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| Sunday, 5 December 2004 |
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ICT exhibition and summit set to achieve joint ventures by Ranga Kamaladasa The ASOCIO ICT Exhibition held at the BMICH and the Convention Centre in league with the ASOCIO ICT Summit 2004 completes its final day today. The exhibition and summit which was inaugurated on the 30th of November was initiated by the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization, a grouping of computing industry associations from the Asian-Oceanic region. Over 600 delegates representing the ICT sectors and governments of over 23 countries gathered in Colombo to participate in workshops, conferences and fora to discuss businesses, develop mutual understandings and create partnerships. Sponsored by some of the giants in the industry such as Microsoft, IBM and Intel the summit and exhibition opened up revenues for a lot of businesses. The government also seemed to have actively participated at a Prime Ministers dinner, a Ministerial dialogue and some opening addresses from senior government dignitaries were expected. The conference mainly dealt on ardent issues of the industry such as outsourcing, e-governance, Wifi-mobile applications as corporate solutions, Business strategies, telecommunication and software technologies. The exhibition brought in a relative crowd to both centres as the latest gadgets, gizmos and technological solutions were available there. Due to the special prices offered most of the stalls turned out to be showrooms rather than typical exhibits. When asked about their commitment in this exhibition Alanzo Doll of Microsoft said that they were currently investing in Sri Lanka on a promotional basis and are waiting for the results. "We've collaborated with the ministries and universities here in Sri Lanka to develop the IT industry. But before doing some serious outsourcing like we've done in India, we're trying to give the word around." He went on to say that most people only know about Windows and Office applications but the main concern is spreading applications like Visual Studio and the .net interface. He also mentioned that after this phase of awareness building is complete they are willing to think seriously about outsourcing jobs to Sri Lanka. Raghuo Rao, Vice President of Business Development of the Midas Company also had some optimistic plans for Sri Lanka. Midas, an Indian Communications company which was responsible for rural e-governance and e-medi clinics which were successfully implemented in Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in India. They were looking forward to implementing the technology in Sri Lanka. "We know the importance of e-governance in the role of rural development. In India over 600,000 villages are there, and the only way to make a direct link between the administration and people is by e-governance. We have video conferences which involve officers and citizens so basically the idea is to communicate with the citizens and solve their questions directly." Toshiba was another company that took part in the exhibition. Kishan Wanduragala, the Sales Manager for Notebook computers told the Sunday Observer that their main motive was to create a culture of showcase buying. "I've been to conventions in Singapore and several other countries and the people just buy notebooks at a glance. But in Sri Lanka it's different; people go here and there, getting quotations and it's a long process. Though it will take some time, since computers today have become a consumer product we're willing to make that culture a reality." Toshiba is also planning to promote their Digital Overhead Projectors (which includes the camera feature-patented only to Toshiba) and their range of Pocket PCs in Sri Lanka. A sub-fraction of PC house, Panora the Sri Lankan computer company, had their own display at the exhibition. Partnered with hardware manufactures Gigabyte, Panora is the first ever Sri Lankan company to give away computer systems to users with the addition of after-sale service and onside comprehensive warranty. "Our main interest in this exhibition was to bring our product to an international scope." Manager of Business Development Mahesh Fernando, said. "Basically, we're eager to promote our product to the SAARC region and see how many investors we can get. According to that we will make plans on our manufacturing factory which hopefully we will be able to complete in the next year." The manufacturing plant, the first ever kind in Sri Lanka will enable Panora to build up to 90% of a current computer system they're receiving from Gigabyte. This as Mahesh points out will reduce the cost per computer system. But still it wouldn't be able to compete with the low cost of assembled computers in the market. We're not searching for easy money as most assembling companies are doing in Sri Lanka. We want to minimize the outflow of cash from Sri Lanka and create a flow of income to the country. If we get our product to the SAARC region we will achieve that expectantly." Panora's range of computers may not be as cheap as typical assembled computers or flexible as such (Gigabyte only associates with Intel and ATi etc., so other technologies such as Geforce and AMD are not available.) but the aftersale service and the comprehensive warranty will be sure to catch the eyes of corporate investors. The Business Development Manager of Suntel Devinda Senavirathne commenting on the exhibition said that the public only know their company as a telephone provider and this exhibition will prove to them that Suntel not only gives basic telecommunication facilities but also communication solutions to the public. Suntel is currently known in the communication sector for telecom, XDSL connections and IP phones released their newest additions to their family of solutions in this exhibition. They have included corporate SMS and Suntel Campaign Manager for automated SMS services and automated voice recordings as well as the Wi-fi Wireless Surveillance system for connecting offices and homes by means of video conferencing and much more. The Video and Music On Demand were two other featured highlights in their exhibit. Whether we like it or not the inevitable process of Globalization for the development of today's society is essential. The Information and Communication Technology which plays a crucial part in this vicinity is no doubt an undertaking that all business must partake if they are to survive. The best way to make this happen is to join together in an event such as this and make use of the assets that each participating unit have. Over the years business organizations within each participating nation, have performed well in this process of forming alliances. This is a good time for the ICT companies in Sri Lanka to focus sharply on this process within the region and synergize their efforts in building up a strong and efficient industry. |
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