaller or simpler tasks, social media enables a large group of people, or crowd,
to tackle the problem by resolving the simple tasks individually. For example, in 2011
researchers invented a protein-folding game to draw on the collaborative effort of
57,000 citizen scientists to solve a puzzle that had vexed scientists for years (details
can be found in the international experience highlighted below). This form of
collaboration, or crowdsourcing, benefits both citizens and organisations in tackling
complex technical and societal challenges.
How new digital could weave into the fabric of everyday life
Lets imagine a scenario with Kelly, who is a 28-year-old financial services professional
working in Hong Kong. During one evening, Kelly receives a new mobile device
promotion from her mobile service provider based on her current data and voice usage
stored on the customer information system. She clicks on the link and enters into the
service providers portal.
Kelly reviews the information available and decides to consult other opinions through
her group of friends on Facebook about the new phone. She shares a link on her
Facebook page from the providers web store.
As she passes by the providers retail shop, Kelly receives a promotional SMS,
because her location service is switched on. This promotional offer is valid for today
upon her purchase of a new device. She immediately accesses Facebook on her
mobile to see feedback from her group of friends. She receives positive messages and
decides to take up the promotional offer.
As soon as Kelly enters the retail shop, with a short wait time, the store associate
(holding a mobile device with all of Kellys purchase history and preferences readily
pulled up from the internal customer management relationship) greets her as Kelly is
one of the most loyal customers. She immediately introduces Kelly to the new device
on the promotion coupled with additional personalised offers.
In the meantime, Kellys friends, who are also on the same network, are offered new
promotion offers. As Kelly returns home, she is offered loyalty points for rating her
experience on Facebook and her referrals.
Opportunities Threats
Strengths
First class ICT infrastructure Hong Kong continues to have in place an excellent
and affordable ICT infrastructure supporting the delivery of services and the
development of the local ICT industry. The ICT infrastructure coverage provides
Internet access to a vast majority of the population at an affordable price 18 to help
deliver the various benefits of ICT. As indicated earlier in this report, the penetration
rate of household broadband is around 90% and the mobile penetration rate is about
228.4% (as of March 2013). The average peak Internet connection speed of 57.5 Mbps
and average Internet connection speed of 9.3 Mbps are also among the fastest in the
world.
18
Reference: International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Measuring the Information Society 2011.
19
Reference: Census and Statistics Department and InvestHK, Annual Survey of Companies in Hong Kong
Representing Parent Companies Located outside Hong Kong 2012.
20
Reference: China Intellectual Property, "Hong Kong IP development: fast in speed and subtle in quality".
21
Reference: World Economic Forum, Global Information Technology Report 2013, Hong Kong is ranked as 12th in the
use of virtual social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).
22
Reference: Figures provided by Office of the Communications Authority
23
Reference: Census and Statistics Department Report on 2012 Annual Survey of Companies in Hong Kong
Representing Parent Companies Located outside Hong Kong
24
Hong Kong was ranked among the world's top 4 tech capitals to watch (after Silicon Valley and New York) by Forbes.
Reference: http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/03/20/the-worlds-top-4-tech-capitals-to-watch-after-silicon-
valley-and-new-york/2/
Weaknesses
A relatively small domestic market Given the small market size, ICT start-ups in
Hong Kong may find it difficult to scale and to compete in the global market during their
early development phase. This can limit the development pace of the local ICT start-
ups, and may encourage overseas businesses to choose locations with larger
domestic markets.
Many competing thriving sectors (e.g. financial) There are many careers and
employers competing for the most able students emerging from university and the ICT
industry is sometimes not perceived as a preferred career among some students who
may be more attracted by, for example, the financial services industry or a career in
business management. The opportunity for a long-term career within ICT is perceived
by some to be jeopardised by the recent trends of out-sourcing and off-shoring. The
increasing role of ICT in economic development and ICT career prospects are not
effectively communicated to the students. 25 To some extent this perception seems to
rest on an overly narrow view of what a successful ICT career involves. As mentioned
below, some of the most valuable skills in the future will be the ability to combine
business and technology insights to understand how technology can address current
challenges and create new possibilities rather than simply technical ICT skills.
Shrinking manufacturing and industrial sector The manufacturing and industrial
sector in Hong Kong has undergone limited or negative growth since the 1990s due to
the cost competition with low-cost cities or regions. Recent data showed that
manufacturing accounted for 1.8% of the GDP while employment in manufacturing took
up 3.4% of the total employment 26, which are relatively insignificant compared to other
major industries. A strong high tech manufacturing and industrial base is conducive to
ICT hardware and software development. Hong Kong has a service sector of 93% and
thus do not have the manufacturing and industrial bases to support the ICT industries
like our neighbouring cities. On the other hand it is important to note that ICT plays a
vital role in many service industries and therefore this is an area where the Hong Kong
ICT industry does have a great opportunity.
Shortage of land The relative shortage of land and office space puts pressure on
the ICT industry, especially start-ups which would require an upfront investment on
office space. The ICT start-ups are an important driver to bring innovation to this fast-
paced industry, and thus ICT ecosystem is affected by high office rental. Also, data
centres require a lot of space in hosting the hardware and infrastructure. Office rental is
a key cost driver to the data centres and thus high office rental affects Hong Kongs
competitiveness as a data centre hub.
Opportunities
Growing opportunities in Mainland China As its economy shifts from exports to
domestic consumption, the services sector expands, and Chinas own exploitation of
25
Reference: IT Manpower Workshop report completed 2013 January and IBM consultation workshops with ICT
industry and education institution representatives.
26
Reference: Trade and Industry Department,, Fact Sheets Trade and Industry 2012.
ICT grows rapidly. It is estimated that over the next five years, the Chinese market will
roughly double in size. 27 By 2022, Chinas retail market is estimated to grow to twice
the size of the US. Being part of China and such a large fast growing economy
provides huge opportunities to Hong Kong in many aspects. 28 The nature of that
opportunity is shifting as the Mainland economy focuses more on domestic
consumption and there is more focus on providing services alongside the
manufacturing of products. The nature of retailing is changing fundamentally as online
shopping allows Chinese consumers access to both leading global and local brands.
These developments are already having major impacts and many successful
enterprises, such as Alibaba, are emerging. 29 The ICT opportunity in Mainland China
is therefore growing rapidly, e.g. Internet of Things 30 and with it the opportunities for
the Hong Kong ICT industry. Hong Kong can also sometimes be an attractive market
for ICT and other enterprises to try out new business models, products and services as
a preliminary step to entering the China market all the more so given the high volume
of retail sales in Hong Kong to China visitors.
Huge possibilities presented by the next generation of technology trends (e.g.
Cloud, Mobile, Big Data, Social Media, and Internet of Things) - As economies around
the world continue their efforts to understand and exploit current technologies, the next
wave of developments is already underway and the possibilities continue to expand.
Cloud computing means many things to many people on demand computing capacity
(storage and computing power), software as a service and applications as a service.
Cloud also has the potential to transform data centre services with cloud computing
an area where Hong Kongs ICT sector has had significant success with Governments
support and facilitation. Mobile and social media have taken ICT out of the home and
office and allowed people to live and work in different ways and to develop many new
applications. The Internet of Things means that it is now possible to build a new level of
intelligence into the physical world and infrastructure around us. This has the potential
to provide new insights and ways to address shared community challenges that Hong
Kong is faced with such as the environment, traffic congestion, food safety and security,
building safety and healthcare. Given Hong Kongs track record for developing ways to
exploit new technologies, this should represent a significant opportunity for the city and
for its ICT industry.
International experience illustrates the benefits of leveraging PSI datasets more
widely Managing and delivering public services involves governments in collecting
and using vast amounts of data about the cities they govern. There is a lot of potential
value to the community in aggregating and exploiting this data but the government
agencies that collect it may not be in the best position to assess what data would be
helpful or develop the innovative applications that can take advantage of it. Experience
from other governments shows that the private and non-government sectors can be
very innovative in finding uses and applications to such data provided it can be made
available to them freely in the right format. Of course data that could identify an
27
Reference: Economist Intelligent Unit, Chinas retail market: Double dragon.
28
Reference: Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, Guangdongs Economic Transformation in the 12th Five-Year
Plan and Hong Kongs Opportunities.
29
Reference: The Economist, Alibaba The worlds greatest bazaar.
