The fourth edition of W.Media’s Chennai Cloud & Datacenter Convention was held on Thursday, where the guest of honour Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Minister for Information Technology & Digital Services, Government of Tamil Nadu, showcased in a heartfelt speech, Chennai’s willingness and ability to embrace and empower the region’s digital infrastructure industry.
“We were still getting time on mainframes and creating punch cards to put in the code. So, I’ve seen this industry evolve,” reminisced the Minister about the time when he was pursuing graduate studies in the United States. “When the first notion of cloud came about in the late 90s, I don’t think any of us envisioned the actual capacity of data holding, data generation, data analytics, and computing power that was to come 20-25 years later.”
Reflecting in what Tamil Nadu can offer the cloud and data center industry he said, “We are very happy that our natural talents and natural strengths in terms of connectivity, the under-sea cables, and power, particularly green power… somewhere around 35 percent of our energy is green.” This is a huge incentive for data center owners and hyperscalers who are committed to going carbon neutral.
The Minister also highlighted the importance of a skilled workforce, and how Tamil Nadu had a huge supply of it as well. “Since we universalized education… close to 100 percent of children attend high school, and over 50 percent attain tertiary education. This is the goal of the Government of India’s policy by 2050, but Tamil Nadu has already achieved it.”
Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan also reminded the audience that the government gathered and maintained the largest amount of data in order to offer seamless public services. He touched upon a variety of digitization and digital archiving initiatives, and also spoke about the role of AI in delivering the digital future of governance and public service. “We are happy to see this ecosystem grow and flourish here, because without the AI start-ups and innovators, we would not be able to realize our vision of how government should function and what we can do you improve administration and the ability to provide friction-less, transparent services to people,” he said.
Finally, the Minister also recognized the role of conferences like the Cloud and Datacenter Convention saying, “Such conferences are very important for you to learn, build a network, hopefully have some fun, as you advance the collective vision of the sector and the industry. I’m very pleased to see this happen.”
The Chennai Cloud & Datacenter convention took place at ITC Chola, and saw participation from over 850 top industry professionals including C-level executives, decision makers, veteran experts, architects, engineers and consultants. They came together to share their vision and wisdom, as well as network with peers and potential clients and partners.
The full video of the special address made by Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Minister for Information Technology & Digital Services, Government of Tamil Nadu at Chennai CDC may be viewed here: