Covid-19 pandemic is "a wake-up call to mankind", says Ooredoo Maldives MD
"It is almost like somebody has pressed the reset button"
Najib Khan, CEO and MD of Ooredoo Maldives
The Covid-19 pandemic is “a wake-up call” to mankind, says Ooredoo Maldives’ Managing Director.
Najib Khan made the statement in an exclusive interview to RaajjeTV on Sunday night.
Noting that this is a wake-up to mankind, Khan stressed that everything will change from here on. He added that how things will change is not clear and that it will continue to evolve.
Khan, who was appointed as MD in April 2019, stated that technology “definitely is going play a major role” in this and added that it already is.
Noting that there are some common practices being adopted across the world following the crisis, he said that this includes the transformation of e-commerce, cashless digital payments and other ways to avoid physical interactions as much as possible especially in regards to mundane work.
He added that the word “less” is going to very important following the pandemic but that this will make people “more efficient”.
Speaking on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, which is marked on May 17, Ooredoo Maldives’ top official noted that technology has evolved a lot in recent years and stressed that it “is at the heart of everything we do”.
Highlighting that it will play a lot in terms of connectivity, Khan said that the Covid-19 pandemic has “accelerated” digitalization and brought it to the forefront.
However, he noted that Maldives has a long way to go to see the impact and that there “is a world of technology [the country] should expand into”.
Khan also spoke on cyber safety, and revealed that hacks and other such attacks on Ooredoo’s networks have already increased.
Noting that “every new thing has an issue or a problem”, he said that Ooredoo is keeping this in mind during the design process of its networks and other applications.
While the MD did not reveal much about Ooredoo’s plans for its customers in the near future, he noted that the plans will include “more on information security and cyber security”.
Noting that these are areas that the company will focus on, Khan said that they will also be focusing on the health and education sectors as there "will be more online requirements" in these areas.
He said that Ooredoo Maldives' current work also includes finding ways for people to have easier access to services, especially in terms of expenses.
