FITIS aligns itself to fuel digital economy 2030 vision

Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) has planned a spectrum of events spanning across the 3Q-4Q 2023 keeping in line with the President’s declaration of DIGIECON2030, to deliver its promise to the nation at large in terms of fuelling the digital economy. 

The FITIS was established in 1996 and functions as the apex body of the ICT industry in the country covering all major industry/technology verticals/segments. FITIS comprises the following Chapters namely, Hardware Chapter, Software Chapter, Education Training Chapter, Communication Chapter, Digital Service Chapter, Professional Chapter, Office Automation Chapter and Professional Consultants Chapter. Member Organisations within the ICT Industry join FITIS based on their organisational focus(es) and contribute towards the super-ordinate strategy of each of the chapters, and each of the chapters in turn are aligned to deliver upon the super-ordinate promise to the ICT industry and nation at large. FITIS is actively engaged in driving the digital agenda here in Sri Lanka via digitalisation and digital transformation thereby aiding in the fuelling of the digital economy in Sri Lanka.   

FITIS’s flagship event INFOTEL Inaugurated in 1992, is the largest and the oldest ICT exhibition in Sri Lanka, organised by the Federation of IT Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS). This exhibition is patronised by the key decision makers of leading organisations in both public and private sectors, policy makers, professionals, entrepreneurs, educationalists, educational institutions, university and school communities and features the widest range of ICT solutions, services and provides a lucrative platform for new business opportunities in the digital domain. INFOTEL 2023 will be convened at BMICH Colombo from 03rd to 5 November 2023 in support of “Fuelling the Digital Economy in Sri Lanka.” Further it stands aligned with the national agenda and priorities of DIGIECON 2030 declared by none other than Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremasinghe, to enhance the digitalisation and digital transformation journey within our country thereby facilitating a digitally empowered eco system and nation which will aid in improving our citizens e-engagement in the society. Hence, INFOTEL 2023 spearheaded by FITIS has the unstinted support and patronage of the State, starting off right from the helm. 

In parallel to the INFOTEL ICT Exhibition FITIS has organised an Education Forum on Friday, 3 November 2023 from 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. at the MAIN CONFERENCE Hall at BMICH, in support of reinvigorating the computer societies and clubs all across our island, as a gesture of good corporate citizenship of nurturing our future generations on the technological sphere. 

FITIS is also organising the Young Computer Scientist (YCS) competition for the 22nd consecutive year in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC). The competition aims to expose the ICT talents of school children across the entire island at an early stage and to gain international recognition and competency so as to align with global standards, given that it is modelled on the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) standards. The culmination event is the Young Scientist Competition (YCS) Awards too which recognises the winner from the national school’s circuit and is scheduled to be held in November 2023. The top rankers are provided an opportunity to compete in APICTA awards which is scheduled to be held from 5 to 8 December 2023 in Hongkong this year.      

The Application Programming Interface (API) Asia conference is scheduled to be held on 19 October 2023 at Shangri La.  API Asia, is an iconic annual event which aims to create a platform where businesses can discover the transformative power of APIs and gain actionable insights to enhance their digital strategies. By fostering knowledge sharing, collaboration, and networking, the event seeks to empower organisations to leverage APIs as a catalyst for innovation, efficiency, and growth. This year's conference spans three tracks and hackathons namely FinTech, SmartCity Tech and AITech. The culmination event will be a digital Bar and Grill networking session scheduled to be held at the Port City premises.   

Sri Lanka Internet Day 2023 is scheduled to be held during the first week of December 2023 for the third consecutive year in Sri Lanka. This event will showcase Sri Lanka’s digital strategy and feature digitisation initiatives already in place within the public and private sectors in several key areas. It will also showcase national priorities of enhancing the country’s digital infrastructure to facilitate a digitally empowered ecosystem and a truly digital society, nation and economy. This theme “Fuelling a Digital Economy” acknowledges the country’s recognition of the need to prioritise its digital economy to face future economic and social challenges. The initiatives showcased at the event will focus on the Public Sector’s implementation of digital IDs, digital payment adoption, and PPPs, while focus areas for the private sector would be FinTech, Agri sector (Use of IOT), digital products for SME sector and the digital adoption by conglomerates.  Over 15 key influencers are expected to share their knowledge and experience in the key areas of invigorating the digital ecosystem.