30
Reference: CNN, China looks to lead the Internet of Things.
individual is not needed or appropriate for such use. But much public data does not
relate to people but to the physical environment, and data on people can often be
aggregated to avoid potential privacy concerns and then released for innovative re-use.
Governments generally pursue this type of PSI opportunity by releasing data through a
portal or platform. The Hong Kong Government has set up such an open data platform
(Data.One), and some selected PSI is now available for download and re-use. This
offers opportunities to further expand the release and re-use of PSI for more social-
economic benefits.
Innovation in healthcare and elderly services incentivised by the ageing
population Hong Kong has a world-class healthcare system, and has been providing
a wide range of public services to the elderly population. These services will potentially
be enhanced and transformed through innovative ICT solutions. For example,
computer scientists around the world have been working with medical experts to study
ageing-related diseases using advanced computational tools, and trying to develop
innovative therapeutic approaches 31. Substantial business opportunities and values will
be captured from those innovative developments. As Hong Kongs population keeps
ageing 32, there will be increasing demand and incentives to innovative and enhance
our healthcare and related elderly services. With further development in the ICT and
other innovation-driven industries, Hong Kong may become an ideal testing ground
and innovation hub for elderly service related solutions.
Threats
Competition from other Asian and global economies Other cities and economies
are of course very aware of the opportunities provided by ICT and technology trends
and are seeking to establish their own digital leadership. Hong Kongs neighbouring
economies have formulated strategies to leverage ICT to enhance competitive
advantage in the new digital age. Countries like Australia, Singapore and Korea have
formulated national ICT development strategies for 2015 and 2020. Of course ICT
exploitation is not a zero sum game and Hong Kong is not necessarily disadvantaged if
another city does well. The focus for Hong Kong is on fully seizing the opportunities
offered by technology. Indeed in some ways being part of a vibrant region with many
competing economies and cities can be a spur to Hong Kongs continued development.
But in some areas - such as the ICT industry and attracting international companies to
locate their headquarters in Hong Kong there is competition with neighbouring cities
and economies and Hong Kong will need to ensure that is it at least keeping up with or
ideally in a leadership position compared to other centres. Effective exploitation of ICT
and technology, and the presence of a vital ICT services sector are vital elements in
this.
Uncertainties in the global economic outlook Economies around the work felt
different levels of impact from the Global Financial Crisis and are recovering at different
speeds. Many of the mature markets have been hit harder and are recovering more
31
Reference: Ageing Research Review, Next-generation sequencing in aging research: emerging applications,
problems, pitfalls and possible solutions 2010.
32
Reference: Hong Kong Population Projections 2007-2036 released by the HKSAR Government,
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200707/16/P200707160137.htm
slowly and this has an impact on the global ICT market and its growth. Major ICT
markets in the world have felt the impact of global economic uncertainty 33 and market
demand for local ICT companies is potentially under pressure as global economic
growth slows. On the other hand Hong Kong, being part of China, has benefited with a
higher growth rate than most leading economies 34, and many global companies are
refocusing investments even more strongly on growth markets in general and China in
particular in order to try to capture the growth here.
Risk of digital divide for those without ICT access There is a potential risk that
the underprivileged groups will be further disadvantaged by having limited access to
ICT and the life benefits it brings. For example people with some types of disability may
find it hard to access technology unless proper provision is made in products and
services to allow them to do so. Families with low incomes may find it hard, without
help, to gain access to ICT and the opportunities it brings and this can re-enforce the
problem of low income - and indeed pass it to the next generation. Todays elderly
people, who grew up at a time when many of todays technologies were not available,
tend to be less familiar with ICT and possess fewer skills, making it hard to digitally
engage the current and future elderly population which will make up an increasing
percentage of the population. 35According to international experience 36 it is often the
case that those citizens who are digitally excluded are also more likely to be financially
and socially disadvantaged. Unless the digital divide is bridged, the benefits of
achieving Hong Kongs ICT vision will not be shared among all groups within the
community.
33
Reference: International Monetary Fund, April 2013 World Economic Outlook (WEO).
34
Reference: IDC, China ICT Spending 2012 2016 Forecast and Analysis.
35
Reference: HKSAR Government, Hong Kong Population Projections 2007-2036,
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200707/16/P200707160137.htm
36
Reference: The Chartered Institute of Taxation (UK), Digital Exclusion. 2012.
pubic services integration, ICT infrastructure, etc.). By investing resources in each area
and successfully executing the respective plans, Hong Kong will be able to realise the
anticipated impacts, which are discussed in the section below.
This then is the proposed vision for Smarter Hong Kong, Smarter Living and in the next
section we go on to recommend how Hong Kong should achieve this vision through a
series of strategic programmes or thrusts.
General citizen
I am usually out of town so I rely on the Internet for public
services. I am now amazed by what can be done online, and
the convenience and ease of use. With a digital ID, I can apply
for my driving licence, renew my passport, register my marriage
and retrieve my medical records from hospitals. I have found
many interesting and useful apps with public data. When I drive,
I receive real-time information to pick the fastest route without
traffic jam. I go to restaurants with good hygiene rating, as there
are apps that make use of inspection records. I also know when
not to exercise outdoor due to the availability of accurate air
quality data. Everything now becomes really convenient.
For students, the new vision would deliver a completely new revolutionary e-
learning experience. Fully e-enabled classrooms and schools will allow students to
have truly personalised education for all subjects, allowing immediate multi-media
connectivity to other students in other classes and other schools for collaboration
projects for example. Technology will move out of the computer laboratory and ICT
education to become an important medium for all education integrated with the
essential role of teachers. These developments will be revolutionary for the teacher
also, who will be freed from the more mundane routine tasks (e.g. marking
homework) to devote more quality learning time directly with students. E-learning
will not replace the classroom, but rather make classroom time more effective,
University student
I am a first year university student. I want to learn more
from my biology courses and always need to work with
my classmates on a number of class projects. The digital
learning platform provides me a truly personalised
learning experience and allows me to collaborate better
with my classmates, all online! This technology is so
cool I am now thinking about a career in technology
there are many technology companies I would be proud to work for.
For the elderly, Government will be able to provide the option of receiving services
remotely, rather than queuing up in hospital outpatient clinics. For example. The
increasingly digitally enabled healthcare facilities allow citizens to perform health
checks themselves or to have vital signs monitored remotely. Visiting healthcare
workers can access health records from the citizens home to perform medical
procedures.
Elderly citizen
I am 72 years old and have lived in this city since I was born.
In this smarter city, I can now request most of the public
services online without queuing up in Government office for
hours! I no longer need to keep my medical records myself,
because today I can easily access these records through the
Internet!
For persons with disabilities, the smarter city would ensure that technology was
implemented in way that enables everyone to access the benefits and would also
exploit technology to provide targeted help. For example map applications could
provide guidance on wheelchair access routes to buildings, or best routes between
two points in the city for example.
Telecommuter
I am a freelance designer working from home. I work
with designers all over the world on online collaboration
space, and I present my work pieces to clients using
video conference. Sometimes I work in a coffee shop or
on the road. The excellent mobile Internet network and
easy-to-use cloud-based applications make my work
much more convenient and efficient!
For the business persons, the smarter city could help them expand into new
markets, generate more revenue, streamline operations, acquire and retain talents,
and embrace corporate social responsibilities. For example, e-cheque payments
can enhance operational efficiencies and lead to cost savings; mobile apps and
digital media could benefit sales and marketing; more automation can cut down
consumption of energy, paper, etc.
ICT startup
I have started my technology business in this city. I want to
grow my business faster and invest more time to explore
new business opportunities. In this smarter city, I can easily
access pertinent startup information like the availability of
mentorship, network with other startups and access to angel
funding. I can also process cheque payments from my
customers all online, which improves my companys
operational efficiency and allows me to focus on growing my
core business!
General businessman
I have been running my company in Hong Kong for
thirty years. I want to expand my customer base beyond
Hong Kong to different parts of the world. My products
will reach the younger generation the gen X and Y, the
young adults and kids. My staff will become more
collaborative and productive.
Based in this smarter city, my products are now
marketed and sold over the world using the best e-
commerce platforms with excellent mobile apps. I hire the most talented digital
media experts to rejuvenate my company brand image. Now all young adults and
teenagers love my products. My product design teams all work collaboratively with
digital tools. They all enjoy their work and love their jobs!
