Building a tech-savvy Lanka

Today, digital equipment plays a significant role in enhancing people's lifestyles as well as improving their efficiency, Niranjan Canagey told LMD.

The November issue of the LMD features IT mogul and CEO of Epsi Computers, Niranjan Canagey, saying that "Sri Lankans are becoming more tech-savvy day by day".

However, although all Sri Lankans seem to have PCs these days, Canagey said that "the IT industry as a whole has suffered a setback in recent times". He explains the cause of this downfall in the widely read business magazine.

According to Canagey, although "most multinational brands do have faith in our market as being one with potential", Sri Lanka is apparently not living up to its status.

With the fall of the rupee and a decline in disposable incomes, Sri Lanka's IT sector seems to be on a downward spiral -even the vision of an 'e-Sri Lanka' have proved to be a pipe-dream, as a "significant part of it still remains on paper and has yet to be fully implemented", he said.

Underlining the importance of digital products in people's everyday lives, Canagey also said that "it is important to consider such products as part of the digital revolution rather than as an indulgence". According to EPSI's chief, Sri Lanka still has a way to go before it is considered as being an IT hub.