1 Annual Report - The Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka

The second event in February 2013 on “Cloud Computing” was delivered byAsanga WanigatungaAsanga gave a glimpse of what would happen in the future, with the opportunitiesCloud computing creates, and the exponential rates at which businesses are takingup such opportunities. The audience, with a good number of engineers of non SriLankan background, were eager to listen to the new developments happening withthe increasing use of smart phones and tablets, and the applications (apps) thatprovide customised solutions by tapping onto various large data sets. The making orbreaking of business models due to changing (Disruptive) technology wasexemplified by the demise of encyclopaedia due to the spread of Wikipedia andseveral such examples. The evolution of collaboration technology from telephones in1950s, to faxes in 1970s, to emails in 1990s, and social media in 2010s, pointed to atrend of paradigm shifts in technology roughly every 20 years. The ability ofbusinesses to tap into Cloud for data storage and for readily available apps forfunctions such as administration, HR, and finance, provides both cost savings andmobility, and the failure to do so may lead to business downturn due to noncompetitiveness. Information security and the governance frameworks to mitigateassociated risks was also discussed, both in the context of Government policies, aswell as industry self regulation to win customer confidence.Several real life examples from Asanga’s career in VMware were given whereconsiderable time and cost savings have been achieved in a variety of activites suchas law enforcement, health, and aviation.