ICT business owner
I have lots of great ideas, but I need funding to develop
them into products. I am also searching for talents for my
R&D and sales teams for my China business. In this
smarter city, I can access to a rich network of investors,
researchers and patent experts who offer me business
support. With the investments and capital needed, I can
select and hire the best people from an abundance of ICT
talents from universities. They are eager to work with my
business partners in the Mainland to explore the market. With these people, my
business definitely has a bright future.
For the visitor to Hong Kong, the smarter city offers a seamless hi-tech
experience from the moment of entering Hong Kong up to the point of departure.
Frequent visitors receive personalised and contextualised mobile messages
suggesting special arrangements and bookings at favourite restaurants, or offering
to reserve seats at particular shows for artists that the visitor likes, or proposing
particular tourist attractions to suit the individual, and so forth. The world smarter
city makes the visitor feel immediately welcome and offers tremendous
convenience and free added value to whole visitor experience which will
encourage the visitor to recommend Hong Kong to friends and family.
Visitor
I can travel around Hong Kong with 24x7 Internet
connections. Its amazing! Internet is everywhere in the
city, and I can navigate the city effortlessly! With all these
apps available for my smartphone and tablet, I dont even
need a guidebook or tour guide in Hong Kong!
For the civil servant, the enhanced e-Government applications provide her with
the information she needs to understand and respond to the publics needs, and
allows her to spend more time helping citizens directly rather than spending time on
administrative matters, thereby creating greater job satisfaction and sense of worth
to the community she strives to serve.
Civil servant
I am a civil servant and my job is to serve the Hong Kong
community. Government is a complex organisation with
many services and sometimes it can be hard to find out
what information we have and what services are
available. Now with our mobile apps it becomes much
easier to access information about our citizens and about
the services that may be relevant to them. Other than serving the people directly, I
also need to spend time to handle various administrative matters. Thanks to the
enhanced e-Government applications, I can spend more time helping citizens
directly and work with greater efficiency! I am happy to see that I am making a
better community!
Strength Weakness
SWOT analysis
(chapter 5)
Opportunity Threats
Vision Vision
Smarter Hong Kong, Smarter Living (chapter 6)
Igniting
Supporting a Transforming
Empowering business
thriving Hong and integrating Strategic Thrusts
everyone innovation
Kong ICT public services
through through (chapter 7)
industry and through
technology exploitation of
R&D technology
technology
solutions provides an exciting new way to help our children to become familiar
with harnessing the immense power of technology, to personally develop creative
solutions to everyday problems and to be trained in structured and logical thinking
Providing visitors and citizens with targeted information enriches the
engagement of visitors and citizens via advanced, personalised and multi-media
online experiences; and maximises visitors and citizens enjoyment and
convenience.
4. Including elements of
programming in every childs
(a.) Promote the benefits of programming education
education programme to
(b.) Strengthen programming learning for children
inculcate a generic logical
(c.) Support teachers in teaching programming
mindset and a proclivity to look to
ICT for solutions
5. Providing visitors and citizens (a.) Facilitate more mobile applications for visitors
with targeted information and citizens leveraging Wi-Fi services
Thrust #3: Supporting a thriving Hong Kong ICT industry and research and
development
5. Exploiting convergence to
(a.) Enable connections and collaboration between
combine Hong Kongs strengths
media content providers with ICT companies to
in the media, creative and
create a cluster of digital media companies
technology industries to make
(b.) Facilitate experience sharing and publicise
the city a Centre of Excellence in
success cases
Digital Media
and utilise Big Data to manage (c.) Explore and encourage further productive use
the thriving and growing city of ICT
(d.) Promulgate standards, approach and guidelines
for Big Data across Government departments
8.2.1. Providing every citizen with a free and universal Hong Kong
Digital ID
Current position in Hong Kong
Digital ID can be positioned as a secure and convenient tool to use various e-services.
The Hong Kong citizens and businesses increasingly use e-services in their everyday
life, as evidenced by their usage of e-commerce and e-Government. For instance, the
number of e-banking accounts in Hong Kong has been growing, in which the numbers
of accounts of individuals and businesses reaching 8.40 million and 0.76 million
respectively in 2012 37. A leading Mainland business-to-consumer e-commerce website
37
Reference: Figures from Hong Kong Monetary Authority
reported 1.4 million registered users from Hong Kong in 2013. 38 Also, the e-
Government usage is on a steady increase, reaching 12,900 million times in 2012. 39
With increasing e-services, it is an opportune time to review the need for a unique and
unified Digital ID trusted by community, businesses and the Government to conduct e-
Government and e-commerce activities amid the increasing security exposure on the
Internet.
10
Corporate e-Banking accounts
0.76
Individual e-Banking accounts
0.66
8
0.57
0.59
0.53
6
0.45
0.37 8.4
4
0.31 7.6
7.0
0.27 6.2
5.7
0.18 4.9
2 0.12 3.8
3.3
2.8
2.2
1.6
0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, Hong Kong has such recognised Digital
ID already, namely digital certificates for individuals and organisations to perform
legally binding online transactions where confidentiality and integrity of data,
38
Reference: South China Morning Post, Alibaba celebrates 1.2 million users on Taobao in Hong Kong, 11 December,
2012.
39
Reference: Figures from internal surveys done by OGCIO
40
Reference: Figures provided by the recognised certification authorities.
41
Reference: Hong Kong Monetary Authority A New Era for Retail Payment: Building a Diversified Platform for Mobile,
Internet-based and Electronic Payments
identification and authentication, the On top of the traditional Digital ID, Finland
Government can consider providing free offers mobile Digital ID. Many e-services
Digital ID for every citizen for voluntary including e-Government service providers
identification and authentication in the in Finland rely on mobile Digital ID. Three
digital world to enjoy secure and user- Finnish mobile operators launched mobile
friendly e-services. While Digital ID Digital ID in 2011 in full cooperation with
would be available for every adult, it is the Finnish government. Mobile ID is
also possible that Digital ID will be convenient as the user only has to
granted to every child since childbirth, remember a personal identification number
with the ID managed by parents or other (PIN) code in order to use the mobile
authorised persons. This will facilitate Digital ID without a card reader.
the adoption and usage of Digital ID
related services.
Recommendations
We propose to provide every citizen with a free, convenient Digital ID. Here are the
benefits:
Important enabler for every member of the community to fully exploit and
participate in the digital world in a secure and authenticated manner (e.g. e-
commerce, citizen engagement, digital health record management, e-learning
resources and online examination, students learning portfolio, etc.)
Providing a digital tool or platform with the following characteristics non-
repudiation, integrity, secure authentication, and confidentiality. Some of these
characteristics are backed by the law
Secure an integrated user experience in managing multiple e-services
Shift community mindset from do I need a digital certificate to how can I make the
most of my Digital ID
Potential for private sector to adopt Digital ID to reduce costs and increase
convenience since there is no need for issuing multiple log-in IDs and tokens for
different organisations.
Create an e-platform for engagement between the Government and citizens
Long term As Immigration Department evaluates the launch of the next smart
identity card project, the user-friendliness of Digital ID can be improved through the
latest technology (e.g. contactless ID card).
Meanwhile, a mobile Digital ID is worth exploring in the long term to further
enhance the convenience of using Digital ID, since the mobile penetration rate is
high (around 228.4%) in Hong Kong. The detailed implementation feasibility of
mobile Digital ID should be reviewed based on the next smart identity card.
2. Continue the growth in development of e-Government using Digital ID The
Government should continue to develop more e-Government services and
particularly more targeted and integrated services, e.g. an e-Citizen account that
could provide citizens with an easy and convenient access to many e-services. The
e-Citizen account, subject to the citizens consent, can integrate all e-Government
services into one portal and enable a seamless experience without prior set-up
effort, e.g. vehicle and driving licence renewal, passport renewal, payment of
Government and utilities bills, etc. Digital mailbox can also integrate with e-Citizen
account for identifiable communication with the Government (and the private sector)
and the storage of important personal documents (e.g. report cards, bill statements,
etc.).
Also, the e-Citizen account should ensure a good privacy data protection. For
example, Belgium offers an e-Government service called My File which reveals to
the authenticated citizen the government officials who have accessed their
personal data over the last 6 months.
3. Work with banks to launch e-cheque Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is
working with banks to launch e-cheque and target to roll-out e-cheque by the end of
2014. The free Digital ID can be a convenient yet secure and non-repudiating
means of signature. Therefore, the use of Digital ID for e-cheque and other
financial services would be voluntary.
hotspots in the city, which can be found in convenience stores, buses and more than
1,000 telephone booths. MTR offers free Wi-Fi service at all MTR stations and some
network operators also offer the same in public areas at over 150 public rental estates
and about 30 shopping centres of the Housing Authority. The locations of GovWiFi
premises and registered Wi-Fi access points are marked in Appendix E.
