Can you tell us more about DigitalEdge and your role as the Section Editor at The Edge Singapore?
I oversee the DigitalEdge section, which looks at how various (existing and emerging) technologies can transform industries.

While some technologies such as cloud, networks, and analytics are not new, there have been significant developments over the years. For instance, we can now configure the networks with just a few clicks, and present analysed data visually or create a dashboard by simply dragging and dropping data. 

Organisations are also using various IT tools more creatively to address operational challenges and develop new revenue streams. Take the case of banks - many of them are leveraging automation tools to offer robo-advisors to customers.

It’s an exciting time to be in, and I’m grateful that many experts and business leaders are keen to share their thoughts and tips on how to digitally transform successfully.

​​​How do you pick what to feature and what topics interest you the most?
DigitalEdge aims to equip business and IT leaders with the know-how on transforming the organisation for success in the digital economy. It will provide the latest technology news, industry insight, and best practices from tech giants and inspiring technopreneurs alike. Our stories will help readers make business cases for investing in a particular technology or digitally transforming their business as a whole.

Personally, I’m interested to see how organisations will leverage artificial intelligence (AI), 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) to empower their employees. Using these technologies to garner accurate insights quickly and effectively, while focusing on higher-value tasks will help organisations deliver better services to customers. 

What are the trends to watch out for in FinTech in 2022 and why?
The digital payments space has been rapidly evolving, with central bank digital currencies (CBDC) taking the limelight in this region lately. Since the disruptive potential of CBDCs goes beyond individual economies, we can expect to see more cross-border trials and collaboration between financial institutions, FinTech startups and central banks to accelerate the development of CBDCs without increasing risks, as we move towards a cashless society. 

Based on recent reports from industry experts, financial institutions will also be focusing on transforming their back-end processes using automation, blockchain, and AI tools. Many would have already experimented with those technologies, so it’s time to scale their use throughout the enterprise.

Additionally, more financial institutions are likely to embrace embedded finance in the near future to retain relevance. Instead of competing on their own, they will work with competitors and non-financial organisations to deliver better, personalised, convenient services to consumers at the right time. 

Any advice for aspiring FinTech journalists who wish to step into the industry or to launch their own FinTech content portal?
Be open and eager to learn as there are constantly new use cases for technologies - both existing and emerging ones - in the financial services industry. After all, technology is a tool, so it can be used in various ways to improve the business. With that said, they should also look at how other industries are using technology to transform and ask experts and leaders if financial institutions can take inspiration from those examples.

With your knowledge and experience in both media and communications industry, can you share with us how PRs should pitch to you and what constitutes a good PR campaign?
While brands have to stick to their core narrative or messaging, PR or comms should find ways to ensure the relevance of their pitches / stories to the publication (i.e., their readers’ demographics, the industry and geography they cover). It’s basically finding the sweet spot between the brand’s narrative and newsworthiness.

Specific to tech-related topics, the “basic” benefits of several technologies have been covered repeatedly, so highlighting a new use case (or a point of view that is not commonly talked about) would give your pitch a better chance of being picked up. And as what most journalists would tell you, having local case studies to back up your points / stories are important.

Besides that, a good PR campaign has a clear narrative. You can have various stories on both earned and owned platforms that address pain points of different sectors or regions, but the key message should be consistent to ensure brand recall. For brands that have more than one focus area, perhaps having a content calendar could help. For example, the stories you push out in the first quarter of the year can focus on cloud, while AI takes the second quarter, cybersecurity for the third quarter and so on.