"Besides MNCs and government agencies, another target customer segment will be small and medium-sized businesses," Kok said. "We will also work with independent software vendors (ISV) who seek to develop SaaS solutions for the Asian market."

Collaboration plans

The consortium seeks to collaborate with ISVs to provide application hosting and data center hosting, according to Kok. "Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore has committed to support up to 40 percent of the load for application hosting."

Additionally, the consortium will generate marketing awareness programs to help partners and customers understand more about the benefits of grid computing services. "We will provide ISVs with opportunities to cater to a broader customer base," Kok said.

Customers can pay for data center hosting as their businesses grow without having to invest heavily in hardware infrastructure. "Quick startups are possible at low cost," he said. "SCS will provide the hardware for data center hosting."