While the ICT infrastructure for broader population is robust and affordable, digital
inclusion remains an important topic for an ICT strategy for Hong Kong. Digital
inclusion refers to the social inclusion that ensures individuals and persons with
disabilities have access to, and skills to use ICT. The usage of computers among the
elderly and persons with disabilities has shown signs of improvement since the last
Digital 21 Strategy published in 2008 (as shown in figure 9).
The Government has already been actively promoting the importance of having equal
access to online information and services for all groups within the community through
its own implementation, education and the recognition of best practices. The Web
Accessibility Campaign promotes awareness and wider adoption of web accessibility
design for adoption on public and private websites.
Lastly, a comprehensive digital inclusion programme, from one-stop portal to assistive
technology, has been launched to target a wide range of community members, e.g. the
elderly, persons with disabilities, children in low income family, etc.
1. Encourage and facilitate ICT adoption for persons with disabilities The
Government should continue to implement measures to encourage and facilitate
ICT adoption among persons with disabilities in order to enhance their quality of life
and help them integrate within the knowledge-based society.
2. Further promote web accessibility to the community To sustain the
momentum, the Government should continue with the current efforts on instilling
awareness among current web designers and incentivising wider adoption on non-
government websites.
3. Encourage more leverage of mobile technology in digital inclusion
programmes The Government should support non-government organisations
(NGOs) to design mobile applications for target digital inclusion segments. (Please
also refer to the first area of action under Establishing Hong Kong as a Mobile
Centre of Excellence.
4. Facilitate internet access through Wi-Fi hotspots The Government can work
with the private sector in opening up more Wi-Fi hotspots for the convenience of
the public. For example, the Office of the Communications Authority has issued
guidance note 42 to facilitate public wireless service operators in the installation of
their Wi-Fi equipment on Government facilities.
42
Reference: OFCA, Guidance Note for Submission of Application for Installing Micro-cell Base Station on Highway
Facilities or on Unleased and Unallocated Government Land.
1.4%
1.7%
24.6%
< 30 Mbps
30 to < 50 Mbps
41.0% 50 to < 100 Mbps
100 Mbps
> 100 to < 1000 Mbps
> 1000 Mbps
19.2%
12.1%
Recommendations
International experience and benefits
We propose that Hong Kong launch a
programme to radically expand the use In the US, schools are encouraged and
of technology in schools so that recommended to improve their Internet
interactive on-line learning becomes a speed over time. The State Educational
major supplement to the core face to Technology Directors Association (SETDA)
face education by teachers. The benefits recommends that every school should
include:
attain an external Internet connection of at
More effective learning in all least 100Mbps for 1,000 students / staff by
subjects 2014-2015 school year and at least 1Gbps
Building students digital literacy for 1,000 students / staff by the 2017-2018
and skills school year.
Opening students minds to the
broad potential of technology beginning their journey to understanding how to
combine business and technology for their later careers
Building the IT literacy and skills of teachers so that they are in a better position
to enthuse and educate their students and prepare them for life in a technology
rich digital world.
43
LOGO is a programming language commonly used to teach students the basics of programming.
Biology and Chemistry, each subject was taken by over 22% 44. For ICT curriculum,
only 15% students chose Software Development as elective part (as shown below).
Figure 22 Percentage of HKDSE students taking ICT Curriculum and elective parts
Softw are
Multimedia Production and
89% 11% 71% 15% Development
Website Development
11% Database
Data Communication
3% and Netw orking
Reference: Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), 2012 HKDSE Entry Statistics
The above statistics may suggest that Hong Kong secondary 4 - 6 students may have
a lower degree of interest in choosing ICT and programming. Even among students
taking ICT, more students have Multimedia Production and Web Site Development as
an elective over Software Development. This is an interesting contrast that most digital
native 45 students do not choose to study ICT curriculum over other subjects like the
Science subjects at secondary 4-6. The phenomena may somehow be related to the
subject/modules offered by schools as well as career aspirations and pathways.
44
Reference: 2012 HKDSE Entry Statistics,
http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/Exam_Report/Examination_Statistics/dseexamstat12_2.pdf
45
According to Gartner, a digital native is a person who was born during or after the general introduction of digital
technologies and through interacting with digital technology from an early age, has a greater understanding of its
concepts.
schools so that students can progress and accumulate programming knowledge over
the years like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, etc.
We need to emphasise that the primary
goal of programming is not to equip our International experience and benefits
students with programming capabilities
but to encourage their active exploitation The US Government is working with high
of technology for problem solving. We schools to ensure that knowledge and
see programming as one of the thinking gained through programming are
important elements to realise the relevant for the future whether the students
potential of technology, much like are likely to pursue an advanced ICT
arithmetic in Mathematics. Through academic degree or not.
programming, our students will have
hands-on opportunities to exercise creativity, and train up their logical thinking from a
technology perspective.
By incorporating more programming
opportunities in our school education, International experience and benefits
our students should grow up with a
mind-set to exploit technology intuitively In Australia, a draft Technologies
and efficiently in solving their everyday curriculum has been designed and
life problem. This will in turn groom our published for children from kindergarten
future leaders with confidence and ability through to secondary school which is
to look to broader technology, not just intended to ensure that students become
programming, as one of the most critical confident developers of digital solutions.
tools to create enterprising opportunities At secondary school level students will be
and transform our lives, economy and expected to use software tools
society. appropriately and ethically to produce
digital solutions that create enterprising
When we look at students option in their opportunities and transform lives and
study at S4-6 with lower interest in ICT societies.
curriculum and Software Development
elective part (as shown in the above graph), we may see that our students tend to
favour to be digital consumers, rather
than digital solution creators. Students International experience and benefits
are comfortable with using technology
without knowing the mechanics behind Estonia introduced a pilot scheme to some
it. We need to embrace and enrich both Estonian schools in 2012, which is a
dimensions. computer programming study for all
children attending school from the age of 6
Learning and understanding years old. In the future it is anticipated that
programming can help demystify the the programme will expand and include
technology and make students young adults who wish to carry on ICT
comfortable with technology. For activities outside of the classroom. The
students who do not go on an ICT programmes goal is to eventually become
career, they would still likely need to a part of the standard educational
make sure of technology in their daily life curriculum - just like mathematics and
to solve their problems. language studies.
Technology is becoming integrated or
even embedded into most problem-solving skills in the digital era, regardless of an
individuals occupation.
Recommendations
Copyright IBM Corporation 2013 82
Consultancy Services for the Digital 21 Strategy Review
for the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
Strategy Report
Visitors to Hong Kong can access the Internet conveniently when they are in Hong
Kong, using the GovWiFi at over 2,200 hotspots in some 410 Government premises
like sports venues, major parks, as well as a number of tourist attractions and other
public Wi-Fi at over 16,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in the city, which can be found in MTR
stations, convenience stores, buses and more than 1,000 telephone booths.
Besides Wi-Fi connection, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has listed out over
10 mobile applications for visitors, providing information of popular tourist spots, events
and transportation arrangement. At selected Wi-Fi hotspots, visitors are allowed to
browse HKTBs DiscoverHongKong.com website and download HKTBs mobile
applications for free. Over 1.5 million downloads of HKTB mobile applications have
been recorded as of April 2013. The private sector has also developed many other
mobile applications to provide geo-spatial information to help visitors tour around the
city. Besides visitors, Hong Kong citizens who travel around the city can also use these
mobile applications.
Recommendations
We propose that the Government should continue to encourage and facilitate the
private sector to further strengthen Hong Kongs Wi-Fi services with easy access
(please refer to the fourth area of action under Facilitating access to technology and
broadband) and mobile applications to visitors. The benefits are:
Capitalise on the advantage of robust Wi-Fi coverage and mobile app industry for
visitors
Delight visitors with a personalised virtual tour guide to navigate and experience an
original Hong Kong
Strengthen Hong Kong as Asias World City and a top tourist destination for visitors.
46
Reference: OECD, Innovation and Growth Rationale for an Innovation Strategy.
