Technology

IT/BPO industry fifth largest export earner - survey

The IT/BPO industry in Sri Lanka has escalated to become the 5th largest export earner according to the EDB “Export Value Survey” which formulates the IT industry contribution to the national economy in the export earnings sector. The survey was executed by Price WaterhouseCoopers (PWC) summoned by the EDB and the industry ICT advisory committee.

The first ever study about IT export earnings, goes on to analyze the total export revenue from Information Technology/ Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITES) in 2007 was 213 million US$, with an annual growth of 23 percent, compared to the 173 million US$ in 2006.

Ranjith Fernando Chairman SLASSCOM said, “Industry achieved this feat within a very short period of less than 10 years of exports. With the war ending and the global economy about to pick up, IT/BPO industry is poised to be the number one export earner during the next 5 years”. The report carried out between April - October 2008 states IT/BPO has the highest revenue per employee, USD 11,000 and is rated as the number one for return on capital employed. It has forecasted the potential of bringing in US$ 1 billion in exports within 5-7 years and creating more 70,000 direct jobs.

IT/BPO industry presents Sri Lanka with a tremendous opportunity for sustainable economic growth in manner which is unprecedented. The value addition of service experts from the IT/BPO industry is near 100%. The industry is based on knowledge workers and creates high paying jobs for educated youth. Each job in IT/BPO industry creates 3-4 other indirect jobs in the economy. This large employment multiplier effect creates significant economic impact by way of employment creation. IT/BPO industry is based on electronic exports and doesn’t depend on physical logistics services such as shipping.

Therefore the IT/BPO industry has significant potential to drive regional development as the industry picks up and moves to regional centers. The industry is also has near zero negative impact on the environment. Several other countries who have made IT/BPO industry a national priority has build significant wealth and employment in their countries. Sri Lankan can gain a cue from countries like Egypt and Philippines, who are in the early stages of building a world class IT/BPO industry. “The opportunity for Sri Lanka is significant and this is the ideal time for us to accelerate our national focus. We must focus on market development and capacity enhancement as priority actions. SLASSCOM has already taken number of steps in this direction to drive the growth of the industry and we are very excited about the potential and the opportunity for Sri Lanka,” said Madu Ratnayake, General Secretary of SLASSCOM.

The cost arbitrage associated with global sourcing of ICT services has been the driver of growth for outsourcing destinations in Asia. Sri Lanka has been recognized as an emerging outsourcing destination for key functions and specialized services. The advantages include increasing availability of highly skilled professionals and comparative cost and qualitative advantages relating to infrastructure and workforce.

Empowering rural Sri Lanka with ICT

Stepping up in a big way to support the need of the hour to take and empower rural Sri Lanka with ICT skills, especially during this Year of English and IT, Microsoft Sri Lanka has launched `Gamata IT’ - a series of initiatives that focus on the central goal of taking ICT to the island’s most remote rural communities. This far reaching program heralds a new era of hope for the country’s most rural communities as the Gamata IT initiative aims to touch several remote villages and also launch multiple initiatives aimed at the key stakeholders who are engaged in rural development. All of these initiatives will be provided completely free of charge, as part of Microsoft’s contribution towards the enhancement of local IT skills and Microsoft envisions that the next generation of IT Thought Leaders and Developers would emerge from the villages of rural Sri Lanka. The activities lined up under Gamata IT are poised to transform the IT industry in Sri Lanka with the long term goals of helping the people of these areas find sustainable sources of income and better their living standards through the use of modern ICT skills; opening the doors for people in rural communities to learn computers in their local language, and to access the Internet; as well as tackling the fear of, and reluctance to use, computers, due to a lack of proficiency in the English language.

Going a long way to bring about the latter objective, is one of the key initiatives under the Gamata IT umbrella, the groundbreaking Sinhala Language Interface Pack (LIP). The LIP software now available for the Windows Vista Operating System and Microsoft Office 2007, provides a primarily localised user experience with menus, buttons and instructions in Sinhala. Recently introduced by Microsoft Sri Lanka and the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka, LIP is set to revolutionize the local IT landscape. Recently, his Excellency, President Mahinda Rajapaksa accepted a Plaque incorporating the first copy of the Sinhala Language Interface Pack (LIP), from Microsoft and ICTA. Commenting on the occasion, His Excellency said “I take this opportunity to congratulate Microsoft Sri Lanka in making IT more accessible to the Rural Community, especially through the launch of the Sinhala LIP for Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista”.

