Leap now or lose out, cautions ICTA chief

• Expresses confidence in local digital economy going beyond US$ 3bn mark by 2024
• Says despite global developments Sri Lanka continues to follow a very archaic approach to digitalization 
• Urges SL should move away from govt. cloud services on to private clouds

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
Sri Lanka would require renewed thinking looking to achieve the ambitious goal of ushering in economic development via digitalization as regional peers are leaping to reap the benefits stemming from technological transformations.

The head of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) and Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) cautioned that failing to act now and fast could lead the island nation to lose out and fall back.

As the developments in the digital economy sphere is not as fast as it should be, TRCSL Director General and ICTA Chairman Oshada Senanayake said relevant authorities and the industries need to walk the talk in reaching the goals set, and actively look for avenues that would pave the way to reach the revenue targets set.

“We have to change our perspective from a service-oriented destination to more of creating our own products from Sri Lanka that can go to the world. It is important that we ensure there are certain springboards created for local products into the globe,” said Senanayake addressing the opening ceremony of Sri Lanka’s first carrier-neutral data center in Colombo this week.

He expressed confidence in the local digital economy going beyond the US$ 3 billion mark by 2024, which was recalibrated from the US$ 5 billion target, and for that he urged the need to create unicorn companies with valuations over US$1 billion.

In terms of digital infrastructure, which is a key priority, Senanayaka pointed out and acknowledged that despite global developments in this regard, Sri Lanka continues to follow a very archaic approach, especially with regard to the Lanka Government Cloud (LGC).

In recent years, many countries, including the UK and Australia, have moved away from using government cloud services and moved on to private clouds.

Urging Sri Lanka to follow suit, with the appropriate mandates and framework in place, Senanayake said it is imperative now than ever to move into new paradigms.

“Gone are the days that we need to focus on creating our own infrastructure. It is important that we work with the industry in ensuring that we scale up and also create the scale-ups as required along with the support of the industry today,” suggested Senanayake.

He went on to stress that Sri Lanka has a lot of “catching up to do” as even countries such as Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, and those in Africa are well ahead of Sri Lanka.