Disruption seems to be the buzz word nowadays. In last year’s National Day Rally, PM Lee Hsien Loong spoke at length about disruption and how it is the “defining challenge of the economy”. He stressed that Singapore has to embrace changes, raise the level of technology adoption among companies, and train workers to upskill. In essence, disruption should be seen not as a threat, but an opportunity to transform industries to remain relevant and competitive.
According to the online Cambridge Dictionary, to disrupt means ‘to prevent something, especially a system, process, or event, continuing as usual or as expected’. There is even a specialised definition in the business context: to change the traditional way that an industry operates, especially in a new and effective way.
Right now, we are seeing the full impact of disruption being played out in Singapore particularly in 3 sectors: taxi, telecommunication, print media......