NITC 2014 – the Liveblog – Day Two

“Alibaba, the biggest eStore in China, has more total gross value of merchandise stockpiled than the entirety of Amazon in the US. So they thought: why don’t we have a sale?

Now, China has a large population that is single – simply because nowadays, one of the “unofficial” requirements to be a partner is to have money and land – at least an apartment. Guess how much they made?

$5.7 billion. A record-breaking sale, and not a cent went through a bank. The banks completely missed out on the opportunity. This is the kind of environment banks live in nowadays. Banks have to fight Alipay. Paypal. Even Facebook – the second largest nation on Earth – has applied for a banking license. There’s a huge challenge. Banks are facing a changing market and changing demands. The only way to grow in this environment is to innovate.”

– Rajasekara Maiya, Infosys

Good morning, folks. We’re at the the second day of NITC 2014, one of the biggest tech conferences happening in Sri Lanka. Our Internet – courtesy of Hutch Sri Lanka – is up and as ready as we are.

Following an early keynote by Brenda Aysnsley, the President of the Australian Computer Society, Rajapasekara has begun his explanation of how banks are dealing with the paradigm shift that the world has experienced. 

Brenda’s speech, a lengthy and passionate call for the extended adoption of best practices in the industry – unfortunately finished moments after our arrival, so the excerpt would make little sense if published here. Her view is that in the relentless drive for innovation and entrepreneurship, the IT industry as a whole is leaving professionalism and accountability behind, and that it is paramount for professionalism to be implemented via social structures. And we must say, in light of certain recent events, that we agree.

“It’s about accountability. Professionals hold themselves to standards and hold themselves accountable – to their peers, their governments.”

We’ve got the rest of the day ahead of us – let’s begin. The liveblog is now live!

[liveblog]