Gulf News: What should the UAE learn from Singapore to raise its IT-readiness rating?
Lam: Singapore has a reputation for being organised and having strong infrastructure. The government is wiring up the whole country. If you look at the way education and business are conducted these days, you would see it's all driven by technology. The UAE can probably learn an important lesson there in terms of building the technology infrastructure and making sure that business is smooth and organisations are properly wired up to use technology.
Gulf News: As the population in the UAE increases, will it become a challenge to achieving a higher ranking?
Lam: Increasing population is a good thing. If you're going to grow as a nation, if you're going to grow globally, you need the manpower. It is important to have a workforce that is IT-savvy.
Gulf News: If the UAE government and private IT companies continue to focus on growth, where can they reach and how long will it take?
Lam: If you look at the big economies like India, Singapore and China, you see they are growing very fast. The common thing you find in these economies is their investment in education. They have a very talented and skilled workforce. India is now the IT hub of the world because it has invested in IT training, and has differentiated itself completely. A similar story is possible in the UAE if there is educational investment in certain strategic areas.
Gulf News: What does the UAE need to do?
Lam: At a national level, the key challenge is focussing on high growth industries. For example, the Singapore government has invested considerably in biosciences, because they see that as a strategic growth area for the next 10-25 years. What industries does the UAE believe will fuel growth in the next 50 years? And that's important because oil will run out eventually and it will have to look at new areas of growth. Again, education has a strong role to play.
Gulf News: Will high living expenses in the UAE drive away potential IT manpower?
Lam: Potentially. This has happened in India. If a place becomes expensive, people are going to be driven away. Organisations like to look at value they get from a business or client. So if the UAE can establish some value-added services and industries difficult for others to replicate, it will be a good strategic move for the region.
By Nadia Saleem, Special to Gulf News