Armenia has always been famous for its “brains”, unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases, we exported them. No matter whatever they say, the digital industry inside the country was in a deplorable state. There was practically no business automation, lack of necessary services and the practical absence of e-commerce. When I asked my friends why they did not trade on the Internet, they answered me that no one used the Internet for buying. However, now there are people who suddenly realized that they did not need an office, everything could be done remotely. Those who did not want or did not know how to buy on the Internet learned it quickly. Suddenly the question of e-commerce, business automation and the services provided sharply arose. Everyone frantically started creating websites, making online payments, and so the issue of the safety and security emerged. Thus, digital development from an abstract concept has become an urgent necessity, the key to the survival of business in the conditions of not only a pandemic, but also a changed landscape of business services.

For a long time the IT department of every serious company in the world has been the most expensive department, moreover, it is very difficult to count the conversion of profits from the work of the IT department. Here a simple formula such as bought for X sold for Y won’t do, it is necessary to learn new calculation methods, output new formulas, learn to apply world practices to the purely local affairs. So, there will be a great demand for data analysts, even of an intermediate level, since even the simplest business will have to learn how to convert IT costs into profits.

And we have enough smart specialists. The vector of their services will be changed, working for foreign companies will be reoriented to working for companies within the country. Suddenly there will be demand for their costly services, still in its early stages, maybe only in the form of thoughts, however it will be on a first come, first serve basis.

It’s very important not to miss the moment, it is necessary to manage to change, to rebuild.  Of course, it won’t be possible to overtake the whole world immediately, since in the beginning we are hopelessly behind and a great role of this belongs to the government. One can endlessly praise a dozen of Armenian companies that have managed to become competitive on a global scale but until the state itself becomes the most advanced digital company, the overall development will not happen.

For even the coolest of our world-famous companies will not develop the digitalization of the country, they will bring finances in the form of taxes, jobs, and that’s it.

As long as people do not trust digital services, being literate in the sphere of digital world will not be fashionable and widespread. Therefore it is very important that the digital services provided domestically will be reliable and of high quality. For example, I have an electronic fine that I have already paid 3 times, but it continues to remain as unpaid! Who will trust digital services if every 4th paid online fine remains as an unpaid one? And the laws also need to be revised and adjusted to the realities of today's conditions. For example, in Armenia, only a couple of universities accept online payments because there are no concessions allowing you to avoid interest for transactions, and they cannot be transferred to the client according to the law, so if you want to accept tuition fees online, you will have to pay a commission for payment.

The world has changed, it’s time to change priorities, to rebuild the landscape, to change the attitude towards digitalization. It’s no longer possible to leave everything to chance, it’s no longer possible to say “we can manage without it”. Every day the chasm will go deeper and deeper, it’s time to climb up all together, we must learn to act together while keeping a social distance, digital development will allow us simultaneously to be both a part of society and safe from the traps of nature.