Despite the challenges in nurturing innovation, there are signs that Hong Kong is
improving. A significant portion of Hong Kongs innovation happens in the higher
education sector. Our universities are now building a good reputation in research, and
are making larger investment in innovation. Expenditure on R&D in the Hong Kong
higher education sector has been rising in recent years. In 2011, expenditure on R&D
in the higher education sector reached HK$7,155 million, up by 3% when compared
with 2010 50. They present opportunities for driving innovation development in Hong
Kong.
As our universities are making advancement, we should more effectively leverage their
strengths. The QS World University Rankings 2012/13 reported for the first time that
four universities in Hong Kong are ranked among the worlds top 100. 51 All of them
have Engineering Faculties with cutting-edge ICT research. Their strengths can be
more extensively utilised to benefit Hong Kongs economy.
47
"National Survey of R&D in Singapore 2011",
http://www.a-star.edu.sg/Portals/0/media/RnD_Survey/RnD_2011.pdf
48
OECD Library, http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/science-and-technology/gross-domestic-expenditure-on-r-d_2075843x-
table1
49
http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr11-12/english/panels/ci/papers/ci0417cb1-1760-1-e.pdf
50
Reference: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Innovation Activities 2011
51
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong
Kong, and City University of Hong Kong
6,500
6,194
6,000
5,767
5,474
5,500
5,000
4,500
2009 2010 2011
Reference: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Innovation Activities 2011
Recommendations
Hong Kong is recommended to encourage innovation by strengthening technology
transfer and driving business innovation excellence. This will put Hong Kong at the
forefront of innovative business applications of technology. The benefits are:
Innovative ideas and research outputs from universities will be more effectively
translated into economic benefits.
More innovative solutions will be applied to businesses to raise their
competitiveness.
Hong Kong will more effectively attract innovation talents from other parts of the
world to enrich its talent pool.
with ICT elements could be included in certain innovation funding support. This
could potentially trigger more business-driven ideas and technology applications. It
is noted that the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) has supported some
business-driven R&D application projects in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Applied
Science and Technology Research Institute and the Hong Kong R&D Centre for
Logistics and Supply Chain Management also contribute to business innovation
development. These efforts should be expanded into larger scale.
8.3.2. Promoting cloud platforms and knowledge sharing for small and
medium enterprises to help them succeed through increased
leveraging of technology
Current position in Hong Kong
A significant portion of Hong Kongs businesses is made up of small and medium
enterprises (SMEs). 52 According to the Trade and Industry Department, as of
December 2012, there were about 300,000 SMEs in Hong Kong. They accounted for
over 98% of the total business units and provided job opportunities to over 1.2 million
persons, representing about 47% of total employment 53. Their business success and
vibrancy is critical to the overall economic success of Hong Kong.
A recent detailed study into SMEs ICT adoption revealed that ICT adoption could lead
to more successful business 54. It concluded that there was a significant direct
relationship between revenue and stage of ICT usage, with a higher ICT usage driving
higher revenue.
The study also suggested that the lack of understanding of ICT could be a potential
deterrent to ICT adoption. It was concluded that an important reason for SMEs not
adopting ICT appears to be the perception that they do not need it. They feel that they
have managed well without the technology so far, and see no need to make an
investment that would be difficult and expensive to maintain.
Despite the challenges facing SMEs in ICT adoption, some progress has been made.
Over the years, the Government and the ICT industry have joined hands to facilitate
the wider adoption of ICT among SMEs.Through the OGCIO's Sector-specific
Programme and IT Training Programme for SMEs, 22 projects for 16 business sectors
were conducted to benefit over 17,000 practitioners from SMEs as of May 2013. 55 The
52
Definition of SME adopted by the Trade and Industry Department: Manufacturing enterprises with fewer than 100
employees and non-manufacturing enterprises with fewer than 50 employees are regarded as small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong.
53
Reference: Trade and Industry Department,
http://www.success.tid.gov.hk/english/lin_sup_org/gov_dep/service_detail_6863.html
54
Prof. Ali Farhoomand, Director of HKU Asia Case Research Centre, published the research Study on ICT Adoption in
Hong Kong SMEs.
55
Reference: Figures provided by OGCIO
Recommendation
The Government is recommended to work with the private sector to facilitate the
provision of cloud platforms specifically for SMEs. To supplement the cloud platform,
the Government will actively promote knowledge sharing for SMEs to succeed through
technology. The benefits are:
56
Reference: Hong Kong Productivity Council Hong Kong Cloud End-User Survey
Giving SMEs the incentives to use cloud computing services provided on trusted
and reliable cloud platforms
Enabling faster adoption of innovative technology applications by SMEs to improve
business performance
Enabling the development of more innovative business and technology solutions for
the SME market segment.
Recommendation
We propose to make all PSI datasets
International experience and benefits
available so that both private and non-
government sectors can re-use the data In the US, hygiene records of restaurants
with innovation, especially in forms of in some cities are open for downloading.
mobile apps, to deliver direct benefits to Mobile apps have been developed based
the society as a whole. The benefits are: on the open data to provide information on
Creating business opportunities for eatery and dinning places. The information
economic growth in a cost-effective is combined with customer ratings as a
and creative way restaurant guide for the citizens.
Making innovative use of the hygiene
Benefiting private and non- related open data, the apps have delivered
government sector by gaining more an unexpected benefit. The rate of health
precise and complete insight into incidents related to poor hygiene / food
customers preferences and needs poisoning has dropped. This is an example
of how open data can benefit the public.
Leveraging on community wisdom to
deliver convenience to citizens through developing applications with open data for
citizens daily use
than an exception. In general, public data that is not subject to privacy, security or
privilege limitations should be made available. PSI datasets could be released in
machine-readable formats in parallel to their usual document formats (such as
.pdf, .doc, etc.). The Government should set up guidelines to Government
departments and public bodies on the development of application programming
interfaces (APIs). A single portal with access to all Government bodies APIs could
be established to facilitate data access by users.
2. Encourage other public organisations to release PSI The Government should
not only seek to make available more PSI from Government departments but
should also work with other public organisations and sectors to encourage release
of more information for the benefit of the Hong Kong community as a whole (e.g.
release of data by organisations in the utilities and transportation sectors).
3. Prioritise the provision of PSI for high value-added services To develop
impactful and high value services, critical data sets need to be released and
combined with innovative services. If the base maps could be opened for public use
at minimal cost, or free-of-charge, developers would be further encouraged to
leverage the base maps to design innovative location-based applications. This
could also potentially add to the strengths of Hong Kong as a hub for mobile
applications. Experience from some advanced economies suggests that the
provision of location or map based information by public bodies free-of-charge
could be a practical option 57,58. The Government could further explore whether the
base map data could be downloaded through APIs such that they are made easier
to use by developers.
57
EuroGeographics (http://www.eurogeographics.org/products-and-services/euroglobalmap) offers free base maps. The
maps are available at the provincial level.
58
Singapore also offers location based information on Data.gov.sg. Though it is not offering sophisticated or high value-
added data services, the information is readily accessible with no extra cost.
7%
6% 6.10%
4.9% 5.4%
5%
3.6%
4%
4.4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Reference: Census and Statistics Department, Annual Report: Hong Kong as an Information Society.
Based on the lessons learnt from leading economies, a vibrant ICT industry should
comprise a large base of successful ICT startups. 62, 63 They excel at generating,
protecting, applying and commercialising innovative ideas. They first capture business
from a local market, and then expand into the international market and become
59
Reference: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong as an Information Society (2013 edition).
60
Reference: 2012 VTC Manpower Survey Report
61
The size of the total Hong Kong labour force in 2010 was 3.65 million. (Hong Kong: The Facts Employment,
http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/employment.pdf)
62
Reference: OECD, Innovation and Growth - Rationale for and Innovation Strategy.
63
Reference: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills of the UK Government Innovation and Research Strategy
for Growth.
64
Source: Information and Technology Commission, Innovation and Technology Fund Statistics of Approved Projects
(as at 30 April 2013)
65
Reference: Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/03/20/the-worlds-top-4-tech-capitals-to-watch-
after-silicon-valley-and-new-york/2/
receive less support because they lack elements of new technology invention. This
could potentially hinder the establishment of ICT startups that emphasise new business
ideas rather than technology.
Some of the other difficulties facing entrepreneurs include: soliciting investments,
receiving mentorship, obtaining legal guidance, and the transparency of startup-related
information.
Another challenging aspect is the immigration requirements to non-local entrepreneurs.
Most of them cannot apply for a working visa, and many may not be qualified for the
Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. This is a deterrent to non-local startups.
