Driving a new wave of ‘digitally-agile’ innovations as response to COVID-19

COVID-19, the current global pandemic which has created greater chaos, is forcing every individual and organisation to think out-of-the-box. When a situation of chaos is in the spotlight, two scenarios will be up for grabs: for those who can adapt as the opportunities will be countless, and for those that cannot, it could be a disaster. In such a context, businesses need to position their rationale to be on the front foot, prioritising ‘digital agility’ in this time of uncertainty.  

From new ways of working remotely to building detectors which identify people without masks, we are talking about a new cultural revolution that has been brought forward by COVID-19. This revolutions is significantly enabled by an outpour of creativity, which ushered in a new era of ‘digitally-agile’ innovations. These new solutions are showcasing what human ingenuity is capable of in the face of adversity.  

Any period of volatility can create opportunities that businesses can leverage if they are prepared. In the case of the COVID-19 outbreak, organisations that take a more assertive and longer-term approach through IT agility can spark innovations. During the pandemic, companies have been creative in driving their organisations towards innovative thinking within their businesses; it also enforces the fact that organisations must be ready to present increasing digital capabilities and experiences for their customers to produce inspiring and digitally-agile innovative responses. 

Digitally-agile solutions to fight the pandemic

As a business which follows modern agile technology practices, Arimac Digital utilises digital service offerings and create solutions for different stakeholders—be it for citizens, governments or industries—to improve and augment their experience. 

We had the privilege to be a part of the Government’s ongoing operations in their battle against COVID-19, offering our expertise on how to use smart innovations to help tackle this current challenge. The creativity and ingenuity we bring through agile digital operations is not only helping local organisations but also global private and public firms as well.  All these projects were carried out free of charge to support individuals and companies to stand on their feet at this challenging time. 

Below are some of the critical projects we have been proud of spearheading as a team, during the last two months:

Developing a contact tracing app

Taking proactive measures is the most vital component in our conquest to stop the spread of COVID-19 virus. Together with the Presidential Secretariat we developed the ‘Together WeCan’ app to combat COVID-19. The app is designed to identify both the proximity and the duration of the encounters with nearby users via the use of Bluetooth-based tracking.

Web solutions that provide real-time information

Our talented team has worked tirelessly with the Ministry of Health and the Health Promotion Bureau (HPB) to revamp their official website and create a portal where individuals can get verified and accurate data, symptoms of COVID-19, hotlines for emergencies, prevention methods and FAQs on COVID-19.

To add more value to the partnership with HBP, we created a public forum/community group through Viber to generate awareness on key safety measures and providing verified data on the situation of the virus. Furthermore, the studio division of Arimac created informative and fun-filled animations and posters to build COVID-19 awareness through an interactive learning process. 

Open APIs playing a pivotal role

Arimac identified the lack of a verified data source on the COVID-19 situation in Sri Lanka, and by collaborating with HPB, we created an API which is publicly open to developers with accurate LIVE data for any entity to extract latest and accurate data. This is being used presently as Sri-Lanka’s main source of information regarding the pandemic.

An all-new COVID-19 dashboard

We have created a sophisticated dashboard to monitor the COVID-19 situation in the country. This dashboard comes with several features which allow the users to get live updates and analyse the situation.

Games to build awareness

By utilising Facebook, we have designed engaging games to attract the right target audience to spread awareness of this pandemic. Arimac is also currently creating an awareness-based game on COVID-19 for the World Health Organization (WHO), which will be made available through the social media channels of WHO. 

Apart from these projects, we are also involved in discussions with Maldives, Algeria, Laos and Qatar to enable these countries with state-of-the-art digital solutions to combat COVID-19 in their respective countries.

A new path for digital transformation 

COVID-19 indeed is a dark cloud but even within that obscurity, there is a bright, silver lining which is the spur of effort and spirit for digital innovations. With numerous digital developments taking place, many firms have become more conscious of the need for a strong case of digital transformation. When businesses start to slowly recover from the aftermath of this pandemic, business priorities will gradually shift, making a digital transformation a case of ‘when’, not ‘if’.  

When developing digital government strategies post COVID-19, the focus should be on improving data protection and digital inclusion policies as well as on solidifying the policy and technical capabilities of public institutions. Public-private partnerships will also be essential for implementing innovative technologies and to tailor digital solutions to countries’ needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the importance of technology, but also the pivotal role of an effective, inclusive and accountable government.

At times of crisis, it is really important that private sector companies to bring about new innovations or integrate the already existing technology to make it more disruptive and convergent – not solely to capitalise on it, but to pay more attention on how it can benefit the society. Agility, or the ability to respond promptly via technology, not only helps the country to be aware of the current situation but, in the future, will also be able to prevent an oncoming issue in the foreseeable future.

To re-emerge from the challenges and constraints imposed by COVID-19, organisations like Arimac will come forward on a much bigger scale to support the government in reviving the economy and rebuilding the society, by sharing technologies, tools and expertise. 

In the long term, the Government would also need to look at accelerating the implementation of innovative digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT). We have in-house experts on these technologies where we would like to engage with the government to create long-term roadmaps as these technologies can tremendously support the future resilience of Sri Lanka’s economy.  

(The writer is the Chief Executive Officer of Arimac, Sri Lanka’s premier end-to-end digital solutions provider)