6 Questions with Jonathan Tan, MD of Singapore-based UnaBiz

It was our pleasure to catch up with Jonathan Tan, MD of UnaBiz, which delivers end-to-end customised IoT solutions worldwide.

1. Can you give us an overview of your background and how you started UnaBiz?

Before joining UnaBiz, I was the Head of satellite global sales at Singtel. I was first exposed to IoT back then, in 2015. Fascinated by the potential of IoT, I thought about leaving the big corporate world to start my own IoT company. Before I could do that, I met Henri Bong, the CEO & Co-Founder of UnaBiz, and the rest is history. He managed to raise funds and I started working at UnaBiz as its very first employee.

2. What is your favorite thing about the Singapore startup ecosystem?

It is really vibrant with many young enterprising founders. We also have a good mix of locals and foreigners which I think is quite unique.

As you know there are a lot of tech challenges, from both the public sectors and private companies, and hence a wide variety of use cases, problem statements that startups can tackle. They all have different requirements over a wide range of technology – AI, IoT, robotics, software, etc.

3. What tips can you give to entrepreneurs considering starting a business in Singapore?

Beyond pursuing your dreams, the hype of being a "founder" and aspiration, ask yourself honestly what is the problem you are trying to solve? What is so special about the product and services you provide? Why would anyone want to buy it? How would it help the users, or change their lives?

As a founder and a leader, you need deep capabilities and a breath in your skill sets. You may not have it all, which is perfectly normal. So it's important to get a mentor. Speak to someone who is experienced and most importantly, someone you can rely on to challenge your ideas. Their wider perspective will be of great help to you.

Also, don't forget about scaling. Think about how to grow your solutions to a bigger volume beyond the early stages of PoCs.

4. What's a great digital tool or hack you've discovered recently?

Everyone is intrigued recently by AI tools like ChatGPT, etc. There are so many possibilities. Beyond getting it to write content, like this interview :) We are looking at how to leverage this new tool in our business and operations. The future is for one who can harness digital tools like AI, IoT, robotics as part of our everyday lives.

When the calculator was invented, people were worried that our students would stop learning math. The opposite is true. Today, calculators are a basic tool that we use to take math to the next level. That calculator has now evolved to an Excel spreadsheet for most of us. We need to learn how to use AI and take our use cases to the next level, in any field.

Those who do simple repetitive work will be out of jobs and irrelevant, and can only do jobs which require human faces and hands like waiters. The human role will be used to manage and utilize these digital tools.

5. What are some exciting new Singapore-based companies you recommend checking out?

Sustainability is next, big time. It is needed for the company’s bottom line because energy prices are so high. It is needed for our children because carbon emissions are rapidly destroying our planet and our homes.

Digital solutions which can work towards reducing carbon footprint are going to drive the market. Local companies like Azendian and Evercomm are innovative sustainability companies. Once again, we do not have all the skills and expertise such as AI, IoT, M&E and sustainability. We need to all come together to solve THE Biggest Problem of our generation.

6. What can we expect to see coming out of UnaBiz in the near future?

Since our acquisition of Sigfox 0G technology, UnaBiz has been accelerating Technology Convergence.

The IoT landscape is deeply fragmented and constantly evolving, and this has become a challenge for governments and enterprises who are faced with the dilemma of "which technology is the best? What should I choose?" They are confused by multiple protocols and the availability of these technologies.

To enable Smart Cities, Smart Applications, and therefore, Massive IoT deployment, we need to reduce the complexity of adoption and give our customers the Freedom to create and adopt what they need without worrying if what they choose will become irrelevant in the future, or will give them problems if they want to integrate other technologies into their systems.

At the end of the day, a good customer experience is what drives the adoption of technology. UnaBiz will be leading the convergence of technology in the IoT space with middleware platforms like UnaConnect, to bridge the gap for diverse IoT networks, sensors, solutions and bring freedom and ease of use to our partners and customers.