With disruption playing a key role in today’s technological trends businesses must learn to be agile, always adapting to the clients wants and needs. This was what we learned from a number of people at the JIT Solutions Day 2018.
Are we ready for continuous disruption?
Stephen Miles, the CTO (APJ) at CA Technologies spoke about embracing new technologies such as being Agile, embracing the cloud big data, analytics, APIs & Microservices, and Blockchain. All these technologies will help build something new, eradicating inconsistencies and giving organizations a better future.
These technologies help organizations respond faster to market shifts. They also help organizations innovate continuously. “We need to be in the business of delivering what customers want, and not what we think that they want”, Stephen said. This helps businesses build better customer UX and also leverage digital ecosystems.
Stephen Miles addressing the audience at the JIT Solutions Day 2018
Many companies are now more focused on targeting specific markets rather than just becoming “just another software company”. It’s not just about the front end, but the back end as well. Both have to be truly adaptable to become a digital leader.
Google, for example, updates their application code by 50% every month. Netflix has a total of 9 billion API calls on a daily basis. All these go to show that digital leaders are continuously updating the experiences that they offer.
Similarly, other companies should start working on improving their technology, architecture, innovation, and trust as well. We have to move away from being purpose built and learn to be more adaptable. We also have to get away from developing in-house, to collaborating with other parties.
Stephen went on to talk about we need to create an agile business, build better apps faster, make security a competitive advantage and maximize application performance. The next 10 years are going to be very interesting, Stephen says. All businesses today are digital businesses. We need to do them well to stay ahead of our competition.
Using APIs to Empower the Next Generation of Businesses
One key method for a business to be agile and adaptable is by APIs. This was what we learned from Anthony Rodrigo; Chief Information Officer of Axiata Group was on stage to talk about at the JIT Solutions Day 2018. We learned about what an API is, He recalls that Axiata started off dabbling in APIs in 2012.
Anthony Rodrigo at the JIT Solutions Day 2018
API’s allowed them to redesign the signup process for partners from 6+ months to a matter of minutes. 6 months is actually optimistic, Anthony recalled. Embracing an API programme is not something simple. It’s a way of thinking. You need to have a multi-purpose API platform rather than a single purpose one.
Draining the Data Swamp
Any business embracing being agile and also making use of APIs will also experience a large influx of data. This data can be confusing and a colossal strain to process. This is where you need to drain the proverbial data swamp to extract only that information that you absolutely need.
This was what Tony Andris spoke about at JIT Solutions Day 2018. Tony, the CTO and Founder of dataWerks taught us that having data helps us make better decisions. The challenges here were that there’s just too much data and too many slips of information.
Tony Andris speaking at the JIT Solutions Day 2018
This data overload can result in incorrect and inconsistent business metrics and reports. There is also confusion and inconsistent representation of reference data. Lastly, there is also an increase in complexity and a decrease in consistency.
One way to solve this is to extract all data, transform it and then load it into a data warehouses. This too can have its disadvantages. For example, you can be faced with data replication, losing control over copied data etc. In addition, if a data source is changed, it requires a complete data reload. In turn, this means that the decision makers do not have the required information to make critical decisions.
Enabling a trusted digital environment in Sri Lanka
With companies embracing agile technologies and APIs, they have the required data to make decisions. This, in turn, brings us a step closer to a more digital economy. Teck Lee Tan – Asia President, Government Business Unit and Singapore Country Manager of Gemalto explained that by 2025, individual digital interactions will be 50x more than what they were in 2010. This means that people will be interacting more with technology a lot more than they currently are.
Teck Lee Tan at the JIT Solutions Summit 2018
Teck went on to explain at the JIT Solutions Day 2018 how our lives are becoming easier with automated tasks and IoT devices. While these may make our daily tasks easier to handle, it also raises a number of privacy and security risks. According to him, 95% of breaches with regard to damages involved unencrypted data. From the projects that Teck spoke about, we learned that technologies such as biometric authorization and eNIC would need to be implemented.
How ready are we with data privacy?
In order to have a trusted digital environment in Sri Lanka and a digital economy, we must first ensure that our data is secure from unauthorized access. Ramon Karingal, Regional APJ InfosSec & Risk Advocate at RSA elaborated on this at the JIT Solutions Day 2018. Ramon taught us that the best way and place to talk about data privacy is to talk about data breaches. He highlighted a number of key data breach incidents that took place with companies such as Facebook, Tencent and Citibank.
If you handle confidential data of your customers or clients, then you are directly responsible to keep the data safe. Anyone processing personal data is open to being attacked. With regard to the current state of security, Ramon emphasized that hackers are more focused, creative, patient and persistent. They have a wide range of tools.
Ramon Karingal at the JIT Solutions Summit 2018
So how good are we at detecting and responding to cyber-attacks? Well, according to stats put forth by Ramon, 70% of companies worldwide reported that their data was compromised in 2017. He went onto state that 90% of users are unsatisfied with response rates if a breach occurs. Somewhat shockingly, 40% of users do not have active vulnerability management programs in place.
We need to have full visibility of all systems to paint an accurate picture of what’s happening across the environment, Ramon emphasized. It’s not just enough to prevent an attack. You need to foresee it and predict it as well. You also need to create and deploy an efficient and comprehensive response.
With regard to the new world compliance, we need to be able to get all the information needed, relate it to the event and then report it. All this has to be done in less than 72 hours. So in order to respond to threats effectively and efficiently, we need a business driven model for readiness, response, and resilience.
Regulatory Economy Vs Disruptive Economy
Following the keynote speeches at the JIT Solutions Day 2018 was a panel discussion moderated by Nisthar Cassim, the Editor at DailyFT. According to the Panelists, organization models have to change. People below the age of 30 have to enter the Industry if we are to truly become a disruptive economy, said Muhunthan Canagey. The whole concept of disruption has been there since the 1970s. The disruptive economy needs to have a regulatory force, albeit on a lower level than an actual regulatory economy.
The Panel Discussion on a Disruptive Economy vs a Regulatory Economy at the JIT Solutions Day 2018
Why do we need to regulate? The need to regulate comes purely from the fact that it should be done as an intervention by a 3rd party who has the power and the right to intervene as long as it’s for the public interest. Essentially, something should be regulated only for the greater good of those using it.
A continuation of the panel discussion at the JIT Solutions Day 2018
Innovation has to be there for people to adopt it. Once enough people adopt it, regulators will see that it indeed taking place. In conclusion, both parties agreed that everyone, regulators and innovation companies must work together in order to foster innovation.
That brought an end to the JIT Solutions Day 2018
With the keynote sessions and Tech Space sessions wrapped up, the JIT Solutions Day 2018 officially came to an end. In a celebratory manner, participants and special guests were invited for cocktails and dinner. In addition, they also took part in networking where they got to know each other and even create new partnerships.
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