SL’s digital technology transformation to be accelerated | Sunday Observer

SL’s digital technology transformation to be accelerated

20 May, 2018

Around 85 % of the jobs in the world will be transformed and nearly 60 % of the services will be delivered through digital technology in Asia in the next three years, a senior official of Microsoft Sri Lanka told a gathering last week in Colombo.

He said that the world is seeing a rapid transformation in the way work is being done through digital technology which has become the game changer today. Unless, Sri Lanka is prepared for the transformation it will stand to lose on many fronts.

“Sri Lanka has the potential and that has been shown well in many initiatives to drive growth in the information communication technology sector. The private and public initiatives across the educational stream have shown results. However, there is much to be done in bringing about transformation in digital technology,” he said.

Speaking at the occasion to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between Microsoft Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment to foster digital transformation in Sri Lanka, Country Manager for Microsoft Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Hasitha Abeywardena said about two thirds of the youth in the global workforce will be ready to transform to new roles in employment within the next three to five years.

“We are currently focusing on three key areas namely privacy, cyber security and ethics. Privacy is a fundamental human right which is why we are working hard to ensure compliance with general data protection regulations,” he said.

Minister of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment, Harin Fernando said as digitisation has become ubiquitous across all industries, the partnership is vital for Sri Lanka to harness the potential of connectivity.

“Every government needs to provide accurate and up-to-date services to people. We will carry out more programs with Microsoft in the future to boost cyber security and improve the procurement process of the government,” he said.

The partnership between Microsoft and the Ministry to drive digital transformation in the country will focus on educational transformation, cyber security, capacity building in the public sector and collective working environment with the government.

Secretary to the Ministry of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment, Wasantha Deshapriya said that one of his main concerns is the government’s key organsations being clueless about information security and its importance for data protection.

“The government’s top and second tier employees lack digital awareness. The partnership will accelerate digital transformation in the public sector,” he said.

The MoU is the realisation of the country’s e-government policy and plans for digital transformation.

The salient features of the partnership are setting up and implementing the digital transformation blueprint for the government, public sector capacity building and productivity development, a software procurement program to ensure a secure and seamless working environment for the public sector for better citizen services, a cyber security risk assessment across the government, skills development for students with a focus on implementing smart classrooms and digital education and technical assistance and expertise on the e-gov policy and plan.

The partnership between Microsoft and the Ministry to drive digital transformation in the country will focus on educational transformation, cyber security, capacity building in the public sector and collective working environment with the government.


Prof. Rohan Samarajeeva speaks at the panel discussion.   Pix: Sulochana Gamage

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