Microsoft Sri Lanka will make 10,000 copies of the new Sinhala LIP accessible free of charge across various Government institutions, Nenasala and Vidatha Centres, rural community centres and other stakeholders around the island. The company has made the software truly accessible to anyone, anywhere as it can be downloaded free of charge from www.microsoft.com/srilanka .Along with the launch of this exceptional software, the Gamata IT initiative will also see the company donating 5000 copies of a comprehensive Sinhala Glossary of IT Terms used in Windows Vista & Office 2007 that has been created to accompany the software, along with 20,000 Sinhala keyboard stickers.

Other activities under this grand initiative include reaching the villages through the Nenasala and Vidatha centers, where the Sinhala Interfaces for Office 2007 and Windows Vista will be made accessible through the existing infrastructure at the centers. Commenting on the introduction of LIP, Chief Guest at the launch ceremony for the software, Minister for Science and Technology Professor Tissa Vitarana congratulated Microsoft Sri Lanka and ICTA saying “My Ministry and I look towards working closely with them, in disseminating these Technologies to all parts of Sri Lanka, and towards their effective adoption, and I am appreciative of the initiatives they have planned in this regard”.

Prolink Atom Netbook launched

Sala Enterprises has launched a power packed net book, at an affordable price to the local market . Managing Director of Sala Enterprises, Chinthka Wijewikrama, said “Our vision is to keep innovating, to ensure that technology is available to many, this is a classic example of the enterprising solutions we can provide. The Prolink atom netbook that is being introduced to the market this month is truly compact, stylish and power packed, and it comes at a price that would make the consumer truly delighted.” Prolink Glee TA009 , which will be introduced as the Prolink atom netbook locally weighs a mere 1.1kg and is 1.8cm in thickness. However the netbook is boosted by the Intel atom N270 processor running at 1.6GHz, 512KB L2 cache, It is accompanied by a generous 160 GB hard disk and 1GB DDR2 RAM, the TFT LCD display with LED backlight spans a 10.1 inch. It is designed to comply with all the lifestyle demands of a busy executive.

“We have been observing the life style of young , upward mobile corporate executives who are moving to laptops, which provide them the freedom to work from anywhere. We wanted to take it a step further and introduce another innovative product that is capturing the world by storm, the netbook, which allows the ultimate mobility due to the compact size.

The Prolink atom net book, is backed by our reputed after sales guarantee,” said Wijewikrama.

ACTOS appoints new office bearers

The Association of Computer Training Organizations - ACTOS, the focus group of Sri Lankan ICT trainers appoints new office bearers for 2009/2010.

Left to right: Nuwan Sanjeewa Aims College of Business and IT (Pvt) Ltd., Committee member, Ranmal Godigamuwa, Mackwoods INFOTEC (Pvt) Ltd., Committee member, Mahen Jayalath Treasurer, Viraj Pinto Jayawardena Matrix Institute of Information Technology (Pvt) Ltd., Committee member, Lionel Perera Vice President, Nandana Rodrigo Microcom Institute of Technology, Committee member, Dr. H.K. Alles President, Upul Dassanayaka, Siksil Institute of Information Technology (Pvt) Ltd., Asst. Treasurer, Kapila Giragama Immediate Past President, Mrs. Manoree Gunasena Secretary, Arosh Yahampath, CIMA ICT Center, Committee member.

The Association of Computer Training organizations, well-known as ACTOS has been the focus group of the ICT trainers in the Country.

The 14th Annual General meeting of the ACTOS was held last Wednesday at the Galadari Hotel. Dr. Harsha Alles was elected as the President. In his address to the members he said “ACTOS will work out ways and means of providing tangible benefits to the member companies-more than has been offered in the past”. Obtaining accreditation to the Tertiary Vocational Educational Qualification will be a one such program that is planned with the support of the ACTOS.

Kapila Giragama, the out going President in his annual report stated that ACTOS had been actively involved in the ICT Capacity Building Program of the ICT Agency.

The ACTOS is a founder member of the Federation of ICT Industry and Services of Sri Lanka (FITISS) and also a member of the Infotel Lanka Society. Its mandate is to support its member companies and the government’s programs to enrich the much needed ICT human resource pool required for building and an e-Sri Lanka.