The 11th annual DigiTec Business Forum, titled Smart Solutions For Smart Business, has kicked off in Yerevan today.

The two-day forum will feature various discussions on information security, development of electronic systems, renewable and energy-efficient technologies, military industry etc.

Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises of Armenia (UATE) president Alexander Yesayan told reporters that the forum is a unique platform which brings together representatives of businesses and IT, featuring new tech solutions which can be applied in various sectors. UATE is the organizer of the event.

“In addition, issues of the sector are raised, the development vision is presented, we speak about the problems. Today, education can be singled out as one of the main problems of the sector, which must immediately be developed. There is always a demand for experts in this sector. Today, a good foundation must be laid in order to have a good development in the future”, he said.

Karen Vardanyan, executive director of UATE, says that a coordinated work is required in Armenia to transform it into a technological country.

“Nearly 3 million vacancies exist today in the IT sector, we must be able to take a good share of this huge cake,” he said.

He mentioned that they propose the government to create a new ministry – the ministry of innovations and technological development.

“Today various IT solutions are installed in various governmental agencies. The main problem is that they don’t speak to one another. That is why there is a need for this all to be coordinated from one place,” he said.