From September 30 to October 2, the DigiTech ICT Expo exhibition took
place at Yerevan’s Center of New Experimental Art. The exhibition was
dedicated to the practical application of informational and
telecommunications technologies. As a follow-up to the exhibition, a
conference entitled “IT in modern business” was organized on October 3.
According to the executive director of the union of businesses involved
in informational technologies Karen Vartanyan, it was necessary to
organize such an exhibition in order to turn Armenia into a country for
informational technologies. Besides that, many large foreign IT
companies are beginning to look at Armenia as a potential colleague. By
placing great importance on organizing this exhibition, President of
the National Assembly Artur Baghdasaryan said in his speech: “The
development of IT in Armenia is one of the most important courses to
take on the path towards turning Armenia into a competitive country.”
The Incubator Fund for Businesses (IFB) and the Union of IT Businesses
(UITB) were the organizers of the exhibition. IFB’s goal is to support
other organizations involved in this field and help develop rise in
economy. In order to do that, the fund serves the establishments and
helps them develop their businesses, trains high quality IT
professionals, and provides high technology work places for local IT
companies. The first, major problem facing the UITB is the improvement
of the law on customs and taxes, as well as the rise in the level of
education in the IT field. K. Vardanyan is convinced that the high
customs taxes could reflect negatively on the development of
information technologies in the country.
There were 36 Armenian and foreign leading companies participating in
the IT exhibition in Armenia and they presented the effectiveness and
solutions to some problems in the following fields: computer equipment,
telecommunications, wireless networks, research, bank/financial and
legal services, IT applications in business, computer graphics, etc.
We must add that the “Compass” Inc. was the leading company that played
a major role in the exhibition. The company was founded in 2003 and is
mainly involved in installation and services for computers in offices.
“Compass” Inc. presented its imported equipment at the exhibition.
Other companies are also proposing other solutions. We can now shop for
items online from any store that has an online connection by using the
EDram internet shopping guide. Items can be bought from any part of the
world. In addition, the prices are not as high as in regular stores.
EDram also provides customer service. For example, we can buy a ticket
for any cultural event in Yerevan at the EDram box office. Also, people
who visit the Pin-shop online shop have the opportunity to recharge
their cell phones with the Easy card. EDram plans on making its
services accessible to all regions of Armenia. The “Sourcio” company
was present at the exhibition and proposed solutions for the health
care centers, government and education. For example, E-education is a
system which is concerned about the level of education and makes
teaching more effective. The subjects in school, class schedules and
work completed by university students may be seen on the internet site.
E-education is collaborating with both the Yerevan State University and
the Yerevan State University of Architecture. The exhibition also
welcomed the “Antares” holding. At first sight, it seemed as though
this fair, with is fruit decorations, had nothing to do with the IT
field. But later it turned out that this 13 year old company not only
has a commercial agency, printing and publishing house, a design
studio, but also an adviser subdivision. According to the owner of the
holding David Sahakyan, they are involved in business counsel-financial
management and preparing courses in management, marketing and IT. After
having a one on one conversation with different businessmen, the
subdivision gives businesses a packet which features the latest
technologies and the businessmen can be guided by that. Besides the
abovementioned, the subdivision plans on providing other services in
the Armenian market, such as management of customer relations and
knowledge, however, that is impossible without the help of IT. So,
there is a direct tie between the company’s outlooks and IT.
There are many solutions proposed and services provided by the
companies. The only thing left to do is make that a reality and to
invest large amounts in business and other fields of economy. According
to the exhibition organizers, there are many problems facing IT in
Armenia, especially, the lack of an institute for preparing IT
specialists and there is no legality. It is very important for the
government to aid in developing the IT field. We have declared IT to be
the leading field of economy; in that case, we must take some action.