Outsourcing : Visibility vital in international market

By Gamini Warushamana

International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) global ambassador, Bobby Varnasi said that Sri Lankan outsourcing companies are not visible in international markets and companies should be visible from the buyers point of view rather than be dependent on independent assessments. He was speaking at the launch of IAOP Sri Lanka Chapter in Colombo last week.

Therefore global ranking alone may not help Sri Lankan outsourcing companies to capture a reasonable share in the over $ 4 trillion annual global outsourcing market. Most of the government-backed market promotion programs have failed in many countries and what is essential is identifying markets by the end users perspectives.

Government support needed by each industry varies from company to company depending on their level of performance. The Government should give what they need and there is no need for general support for all.

The outsourcing industry brings economic and social benefits to countries. In countries such as India the industry has delivered tangible benefits to rural areas by providing employment to unemployed and vulnerable groups, he said.

Legal advisor of ICTA, Jayantha Fernando said that the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) is ready to transform the country to a knowledge hub. However, some more work has to be done and improving partnerships with international professional organisations such as IAOP is vital to achieve the objectives.

ICTA has been closely working with the private sector and the local private sector and talent accounts for over 98 percent of the e-Sri Lanka project.

ICTA has played a pivotal role in formulating legal framework for the ICT sector. ICTA has 30 strategies under three groups: HR development, industry promotion and creating enabling environment.

ICTA supports training programs, vendor certification programs, in-house learning, accreditation support including subsidies to get international certifications and promotion programs abroad.

“There are achievements in all these efforts of ICTA, which we implement jointly with the private sector and private sector industry organisations such as SLASSCOM and the global ranking of Sri Lankan IT BPO industry has improved in many aspects over the past few years”, Fernando said.

He said that competition in the IT BPO sector is high and therefore companies cannot survive in isolation and collaboration with organisations such as IAOP is essential for growth of the sector and ICTA always supports this kind of initiative. IAOP can help the industry to set standards and enable growth of the outsourcing industry and improve visibility of Sri Lankan outsourcing companies in international markets, he said. IAOP is a global standard setting organisation and is an advocate for the professionals. It has over 200,000 members and 60 chapters worldwide.