Sri Lanka prepared to digitise the Government: Microsoft Regional Director Asia Pacific

By Kiyoshi J. Berman

Jeff Bullwinkel serves as Microsoft’s Associate General Counsel and Regional Director of Corporate, External and Legal Affairs for Asia Pacific and Japan. He is based in Singapore and oversees Microsoft’s legal and corporate affairs teams across the region. 

Discussing the initiatives Sri Lanka has taken towards digitisation, Jeff said, “In the couple of days I’ve been here, I saw a clear enthusiasm in the Government to work closely with the private sector towards shared priorities in the realm of digitisation. As a company, Microsoft has always been focused on trying to drive innovation in the markets where we do business including Sri Lanka. We have shared objectives with the Government.”

Following are excerpts from the interview:

Q: What are the main advantages of digitising government services? 

A: One of the main benefits is the use of the Cloud technology. It’s state-of-the-art and incredible value for money and it’s easy to scale up and scale down. What the governments are up to first of all is have their officials operating in the most efficient ways using latest devices, smart-phones and tap into vast sources of data and make the best decisions using the best information available.  

Q: What do you think are the best ways to engage citizens through digital government?

A: One of the things I think citizens are looking for today is to interact with their governments in the same way they interact with their online retailers. People are expecting a level of service, availability, efficiency that’s hard to do without a digitised government. 

For example, think of a citizen who’s trying to access information relevant to tax returns or some other service that people need from governments; getting that information online is vastly easier, faster, efficient, cheaper than it would be if the person had to go through traditional means of accessing government services.  

Q: Will the current computer literacy rates in Sri Lanka pose a problem to the digitisation of government services? 

A: I think core IT skills will cover things. One thing is to make sure you have the right infrastructure. The computer literacy rate in Sri Lanka is getting higher but it’s relatively low compared to other parts of the world. So one thing the Government is focused on is to make sure they increase the availability to technology through connectivity Wi-Fi, broadband and so on. Most people, when they have that level of connectivity, they get very used to using devices for everyday work. Clearly we have to develop their core IT skills within the course of time. 

Microsoft has been working for a long time on increasing the rates of digital literacy with a range of programs. One of such programs is ‘Newspark’ which is designed for young people so that they get used to technology and have access to technology.

Q: How can digitisation advance education systems? 

A: One thing that the Sri Lankan government has been focusing on is to increase the use of technology in the education system. 

In ‘Smart Schools’ that are set up in some Western Countries like the US,  kids use technology everyday in the classroom and has the ability to access vast amounts of information just on a device as opposed to having to rely upon going to a library to find information. They also use devices to collaborate more effectively than they possibly could in a more traditional classroom setting. 

Q: How can the use of technology in SMEs contribute to the economic development of Sri Lanka?

A: We have done some work over the past couple of years including studies that talk about the success of small and medium size businesses that use technology as opposed to those that don’t. 

One study recently published by the Boston Consulting Group talks about Technology Leaders, Technology Followers and Technology Laggards. What they essentially did with this study was to measure the success of individual companies as if it was correlated to the degree which technology is adopted by the company. Those small and mini-size businesses that embraced technology have shown higher success in the overall business, higher revenue and higher profitability. People who were Followers did well but not quite well as the leaders. Smaller companies the so-called Laggards were much less successful in the overall business performance. 

Q: What would be the major development areas in the digital infrastructure in Sri Lanka?

A: What I think is important to have as the foundation is the right type of policy environment. These days, governments focus on Cloud computing as a phenomenon and policy frameworks that should be developed in a way that can foster the adoption of the Cloud as opposed to hinder the adoption of Cloud Computing. 

I was very pleased to see the government in Sri Lanka developing and fostering Cloud computing. In Sri Lanka, there are not much of restrictions against the Cloud as you might have in other countries across the region which gives it a clear advantage. 

Q: Can you comment on how Sri Lanka is moving towards a digital economy? 

A: Sri Lanka is clearly moving in the right direction and trying to make sure that the Government is tapping into the opportunities provided by Information Technology. What is happening in Sri Lanka is similar to what’s happening elsewhere. All governments are trying to solve some of the most pressing problems of the day in a more efficient and effective way. 

The challenges people are facing in the government is – how do you drive economic growth and innovation? How do you get better access to education? How can you give better access to healthcare services? And how do you achieve more security and safety for people?

Clearly technology is going to be incorporated in the solutions to such challenging problems. History is demonstrating that governments which are prepared to work closely with the private sector are going to have an easy time overcoming these hurdles and challenges than governments that are not.

Equally, cyber security is a major concern. What’s clear today is that in the absence of cyber security, you don’t have national security. As a company, Microsoft tries to create the most trusted Cloud environment existing in the planet. The Government in Sri Lanka is also very focused on trying to make sure they are protecting their systems from the risk of cyber attacks. That’s another area where the public and private sector corporation is essential for success. 

Commenting how the Government has been leading in this space for sometime; Sri Lanka is signatory to the Council of Europe in an Act against cyber crime which was a treaty negotiated back in the 1990s and by ratifying that convention, Sri Lanka is way ahead of many other countries across the region. But they need to focus and make sure they have the right policy infrastructure and right mechanisms in place to allow collaboration with other countries around the world.  

Q: Can you comment on Microsoft’s Cloud solution?

A: There are a lot of questions people have these days in terms of trusting technology. 

Our Cloud business is built up on four principles – making sure we are emphasising security first and foremost. Apart from offering value for money and great functionality, it’s important to ensure the Cloud environment we provide is secure than running your own IT infrastructure.

 In Microsoft Cloud services, we are using the best-in-breed data-centre technologies and encryption; it’s ever going to be more secure than anything that a company can internally develop. Security is a key element of our overall trust in Cloud services. 

The second component is privacy and control. That is making sure our customers understand that their data – is their data, and that they have control over their own data and not the Cloud service provider.

The third component is the notion of transparency. As in, we are making sure that we’re being completely clear and open about what is done with your data and how it’s managed. 

Fourth is the notion of compliance. People are not going to adopt a Cloud service that they cannot use in compliance with their own obligations and policies. Our focus is developing a Cloud service that is going to be compliant with the obligations our customers have to abide by as well.