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Singapore Computer Society names city′s best tech companies to work for

Ubisoft Singapore is one of four tech companies named as the best tech companies to work for by the Singapore Computer Society at its inaugural "Best Tech Company to Work For” Awards presentation on Wednesday (Jul 8).

Ubisoft Singapore won the award in the large company/MNC category.The video game developer′s Singapore studio was set up in 2008 and contributed to AAA titles such as the Assassin′s Creed franchise.

It said innovation is an important facet of the company′s culture. “The landscape is definitely very competitive,” said Ubisoft Singapore’s managing director Olivier de Rotalier. “But I think people now realise that beyond the product, the fun of the product we are doing, we are really very serious about technology and innovation.

"We are pushing innovation in a lot of areas like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, computographics, like network technologies. We are pushing all those areas in the company and I think that more and more people are interested in the industry.”

Communications security provider, TreeBox Solutions, won the award for the Start-up/Small Organisation categories for companies with less than or not exceeding five years of incorporation or less than 50 employees.

For a small enterprise, one big challenge is in competing with large firms for infocommunications technology talent. TreeBox said its corporate culture plays a large role in convincing applicants to come onboard.

Said founder and CEO Chong Chee Wah: "It′s actually a very, very significant factor in the whole recruitment process. As I mentioned, these are all talented individuals - they would not have problems getting a well-paid job from large companies. There must be something that we do, or something that we have that can attract them. I think that plays a big part in how we position the interview."

When it comes to the next generation, a company′s working culture and development opportunities look set to play a big role in attracting talent.

“The graduates as they come into the workforce, are looking for good experiences. It′s not just about traditional thinking of ′Hey look let′s find a stable job′. They are looking for great experiences, great working environments. Something they can collectively aspire toward," said Mr Howie Lau, president of the Singapore Computer Society .

"So for these companies to say, ′I not only have a compelling vision but a great culture, I have wonderful environment where we can develop you and give you different opportunities’, I think that makes a difference."

According to the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, employment in the infocomm sector has been growing steadily. Manpower in the sector last year grew 2.4 per cent to 150,200.

Other winners include Microsoft Singapore in the large organisations/MNCs category and JustCommodity Software Solutions in the mid-sized organisations category.