Technology Channel Conference scheduled to be held also in December 2023 for the second consecutive time intends to invigorate FITIS members/channel partners to serve their clients in a more holistic and professional manner thus ensuring that the bar is raised across the entire ICT Industry.  

The Digital Excellence awards (DEX) Launch too is scheduled to be held in Q4 2023, whilst the awards ceremony is scheduled to be held in Q1 2024. This too is being held for the 3rd consecutive year with the intent of creating a platform to recognise digital initiatives that organisations embark on their digital transformation journey. It provides for an assessment and calibration of the organisation’s digital maturity. Further identifies areas of improvement with the end user customer in mind in terms of providing a satisfactory product and services experience.

The Digital Trust Asia Conference is a 3-day event that FITIS plans to launch for the very first time and will be held in Sri Lanka in January 2024. The conference will feature an exhibition, a quiz competition for schools, and a poster campaign for university students. The exhibition will showcase the latest products and services related to digital trust. The quiz competition will be a fun and educational way to engage young people with the topic of digital trust. The poster campaign will raise awareness of digital trust among the next generation of leaders. The Digital Trust Asia Conference is a great opportunity for businesses, Government agencies, and academia to come together and discuss the latest trends and challenges in digital trust. The conference will also provide a platform for networking and sharing ideas. Further the conference will provide a forum for discussing the latest trends and challenges in the field, and it will provide an opportunity for networking and sharing of ideas.

Cloud Day 2023 is another first that FITIS is planning on embarking on to showcase cloud computing products, services, and solutions. Attendees can learn about Cloud's offerings, attend technical sessions, hands-on workshops, and interact with Cloud experts and partners.

Further FITIS is planning on working closely with the Education Ministry, allied FITIS member partners and financial institutions namely banks in support of providing students a bundled PC/laptop with Internet/broadband connection, smart apps etc. on a Pay as you go (easy payment) scheme. This will help overcome the digital divide and provide for greater maturity of the digital literacy index.     

Further FITIS has already taken steps to formulate and launch out a Play book for SME’s to make them digitally enabled thus providing them wider market access in terms of captivating on the global terrain in terms of promoting their products or services also enabling them to use fintech payment solutions that would provide for ease of transacting.  

FITIS Chairman Indika De Zoysa said:  “FITIS has the depth and breadth to deliver upon the promise of the digital economy to our nation leveraging in on the collective muscle of FITIS members given the portfolio of products, solutions and services that they commandeer. All of these will contribute to the national agenda in terms of boosting Sri Lanka’s digital economy to $ 15 billion by 2030 from $ 3.7 billion in 2020,” he stated.  He further said that the digital economy has been growing at a higher pace than the GDPs of many countries thus FITIS too stood committed to spearhead and drive the digital economy agenda for Sri Lanka, in line with President Ranil Wickremasinghe’s realisation and launch of DIGIECON 2030 on 30 March 2023. 

FITIS Senior Vice Chairman Dr. Dayan Rajapakse said that FITIS could play a pivotal role in developing the needed capacity required to fulfil the industry needs especially given the dearth witnessed as a result of migration of skilled resources from Sri Lanka.  

Vice Chairman Channa De Silva, reiterated on the importance of taking digital payments to the rural masses to overcome the digital divide and also provide for an equitable playing field.   

Vice Chairman Thariq Sanoon reiterated that FITIS membership carried the entire spectrum needed in terms of required infrastructure, security safeguards and allied solutions thus it was a matter of time before Sri Lanka too joined the rest of the global league.   

Whilst FITIS stands committed to drive the digital economy agenda in Sri Lanka ably supported by its members, partners and state sector agencies, fervently believe that organisations and the nation at large will seize this golden opportunity to engage, participate on this transformational journey that will help fuel a digitally savvy nation for Mother Lanka.