Khaw urges patience as he pledges to fix 'digital plumbing and piping'

A reader using a tablet to read The Straits Times. Former Cabinet minister Khaw Boon Wan, who will be the chairman of the to-be-formed SPH Media Trust, aims to improve the user interface and user experience of the new media entity's digital products.
A reader using a tablet to read The Straits Times. Former Cabinet minister Khaw Boon Wan, who will be the chairman of the to-be-formed SPH Media Trust, aims to improve the user interface and user experience of the new media entity's digital products. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

Plans to fix and replace the "digital plumbing and piping" in the new Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) media entity are in place, and its chairman-designate yesterday urged Singaporeans to be patient and give the new entity some time to embark on the acceleration of its digital transformation plans.

This is because transformation is not merely a technical exercise, but also involves a cultural change, which requires time and effort before it can take effect - especially for an existing company with established corporate traditions, said Mr Khaw Boon Wan, who will chair the to-be-formed SPH Media Trust.

In a speech to staff yesterday, the former Cabinet minister said that he has not yet examined the existing information technology infrastructure of SPH Media.

But he said he would not be surprised if its legacy IT systems, for example, severely constrain efforts to immediately enhance the user interface and user experience of its digital products.

"We will work hard to overcome these constraints. We hope our readers and subscribers will bear with us as we fix and replace the 'digital plumbing and piping'. Please be patient and give us some time."

At a press conference yesterday, Mr Khaw set out his key priorities for the new entity. These include ensuring a smooth transition to SPH Media Trust after SPH's restructuring, having competitive wages and working conditions in order to recruit and retain talent, as well as enhancing the user experience of SPH Media products.

"In digital transformation, our digital products must be so seamless and user-friendly that... the customers will be (better) able to first access the products and to subscribe to our products," he said.

Using the e-book reader Kindle as an example, Mr Khaw said that he reads a lot and used to buy a book every week from bookshops.

"But for three years now, I'm just completely on Kindle. And it's so easy, one click," he said, adding that the e-book reader allows him to instantly look up books on the Kindle store that he is interested in reading, as well as to read samples before buying the e-books.

Such a seamless and instant process makes it easy for a potential customer to access the product. If this transaction took a longer time, he might have lost interest after a few days, and the purchase might not even have been made, Mr Khaw said.

"I do not know what is our level of user experience in the case of straitstimes.com or zaobao.com," he said. "I hope it's as good as Kindle, but if it is not, then I think (we will) recognise that and work hard to try to catch up with the best in class. And to me, one good example of best in class will be Kindle."

He also said that he would like to improve the user experience of journalists in the newsroom.

Together with his team, he would like to sit down with them to understand their work processes and day-to-day lives - starting from the point when an idea is hatched, to the time when the project or article has been completed and is pushed out to audiences, whether print or digital.

"Can we, with the use of technology, make your life simpler and perhaps even faster so that it can bring (something) from idea to the audience as quickly as you can?" said Mr Khaw.

Along the way, he would also like to understand the constraints journalists face in the newsroom, and whether there are intelligent ways to overcome some of these.

"I certainly want to be able to make a difference there," he said.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 13, 2021, with the headline Khaw urges patience as he pledges to fix 'digital plumbing and piping'. Subscribe