Sri Lanka falls behind in emerging technologies, Singapore ICT expert says
Sri Lanka has a long way to go when it comes to adoption of emerging technologies, as the country is not even prepared to grasp changes in the face of technology disruption, an international ICT expert said. Veteran ICT expert, Prof. Alex Siow, who was on a short visit to Sri Lanka, noted that the country should fast track on using innovative Financial technology (Fintech) such as the Block chain.
Emerging countries and leading foreign investors bypass Sri Lanka, if it fails to change in the face of technology disruption, Prof. Siow told the Business Times on the sidelines of an IT experts forum on “ Emerging Technologies and Enterprises” in Colombo recently.
“Technology has become an integral and strategic part of all businesses today. Business and industry leaders will have to understand technology and devise strategies to deal with digital disruption and business transformation,” he said.
Prof. Siow is currently Professor (Practice) in the School of Computing, National University Singapore and concurrently Director of the Advanced Computing for Executives Centre, the Strategic Technology Management Institute (STMI) and the Centre for Health Informatics.
He visited Sri Lanka last week on a mission arranged by Dr. Nayana Dehigama, Executive Chairman/MD of Epic Technology Group to empower senior business leaders with the knowledge and skills to harness emerging technologies for digital transformation and business competiveness.
He added that, “new thinking is needed to overcome technology disruption and media could play a vital role in creating awareness among the public towards this end”. Addressing the forum he noted that technology and business are like twins, working hand in glove, for the same goal: Sustainable and profitable business. Businesses which are not technologically adept will not survive.
ICT’s role is vital. It should act like a consultant, offering various technological options. This allows business leaders to make an informed decision on what is most appropriate for their operations, he said. He pointed out that the business leaders must have an in-depth knowledge of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and Block chain as well as regulatory requirements.
They need deeper understanding to, for example, discern the difference among machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence and what each can do for their business, he added. With business becoming closely intertwined with technology, business leaders must now step up and be involved in technology issues, he opined.
It is essential to make use of the Internet economy, artificial intelligence (AI), block chain, cloud, and data for modern applications and innovations for the benefit of the people, Prof. Siow said. Explaining block chain implementation, he pointed out that it doesn’t need any specific type of infrastructure and also it doesn’t get restricted by any network.
However he noted that in a private block chain, the participants in the network are restricted. Citing an example, he noted that in Sri Lanka if all the banks form a block chain network then it will be only accessible via the banking system and no one else from the open Internet will be able to access this network which is called a private block chain network.
Public block chain network is a very easily available and socially utilised network, he said adding that this type is publicly available and you can build any kind of application and any citizen around the globe can start utilising this application without any restrictions, he disclosed.
By getting involved directly with technology, business leaders can decide the future direction of their companies, he said
Their priority must be to quickly identify a business area or issue where the new technologies can be harnessed, get ICT involved to find different options, and then select the appropriate service for implementation, he added.
That is the way forward to change businesses, transforming them for the digital economy, he noted.