In The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki postulated that groups make better choices than individuals. DBS Bank was inspired by the wisdom of crowds for their new -innovation facility. Staff present ideas in response to particular challenges in an initiative called DBS Idea Vault. Through collective ideation from the vault, DBS named their new facility DBS Asia X (DAX).
Fittingly, DAX will house a community driven by creativity and a relentless drive to put the customer at the center of all they do.
This edible art installation – made up of chocolate lollipops — is the creation of Asia’s pastry chef Janice Wong. The X in DAX, represents the innovative spark (from the DBS logo) of the bank’s employees to shape the future of banking.
X marks the spot
At Tech in Asia Singapore 2016’s Panel Without Fear earlier this year, Neal Cross, chief innovation officer at DBS Bank, announced their plans to open an innovation facility. DBS Asia X was unveiled at the Sandcrawler building on 14 November 2016.
Intended mainly for innovation-related activities, DAX will host staff and startups in customer journey workshops, hackathons, and their DBS Hotspot pre-accelerator. Up to 100 people can co-work at DAX and it also has an auditorium, conservatory, café and project pods.
“DAX is the locus of connection between staff, startups, students, and strategists. X marks the spot where we fulfill our ambition to become a 22,000 startup to make banking easy, fast and effortless,” says Neal.
The doors were specially sourced from various parts of Asia to decorate the Auditorium, which represents a blend of old and new Asia.
An innovative disruption in One-North
We arrived at Fusionopolis in One-North. One-North, Singapore’s take on Silicon Valley, is home to the JTC LaunchPad @ one-north, a collaboration between JTC Corporation and SPRING Singapore to support tech entrepreneurship. It’s also home to driverless cars, the most valuable startup in Southeast Asia, and Lucasfilm’s regional headquarters.
According to DBS, X represents the ability to explore and experiment as it is a common symbol to represent an arbitrary unknown. We were keen to see for ourselves what this would look like. When we got out of the futuristic lift, a kaleidoscope installation greeted us.
It’s interesting how the intersection of banking, tech and innovation starts with a work of art. “When we envisioned this space, we wanted people to be transformed,” said Cade Tan, the COO of DBS Innovation Group. “We have programs on design thinking, lean startup methodology, and much more.”
“The kaleidoscope represents transformation and being able to think differently when you enter and exit the space. We want to reimagine life and banking for the customer.”
Space noodle in the sky
One of the largest innovation facilities in Singapore, DAX is 16,000 square feet in size and includes project pods, co-creation labs, a 40-seater auditorium, and co-working space for up to 100 people.
The auditorium has a high ceiling with fiber-optic lights. A polychromatic space noodle viewed from below, it’s the first fiber-optic light installation in Singapore, according to DBS.
The DAX launch showcased emerging technologies aimed at redefining the banking experience. A hip-height robot balancing bottles of water followed us as we cut through the middle of DAX’s open office workspace. Groups of animated founders in the classic startup attire of jeans and sneakers spoke to corporate types in suits and shoes in front of demos and newfangled devices. I caught sight of something more familiar in one of the glass rooms – a mirror. As I stared at the Samsung Mirror Display, dashboards appeared next to my reflection, clear and vibrant as my surroundings. Next to it was a jacket and a vest from AiraWear that promised to give you a massage.
“We want to work with people who have really crazy ideas. People who work on things we may have never dreamt up of in various fields, like Internet of Things (IoT) or robotics. We want people who want to create something new and exciting,” explained Stephanie Chu, lead of partnerships and culture in Singapore, DBS Innovation Group, at the launch of DAX.
A workspace on wheels
The DAX launch exhibited startups from different industries.
A huge teddy bear from HugProperty, a finalist of DBS Hotspot, sat atop one of the tables, all of which come with wheels to facilitate collaboration. The furniture in DAX is modular and can be joined up or separated.
DBS wants to encourage the formation of agile project squads comprising startups, employees, social enterprises, and students to foster collaboration and reimagine banking. This will break down the silos of the bank. “It’s like serendipity. It’ll be a spontaneous marketplace where new tech and social innovations will emerge,” said Cade.
“Project X” rooms for ”secret” projects.
Glass rooms line the workspace. Like all labs, there are areas where things are top secret. Project X rooms will host key projects that can transform DBS and banking – and that are, therefore, confidential.
“DAX is a peek into our future five years from now,” says Gordon Goh, the technology and design lead of the DBS Innovation Group. His work is to discover emerging technologies, new ways to collaborate, and apply them across the bank. “We’re embedded in the ecosystem at One-North.”
The future of banking looks like blue eyes which turned green when it acknowledged our presence. “Hello,” said the POSB robot, a human-shaped robot by SoftBank. It guided us through the POSB banking app. Its large eyes were fixed on my face and later, my colleague, Annie’s, as she spoke. After all, it is able to listen to our voices and discern our emotions.
The POSB robot guides us through POSB digibank.
We grabbed a latte at the pantry next to the Auditorium from Bettr Barista. They’re one of the many social enterprises that the DBS Foundation supports.
An open-air space to chill out in. Look across and you’ll see Disney’s and Garena’s offices.
These ferns are intentionally inverted. According to Cade, they represent the culture at DAX, where people are encouraged to think differently.
A ping-pong table for a friendly match…Or not?
Lockers double up as whiteboards to allow staff to create their own space in the innovation facility.
Friendly neighbors
We sat down at one of the meeting areas next to an open air garden. Above our heads, plants hung down from the tiered ceiling. In front of us, a woman colored a 3D sketch orange on an interactive whiteboard with her fingers. Lockers next to us playfully revealed hidden whiteboards when rolled around. “It’s a flexible, multi-purpose space for your needs,” said Stephanie.
Fairy lights were interlaced with ferns hanging from above. Below it was a long counter where people could sit down and gaze out with coffee or craft beer. From DBS Asia X, we could see the colorful outline of Disney characters in the office across. Two janitors stared curiously at us. We waved at them.
They waved back at us.
Photo credit: Annie Teh.
This post Inside DBS Bank’s secretive, open, beautiful innovation lab appeared first on Tech in Asia.
from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/dbs-dax-innovation
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