Above: Indigisounds’ Johann Chuckaree (left) and David Chow receive the award for Young Service Provider Award of the year TTCSI Director, Mrs. Lorraine Pouchet. Photo courtesy TSTT.

“Ready, set, grow!” is the theme of this year’s services sector week of activities and service providers gained some insight into how they could grow their businesses at the recently held T&T Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) Awards.

“The capacity of the sector to attain the sustainable growth of which it is capable depends, to a large extent, on its ability to capitalize on the advantages and opportunities presented by new technologies and use this as a launch pad for greater and more meaningful interactions with customers,” said TSTT’s EVP of Strategic Alliance, Enterprise and Tobago Operations, Mr. Rakesh Goswami.

He highlighted a report published by the European Commission which noted that “service sector companies that make use of technology in their business are four to five times more productive than service sector companies that do not.”

Smart technology and the Internet offer service providers unparalleled opportunities to innovate and grow their businesses, and as their partner in industry, TSTT has committed to making such technology “all inclusive and available in every corner of the country,” Mr. Goswami told the audience, in delivering remarks for TSTT as the TTCSI awards ceremony sponsor.

TSTT’s capital expenditure of more than $2 billion in the last five years on modernizing Trinidad and Tobago’s communications technology has meant that “the speed, ease and accessibility of technology that we have brought to the majority of T&T with 4G LTE technology and mobile data represents unlimited untapped potential for the services sector,” he said.

The Internet used in conjunction with smart devices and Apps gives service sector businesses new tools for innovation, in a sense creating an experience for their customers that is truly magical and likely to gain long-term customer loyalty, Mr. Goswami said.

He drew reference to the latest generation of Internet technology, the Internet of Things, which is a network of physical objects or “things” embedded with electronics, software, sensors and Internet connectivity to enable these objects to exchange data with a business and/or other connected devices, often without human intervention.

Angela Lee Loy, Executive President TTCSI, with Minister of Trade and Industry, Senator Paula Gopee Scoon and TSTT EVP Strategic Alliance, Enterprise and Tobago Operations Rakesh Goswami at the awards event. Photo courtesy TSTT.

“So for example, in a theme park, visitors wear an electronic band with sensors that help guests gain access to rides, hotels, restaurants, etc. and this generates data that helps the theme park owners identify what things are less or more appealing to guests to improve their experience.” Mr. Goswami estimates that by 2020 there will be 75 billion such connected devices all over the world.

In delivering the feature address, Minister of Trade and Industry, Senator Paula Gopee-Scoon observed that the T&T Central Bank reported that for 2014 the services sector represented 52 per cent of GDP and employed more than half of the country’s labour force.

She pledged her government’s commitment to working with the TTCSI to promote the services sector. “We must broaden our horizons and rethink what we have to offer the world,” she told the audience of service providers.

Executive President of the TTCSI Angela Lee Loy noted that despite the services sector’s significant contribution to the country’s economy, it had not gained much visibility or recognition. Hence, the TTCSI was now in its eighth year of hosting events to highlight the contributions made by the services sector to the Trinidad and Tobago economy.

She said a special thank you to the TTCSI awards sponsor, TSTT. “Your continued support of our work inspires us and assists us in the development of our country.”

Chief Judge of the awards was Mrs. Nirmala Maharaj, Director at the Arthur Lok Jack Internationalisation and Institutional Relations Centre.

• Service Exporter of the Year – Kee Chanona Ltd;
• Service Association of the Year (Business Sector) – Association of Real Estate Agents
• Service Association of the Year (Community) – Trinidad and Tobago Association of Midwives;
• Best Use of Innovation in Services and Service Provider of the Year (Large Organisations) – Amalgamated Security Services Ltd.;
• Best Recent Service Award – Designworks Ltd.;
• Young Service Provider Award – Johann Chuckaree of Indigisounds.