INFOTEL 2013, South Asia’s premier ICT exhibition, ends tomorrow

Saturday, 26 October 2013 07:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Sarah Hannan The 12th consecutive INFOTEL ICT exhibition opened for the public on Thursday 24 October at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre, Colombo. The exhibition ceremonially commenced with the blessings of the clergy and in the presence of leading ICT personalities from the public and private sector. Minister of Telecommunications and IT Ranjith Siyambalapitiya was the Chief Guest at the event while Senior Minster for

Science Affairs Prof. Tissa Vitarana was the Guest of Honour. Tomorrow, Sunday 27 October, will be the last day of the exhibition and it will be open for the public from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. This year’s exhibition concurrently took place with the World Summit Awards World Congress which was organised by the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) that comes to an end today. This year INFOTEL focuses on six sectors where ICT can be used to contribute towards the growth of the respective industry namely; agriculture, communication, education, transport, medical science and tourism. The exhibition hosts over 200 stalls from both the public and private sector showcasing the latest products and services in the industry, software and applications used to enhance the usability of individuals and institutions including; social media, green computing, gaming, cloud computing, virtualisation, mobile apps, business intelligence and ERP, cyber security, business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, disaster recovery and business continuity, data centres, office automation and communications, big data processing, education and training. “The key objective of this year’s exhibition is to mobilise the creation of a ‘Knowledge Hub’ and position Sri Lankan ICT products to showcase their technological advancements and innovations. Government institutions such as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Telecommunications and IT, Ministry of Technology and Research and the Ministry of Tourism have also endorsed this event by participating in this event in great

numbers this year, which is a great initiative by them towards the growth of ICT of Sri Lanka,” INFOTEL 2013 Organising Committee Chairman and SALA Enterprises Managing Director Chinthaka Wijewickrema stated in his welcome address. Speaking at the occasion Chief Guest for INFOTEL 2013 Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said: “ICT is becoming a daily need at any level in many sectors ranging from agriculture to technologically advanced segments. As a nation we need to work toward one goal and the participation of public as well as private sectors in creating awareness and providing the necessary tools and knowledge to the people of Sri Lanka is important at this time. “This should not be considered as a corporate responsibility but a national responsibility. As the Minister for Telecommunications and IT, I extend an invitation to all ICT organisations present to take advantage of the provision of free exhibition spaces at the ‘Deyata Kirula Exhibition’ which is scheduled to be held in Kuliyapitiya and request all organisations to partner up with the Government.”