<p><b>The island nation’s decades-long focus on building resilience could make all the difference in its efforts to be ready for anything.</b></p>

<p>No matter how you slice it, Singapore's economy is an outlier. Born out of <a href="https://www.holidify.com/pages/history-of-singapore-1226.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">political turmoil</a>, the city-state blazed a trail of economic prosperity to become one of the most technologically advanced nations and <a href="https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/singapore-ranked-top-of-smart-city-index-for-third-year-7086" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an example</a> for big cities everywhere to emulate.</p> <p>Thanks to its prioritization of human capital, the natural resources-starved nation is <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/singapore/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the best in the world</a> in human capital development, as well as one of the most competitive countries. As a result, Singapore’s businesses have access to unmatched digital infrastructure and talent compared with many of their peers.</p> <p>But the Asian tiger faces harsh climate realities. With almost 30% of its land less than five meters above sea level, the country has set <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/rising-sea-level-climate-change-singapore-coastal-big-read-2670131" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ambitious targets</a> to mitigate environmental risks. Singapore’s businesses realize their role in this evolving landscape, but they also face a unique set of demands. For instance, there is <a href="https://sbr.com.sg/hr-education/in-focus/nine-in-ten-workers-need-more-digital-skills-adapt-post-pandemic-aws" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">growing demand</a> for additional digital skills among already highly skilled digital workers. There is also room for improvement in sustainability efforts and deriving value from tech investments.</p> <p>In our work to define what it takes to be future-ready—and how close businesses are to reaching a future-ready state—Cognizant commissioned Economist Impact to conduct a survey of 2,000 senior executives, including 130 executives from Singapore, across industries and geographies, as well as create a future-ready benchmarking tool (see our full report, “<a href="https://www.cognizant.com/us/en/insights/perspectives/how-to-be-fit-for-the-future-wf1140900" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ready for anything: What it means to be a modern business</a>”).</p> <p>Our own analysis of this data underscores what executives in Singapore and globally need to do now to prepare.</p>

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