Recommendations
Hong Kong is recommended to build and enhance the ecosystem to grow ICT startups
and groom them into successful enterprises. The benefits are:
66
Reference: INNO-Grips, Global Review of Innovation Policy Studies Korea: Shifting SME policies towards
competitiveness and growth.
Hong Kongs ICT industry will expand and become highly vibrant. It will add
economic diversity and strength to Hong Kong.
ICT startups and champions will brings together a large and fluid community of
entrepreneurs and technologists for further economic development and expansion.
A successful ecosystem will facilitate ICT startups to enter business
More high-value ICT jobs will be created.
67
The 2012 ICT Manpower Survey conducted by Vocational Training Council revealed that 87.3% of fresh IT first-
degree graduates were in full-time employment. The successful participation in IT related jobs was 77.1%.
studies in finance, law or medicine rather than information and computer science, or
engineering because of the public image of the ICT profession and the career prospect.
On the other hand, the skills possessed by the ICT graduates may not fully match the
requirements in the industries (e.g. strategic thinking, business analysis, project
management, stakeholder management) to cope with the rapidly changing IT
landscape and technologies.
66697 70000
64473
6000 5694
60000
4000 3742
40000
3359
3035
3000
30000
2000 20000
2006 2008 2010 2012
* The supply data do not include IT or computing graduates returning from overseas and non-IT / computing graduates having received in-depth
conversion IT training.
Reference: The Vocational Training Council, Manpower Survey of the IT Sector of 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
The 2012 ICT Manpower Survey revealed that 38.9% of employers had difficulties in
attracting suitable candidates with the relevant experience during their recruitment
exercises. The difficulty of ICT employers in recruiting candidates with the relevant
experience suggest that the problem may lie in the quality of the ICT workforce, though
it may also be due to the rapid change in technologies. The consultation with Hong
Kongs major ICT industry bodies, local and multinational ICT vendors and service
providers, and Chief Information Officers indicates that the younger generation of ICT
professionals may not be skilled enough to match market demand. The skills gaps
include technical competence (such as programming skills) and business knowledge
(such as business analysis and project management). Qualification framework on ICT
now exists (the Specification of Competency Standards on Software Products and
Software Services and Communication and Information Services), but many
stakeholders view that it does not fully reflect market needs (such as skills in data
analytics, business process analysis and cloud-based services) and it is not widely
adopted and recognised. These challenges certainly pose threats to the future
development of the ICT industry, as well as the broader implications to industries that
heavily rely on strong ICT capabilities.
Recommendations
The Government is recommended to continue fostering partnerships among academia,
training organisations, professional bodies, employers and employees for the
sustainable development of ICT manpower for Hong Kong. It is recommended to
develop an ICT professional recognition framework, which can accommodate different
professional qualifications and various existing framework. The ICT professional
recognition framework would comprise of a combination of assessment criteria such as
examination, experience, and skills competency. The framework would also make
reference to internationally recognised benchmarks/standards which are important to
the development of ICT profession. In addition, ICT will be promoted as an attractive
career. The professional image will be enhanced. The benefits are:
model to the younger generation. This will increase the proportion of top-rated
students admitted to ICT-related programmes in universities.
10,000,000
9,380,230
7,416,909
8,000,000
5,254,513
6,000,000
3,819,186
4,000,000 2,812,002
2,000,000
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Reference: Office of Communications Authority, Key Statistics for Telecommunications in Hong Kong
http://www.ofca.gov.hk/filemanager/ofca/en/content_108/wireless_en.pdf
Success cases in Internet and mobile business have been recently observed in Hong
Kong. For example, 9GAG.com was founded by five young local entrepreneurs in 2008.
It became highly popular on iOS and Android mobile device platforms, attracting over
100 million page-reads per month. Its success has attracted over 20 million dollars of
investment from Internet business investors. Another example is the success of Hong
Kong businesses in The Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA). In recent years, innovators
from Hong Kong have won APICTA awards in each competition. This shows an
increasing momentum of local innovators making ICT innovation achievement.
With these characteristics and emerging successes, the Hong Kong ICT industry can
further develop and expand. The ICT industry constitutes 6.1% of Hong Kongs GDP in
2011 (Reference figures from some developed countries: Singapore 3.6% 68, Canada
4.9 69, USA 7.1% 70 and South Korea 11.2% 71). This suggests Hong Kong can further
68
Reference: Department of Statistics, Singapore,
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/browse_by_theme/national_accounts.html
69
Reference: Industry Canada, http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ict-tic.nsf/eng/h_it05864.html
capture the growth opportunities in ICT, such as fostering mobile apps development to
propel the ICT industry to grow to a higher level of importance to our economy.
Recommendations
The Government is recommended to establish Hong Kong as a centre of excellence for
multi-platform apps. The benefits are:
Multi-platform app business development will drive ICT industry growth, and
contribute to the overall strength of Hong Kongs digital economy.
Multi-platform business innovators will place Hong Kong at top priority for
establishing their business base. This will enhance Hong Kongs reputation in
attracting ICT talents and investments.
70
Reference: US Department of Commerce, http://www.bea.gov/industry/gdpbyind_data.htm. The figure is calculated
from the cumulative total of "Computer and electronic products", "Information" and "Computer systems design and
related services".
71
Reference: Switzerland Global Enterprise, http://www.switzerland-ge.com/fr/filefield-
private/files/41328/field_blog_public_files/8025
72
Source: OGCIO
73
Reference: Data Centre Risk Index published by Cushman & Wakefield
Recommendations
The Government is recommended to continue to develop Hong Kong as a cloud
computing and data centre hub, making Hong Kong to be recognised as one of the
most business-friendly city for data centre with cloud computing businesses
practitioners engaged. The industries contribute more than $77.6 billion annually to
Hong Kongs GDP, representing around 4.6% of the latter. 74
As an example, Hong Kong is one of the world's largest film and television content
exporters. In 2011, 56 locally produced films worth US 37 million (HKD 287 million)
were exported in the form of videotapes, DVDs and other compact discs 75.
During the start of the Internet era, the media industry and content providers scrambled
to get their content digitised and re-used in new digital channels. The industry referred
this stage as Media 2.0. However, with the explosion of mobile devices and the advent
of social media, the connected consumer era represents the end of merely repurposing
digital content. Empowered consumers demand instant access to personalised media
content, wherever they are. This is the world of Media 3.0.
74
Reference: Create HK, Hong Kong: The Facts (October 2012)
75
Reference: HKTDC, http://hong-kong-economy-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Hong-Kong-Industry-
Profiles/Film-Entertainment-Industry-in-Hong-Kong/hkip/en/1/1X000000/1X0018PN.htm
76
Reference: IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV)
Recommendations
The Government should develop Hong Kong into a Centre of Excellence in Digital
Media by uniting the media, creative and technology industries. The benefits are:
Strengthen Hong Kong media and creative industry; and
Provide more business opportunities through promoting and marketing our ICT and
media products and services to other parts of the world.
77
Ministry of Commerce, Peoples Republic of China,
http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/article/statistic/foreigninvestment/201301/20130100012618.shtml
Figure 29 China ICT market size Historical data and future forecast
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
-
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Reference: IDC, "China ICT Spending 2012 2016 Forecast and Analysis".
The ICT opportunity in Mainland China is now growing rapidly. Several emerging
technologies, including IoT, Big Data analytics, cloud computing and social business
are under rapid development. Chinas IoT market exceeded RMB 200 billion in 2010,
mainly covering home safety, electric power safety, public security, health monitoring,
and environmental protection. It is expected that in 2020, the market size could reach
RMB 5-10 trillion. 78 As RFID is one of the key technologies for IoT, Hong Kongs
industry talents in RFID (e.g. experts in RFID application in our supply chain and
logistic industry) could assist the Mainland in IoT development.
The market size for big data analytics is expected to grow significantly in the years
ahead. It is expected to reach approximately RMB 4 billion in 2016. Currently big data
analytics is at an early stage of development in China. Telecommunication, banking
and healthcare sectors would likely be the fast-movers in adopting big data analytics
solutions.
The cloud computing market in China has undergone significant developments in
recent years. Telecommunications and Internet companies have led the investment in
cloud computing. Companies in the finance, manufacturing, and energy industries have
also begun adopting private cloud computing. The market size of cloud computing
services is expected to reach over RMB 11 billion in 2013, with an approximately 50%
year-to-year growth.
In the Mainland, corporate-level users are now trying to utilise the social network model
to assist and transform their internal operations, employee collaboration, process and
workflow, and knowledge management. With the world largest Internet population (over
500 million users 79), social business technologies and solutions would face an
optimistic future in the Mainland. The Chinese workforce, particularly the younger
generation, would become increasingly tech savvy users who could make better use of
social business tools to operate, manage and drive the growth of their businesses.
78
Reference: FINPRO, Internet of Things China, 2011.
79
Source: International Data Base, U.S. Census Bureau
To benefit from the vast business opportunities mentioned above, ICT businesses in
Hong Kong are now expanding into the Mainland market under The Mainland and
Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). Hong Kong service
suppliers (HKSS) are allowed to apply for qualification certification of computer
information system integration (SI Certification) and set up wholly-owned enterprises in
the Mainland to provide software implementation services and data processing
services. HKSS can also establish joint venture enterprises to provide database
services, and online data processing and transaction processing services.
Four local universities have established their industry, academic and research bases in
the High-Tech Zone of Nanshan District in Shenzhen over the past two years to
conduct R&D and collaborate with their Mainland counterparts. Over 40 joint projects
with a total funding of over $250 million have been approved for supporting R&D
collaboration between universities, research institutes and technology companies in the
two places. Their initiatives in the Mainland are likely to expand in the near future.
Recommendations
Hong Kong should continue to leverage its unique position by enabling ICT businesses
to access Mainland opportunities.
The benefits are:
The export of ICT products and services to the Mainland market will become an
economic growth engine for Hong Kong.
Hong Kongs ICT industry will also be recognised as a key contributor to the rise in
technology and economic power of China
80
Reference: Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, "",
http://www.most.gov.cn/kjgh/
With the advance in mobile technology and Hong Kongs mobile penetration at 228.4%,
in which over 64% 81 are smartphones, citizens behaviours have evolved and their
expectations have increased for consuming information and accessing services
through their mobile devices. Providing services through mobile channels are starting
to become de rigueur for providers in both public and private sectors. To address this
trend, the Government has been developing services with mobile as one of the optional
channels (as mentioned in Chapter 3.4).
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) identified five
stages of a connected government and its provision of e-Government services: (1)
emerging, (2) enhanced, (3) interactive, (4) transactional, and (5) connected. Using the
definition of the five stages, the Governments strong foundation in e-Services and its
deployment of mobile e-Services positions Hong Kong near the end of stage 3, moving
into stage 4. Additional deployment and more prevalent usage of mobile e-Services will
move Hong Kongs e-Government squarely into stage 4 Transactional.
81
Figures as of February 2013 provided by Office of the Communications Authority
Recommendations
Government should design and develop all online public services to be multi-platform
by default, in parallel with other non-electronic channels. This ensures citizens can
access Government services through channels that are most convenient to them.
This will move Hong Kong Governments e-Services from United Nations DESAs
connected government model from
stage 3 into stage 4. The benefits are: International experience and benefits
Citizens will be able to be informed Victoria, Australias The Better Health
and receive services with immediacy Channel mobile app locates health
and convenience. No longer are services such as doctors, dentists and
citizens restricted by time or location pharmacies, creates personalised health
when they need to access public alerts and notifications of UV, heat, smog
services; and pollen, and accesses to a full range of
Transaction cost for citizens will be health-related articles on the go.
lowered as they do not need to be
physically present at government premises to receive required services;
Government benefits by having the ability to disseminate time-sensitive information
as quickly as possible; and
Digital divide could be addressed as the high mobile penetration rate reflects that
citizens are relatively more comfortable in using mobile devices than traditional
electronic access.
standards advised by the OGCIO. A reference example from the private sector is
the development and adoption of mobile apps for e-banking. Many leading banks in
Hong Kong have developed mobile apps for their customers. As a result, a wide
range of mobile banking services (information enquiry, financial transactions,
marketing / promotion, etc.) have become increasingly popular in Hong Kong. This
trend in the private sector could potentially be extended to the public sector for
mobile public e-services.
2. Make multi-platform by default for future e-Government services across all
Government departments The Government should continue the effort to create
multi-platform solutions for all new e-Government services going forward.
Advanced multi-platform features like location-based services and Near Field
Communication (NFC) can be considered, where appropriate, in the e-service.
For launching future e-services, the multi-platform by default approach can be
considered, which means to design for multi-platform from the start. This also
implies that Government departments will need to consider how best to reach
different segments of the community as there could be divergences in the
technologies that are being used by different groups.
82
Reference: OECD, Integrated Services and Housing Consultation. November 2012.
The emergence of mobile, social, cloud, big data, and analytics have fundamentally
changed how citizens live, work and interact. These technologies reset citizens
expectations, requiring the Government to rethink how best to deliver its services. The
ability to view a citizen holistically by synthesising all the engagement points with the
Government will help formulate the types of integrated services that meet the citizens
needs.
The Government has established the Interoperability Framework (IF) to allow for easier
data exchange between departments and related organisations, as well as the
development of integrated e-Government services. Shared services between
departments, e.g. human resources, financial management and procurement, have
already taken advantage of IF and were deployed for public use.
The Government has also embarked on a few major integrated services that serve this
purpose.
Electronic Information Management (EIM) A framework for all departments to
effectively create, store, use, disseminate, retrieve and archive information so that it
can be readily available for operational use, knowledge sharing and decision support.
e-Procurement - A procurement system that enables the electronic transactions
between the Government and the suppliers for purchases of goods and non-
construction-related services.
Government Human Resources Management Services (GovHRMS) A suite of
shared ICT services on the cloud platform that supports HRM processes common to
agencies.
Reference: United Nations, Enterprise Architecture as Platform for connected government, 2010.
The Government has embarked on a few major integrated service initiatives with a
focus on citizen-centricity. Going forward, the Government should accelerate its
development of more joined-up, integrated services by further enhancing the
interoperability and efficiency between Government departments.
Recommendations
The Government should continue developing integrated citizen-centric services by
enabling a common framework and platform so that an encompassing view of the
citizens individual needs can be realised.
The benefits are:
Cross Government departments e-Services can easily take advantage of data that
crosses different departments and bureaux with minimal technical barrier. The
synthesisation of cross-department data ensures the development of public e-
Services is more targeted toward citizens needs.
Departments within the Government will operate with coherence, better business
agility and operational efficiency. With common framework and infrastructure
defined across departments, it will be less of a challenge to develop and offer
cross-departmental e-services.
An optimal balance between cost, efficiency, quality and security will be achieved
by adopting the most suitable common delivery platform (e.g. cloud computing) for
public e-services. This could also be recognised as a flagship showcase for Hong
Kongs development into a leading hub for cloud computing and data centre.
83
https://www.success.tid.gov.hk/tid/eng/blics/index.jsp
than 60 airlines a day. HKIA uses more than 26 million RFID tags each year, making it
the airport that applies RFID baggage handling system with the largest scale. 84
Hong Kong has also started the deployment of these advanced sensors in government
operations. For example, the Transport Department (TD), through deployment of
Intelligent Transport System (ITS) for better traffic management, has installed sensors
to collect real time traffic data in selected areas. These data are processed to provide
real-time traffic information to commuters through ITS applications such as Hong Kong
eRouting, Speed Map Panels, Journey Time Indication System, etc. Much of the
information can also be downloaded through the Data.One portal for free, for
development of applications by private sector. If there is increase in deployment of
advanced sensors around the city combined with location-based or other value-added
services, commuters can further benefit from having access to real-time traffic
information to better plan their journey around the city.
Through increased digitisation of Government operations through either the normal
progression of e-Government or the deployment of sensors, the volume of data
generated increases exponentially every year. It will be highly beneficial for the
Government to find ways to harness the interrelationships within the data across the
Government and turn them into insights that can be acted upon.
84
Reference: Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) website,
http://www.lscm.hk/eng/channel.php?channel=press-release, 3 April 2012.
In addition, the Government should continue to explore other innovative ways to use
ICT to drive operational efficiency, environmental sustainability, and cost savings.
For example, the Government could continue to identify areas where digitisation of
documents (i.e. paperless solutions) or building information modelling will realise
additional efficiency and savings.
Recommendations
We propose the Government to establish a Smarter City infrastructure (Internet of
Things) and explore the use of Big Data and other productive technologies to manage
this thriving, growing city. The benefits include:
Both citizens and the Government can make better informed decisions with fact-
based reasoning
Government will be able to anticipate
problems across all Government International experience and benefits
departments and coordinate
The Rio de Janeiro Intelligent Operation
resources effectively
Centre (IOC) monitors multiple data feeds
Government will be able to for weather, traffic, police, and medical
showcase how IoT can be services on a real-time basis and
implemented effectively and how the anticipates any looming problems. It then
technology can enable efficient puts defences in place to diminish the
government operations to encourage impact from the approaching problems.
further participation by other Besides emergencies, it coordinates the
Government departments and the activities of more than 30 municipal and
private sector state departments plus private utility and
transportation companies to integrate all of
Government can derive data insights the functions of a city in a single, holistic
to identity future trends and citizens digital command-and-control system.
needs to formulate citizen-centric
policies and services
Government will be able to reduce the volume of manual tasks and paper-based
transactions, leading to a decrease in potential errors
More convenience to citizens including the optimisation of traffic in Hong Kong
More environmentally friendly and sustainable city.
encouraged to study, deploy and pilot-test IoT solutions with more cost-effective
approaches. Small-scale deployment or trial solutions which are less costly can be
experimented and implemented in the early / interim stages. As eventually the
solutions become more mature with lower average cost, large-scale IoT
implementation will take place.
2. Encourage data sharing between Government departments Through the
proliferation of sensing devices installed by various Government departments, a
great deal of data will be generated. Therefore, it is important for the data to be
readily available across the Government so that it can be synthesised to address
different issues and challenges facing the City. The Government can consider
exploring the possibility of adopting big data analytics on a few focus areas, such
as transport and weather related data. It should also be noted that the sets of data
to be shared among Government departments need to be qualified to exclude
sensitive or personal data, which is protected under the Personal Data (Privacy)
Ordinance.
3. Explore and encourage further productive use of ICT The use of ICT and
digitisation technologies are pervasive and can be further exploited in many
different areas. Government departments should continue to be encouraged to
explore other innovative uses of ICT to realise the benefits from operational
efficiency, cost savings and other social-economic benefits. For example, further
usage of paperless solutions in paper-intensive departments or functions or
building information modelling (BIM) across all Government departments would
help minimise errors that stem from manual administrative tasks, improve
operational efficiency and promote environmental sustainability.
4. Promulgate standards, approach and guidelines for Big Data across
Government departments In order to gain the insight and value promised by Big
Data, the Government needs to understand and decide on the standards, approach
and guidelines to adopt. The Open Data Foundation, National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST), The Cloud Security Alliance, Apache Software
Foundation, and OASIS are organisations who are driving the Big Data
standardisation process while TechAmerica Foundations Demystifying Big Data
(http://www-304.ibm.com/industries/publicsector/fileserve?contentid=239170)
outlines the technology, policies and roadmaps that will need to be considered to
exploit the use of Big Data. The Government can consider evaluating and adopting
these standards in its use of Big Data and analytics.
9. Summary
Vision Mission Strategic Thrusts Initiatives Areas of Action
1. Digital ID (a) Make Digital ID freely available and more convenient to use for all citizens
(b) Continue the growth in development of e-Government using Digital ID (e.g. e-Citizen account)
(c) Work with banks to launch e-cheque
2. Access to technology and (a) Encourage and facilitate ICT adoption for persons with disabilities
broadband (b) Further promote web accessibility to the community
I Empowering (c) Encourage more leverage of mobile technology in digital inclusion programmes
everyone (d) Facilitate internet access through Wi-Fi
through
technology 3. Broadband for schools (a) High bandwidth broadband access to all schools and all classrooms
(b) Equip every classroom with the required technology for teachers and students to access and participate in interactive on-line learning
(c) Support and training for teachers to enable them to make most effective use of this radically different learning and teaching environment
III Supporting a 3. Centre of Excellence for multi-platform apps (a) Provide incentives to drive multi-platform solution development for the underprivileged groups
thriving (b) Facilitate experience sharing and publicise success cases
Hong Kong (c) Explore and facilitate multi-platform business solutions for transactions and payments
ICT Industry
and R&D
4. Data centre and cloud computing (a) Promote Hong Kong as a prime location for data centres
development (b) Develop and promote cloud computing standards, best practices and guidelines for service consumers and providers
(c) Lead by example in adopting cloud services across the Government
5. Digital Media Centre of Excellence (a) Enable connections and collaboration between media content providers with ICT companies to create a cluster of digital media companies
(b) Facilitate experience sharing and publicise success cases
6. ICT Industries to access Mainland (a) Continue to facilitate industry collaboration across the boundary
(b) Facilitate more concerted effort in marketing and promotion of Hong Kongs ICT industry
1. Mobile Government services (a) Create multi-platform solutions for existing public services across all Government departments, where possible
IV Transforming (b) Make multi-platform by default for future e-Government services across all Government departments
and
integrating 2. Integrated and targeted services (a) Develop and promote more integrated solutions and services
public (b) Encourage the use of the Government Cloud Platform (GovCloud) and shared services by all Government departments
services
through
technology 3. Smarter city Infrastructure (a) Promote the deployment of sensing or IoT devices
(b) Encourage data sharing between Government departments
(c) Explore and encourage further productive use of ICT
(d) Promulgate standards, approach and guidelines for Big Data across Government departments
Appendix A Acronyms
The International Institute for Management Development (IMD), World Competitiveness Yearbook 2013
INSEAD and World Economic Forum (WEF), Global Information Technology Report 2013
Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Innovation Activities Statistics 2011
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IDC, Worldwide Smart Connected Devices Market Forecast Unit Shipments (Millions), 4Q 2012
IDC, Android Rises, Symbian^3 and Windows Phone 7 Launch as Worldwide Smartphone Shipments Increase 87.2%
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IDC, PC Market Records Modest Gains during Fourth Quarter of 2010. 12 January 2011.
IDC, Worldwide Smart Connected Device Market Crossed 1 Billion Shipments in 2012, Apple Pulls near Samsung in
Fourth Quarter 26 March 2013.
Mark van Harmelen, Personal Learning Environment, IEEE Computer Society. 2006.
Gartner, Forecast Overview: Public Cloud Services, Worldwide, 2011-2017, 1Q13 Update
Cisco, The Internet of Things How the Next Evolution of the Internet Is Changing Everything
Cisco, The Internet of Things How the Next Evolution of the Internet Is Changing Everything
Gartner, World of Work Will Witness 10 Changes During the Next 10 Years
ComScore Media Metrix, Its a Social World: Top 10 Need-to-knows about Social Networking and where its headed.
InvestHK, Annual Survey of Companies in Hong Kong Representing Parent Companies Located outside Hong Kong
China Intellectual Property, "Hong Kong IP development: fast in speed and subtle in quality"
Census and Statistics Department Report on 2012 Annual Survey of Companies in Hong Kong Representing Parent
Companies Located outside Hong Kong
Forbes, The world's top 4 tech capitals to watch (after Silicon Valley and New York)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/03/20/the-worlds-top-4-tech-capitals-to-watch-after-silicon-valley-and-
new-york/2/
Trade and Industry Department, Fact Sheets Trade and Industry 2012
Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, Guangdongs Economic Transformation in the 12th Five-Year Plan and Hong
Kongs Opportunities
Ageing Research Review, Next-generation sequencing in aging research: emerging applications, problems, pitfalls and
possible solutions
South China Morning Post, Alibaba celebrates 1.2 million users on Taobao in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Monetary Authority A New Era for Retail Payment: Building a Diversified Platform for Mobile, Internet-
based and Electronic Payments
Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), 2012 HKDSE Entry Statistics
OFCA, Guidance Note for Submission of Application for Installing Micro-cell Base Station on Highway Facilities or on
Unleased and Unallocated Government Land
EuroGeographics (http://www.eurogeographics.org/products-and-services/euroglobalmap)
Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong as an Information Society (2013 edition)
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills of the UK Government Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth
Information and Technology Commission, Innovation and Technology Fund Statistics of Approved Projects
INNO-Grips, Global Review of Innovation Policy Studies Korea: Shifting SME policies towards competitiveness and
growth
HKTDC, http://hong-kong-economy-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Hong-Kong-Industry-Profiles/Film-
Entertainment-Industry-in-Hong-Kong/hkip/en/1/1X000000/1X0018PN.htm
Appendix C Acknowledgement
We would like to express its gratitude to all those who helped and shared their views in
the course of this study: