Technology

Eurocenter DDC makes headway in Europe

by Gamini Warushamana

The CEO of the Eurocenter DDC and President of the Software Exporters Association Mano Sekaram said that this is a good year for the software industry and there is growth in the industry.

Eurocenter DDC, a Sri Lankan software company that provides its solutions to the European Market has grown 40% this year, Sekaram said.

Following are excerpts from his interview with the Sunday Observer. Due to the adverse conditions in the country we are very resilient and therefore we can grow fast in good years. Business leaders should know how to steer in adverse conditions.

In this conflict situation there is a risk, but we have mitigated it. Our customers have confidence in us. On the other hand the government is very supportive and all these factors contributed to the growth of the industry.

Business strategy

Sekaram outlined the Eurocenter DDC's fundamental business strategy. This is a huge market and new opportunities are emerging. The Global software outsourcing market is reaching $40 billion and the Indian market share is close to $15 billion. However, we understood that we can't serve this vast market.

We also saw that there is a big high-end market. We choose our geographical area and the market and we are very focused on it. This strategy is very sound and is the factor behind our success. We provide our software to software vendors and software product companies in Europe, especially in the Scandinavian countries.

We specialise in the financial and telecom industries which are growing very fast. Geographically the time difference between Europe and Sri Lanka is very convenient for our business operations.

Eurocenter DDC is a global company and not a software company in a third world country that produces low cost software and caters to businesses seeking solutions at low cost.

Eurocenter is an equal partner with our clients in Europe. We sell our products at the same price that European software companies sell their products. Therefore we don't have competition with Indian software companies and our competitors are European software companies.

We use the cost advantage we enjoy being a Sri Lankan company, to add more value to our customers. As a result we have become more innovative and always bring new IP values to our customers.

Our motto is "we accept the challenge" and we always accept challenges. We do not merely produce what our client says and we give better, faster and cheaper solutions for their problems. We want to be the most valuable partner to our customers in the delivery chain.

Sekaram said that companies have to change fast to stay in the software industry. We want to be the best in the class and to maintain our level of performance at the top. We don't use catch up strategy and use leap frog strategy. In the software industry you can adopt this strategy only by innovation.

Sekaram compared his staff to the Sri Lankan cricket team. Most of our cricket stars come from rural areas and I believe that the talents of our country lie there. Over 80% of Eurocenter staff are from rural areas. However, most of our businesses have not realised this fact.

Our concern is about intellectual capacity and this job is not like a front office job of a hotel. We can teach English to talented computer graduates but the other way is not easy. I select people from top Sri Lankan universities and they all have a good grading.

They are like uncut gems and from the beginning they have to interact with European software companies. Within one year they all become excellent software engineers.

To be a successful global company in this knowledge business leadership is a crucial factor. Sekaram, the founder of the company has this capability and vast experience having worked in 10 countries. He has 20 years' experience in the IT industry mainly in software management and international marketing.

"You must look for people with talent, attitude and with a passion for work. Discipline is another crucial factor. If you have disciplined staff you may not need a complex management structure. The Eurocenter, has a very flat organisation structure because we have all these qualities in our managerial leadership, Sekaram said.

Economic growth

Sekaram said that the fast growing knowledge economy is the best way forward for Sri Lanka in achieving higher economic growth. Therefore the CSR programs of the Eurocenter are also focused on developing human resources in the underprivileged rural parts of the country.

The company is helping the Ketawala school in the Kurunegala district to provide a good English education for students. Sekaram said that the project is successful and many students now speak English fluently.

In a similar CSR program, Eurocenter provides on the job training for three rural students. Irasha Dilhani, Radika Nilupuli and Ruvini Senevirathna, young girls of Mahavilachchiya, a border village in the conflict affected Mannar district are being trained in computer at the Eurocenter head office in Colombo.

They sat the Advanced Level examination this year. These students have a sound computer knowledge and are the first batch of the famous Horizon e-village project in Mahavilachchiya.

"We started learning the computer when we were in Grade 4 and we now have nine years' experience. At the Eurocenter we learned Java Script and many techniques related to web designing. Now we are engaged in a web page development project. The most important thing is the experience we gain by working in a global software company, Iresha said.

Eurocenter pays them a handsome monthly allowance.

Sekaram said that his objective is to empower these rural youth and give them opportunities to join the global economy. In this program I am expected to train them and expose them to my customers. They will get vast opportunities after completing this training program, he said.

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Intel spearheads education initiatives in Lanka

Intel and the Ministry of Education felicitated 75 teachers from the Western Province at the Auditorium of the Ministry of Education.

The teachers had successfully completed a 60-hour intensive training program organised by Intel Teach in collaboration with the Ministry of Education under the Secondary Education Modernisation Project which aims to integrate technology into the teaching and learning process. Intel selected Sri Rahula Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Malabe as a Model School for implementing the Intel Teach program successfully.

Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Ariyaratne Hewage said "I am happy to note that many of the teachers of the Western Province who were trained as Master Teachers under the Intel Teach program have completed teaching their colleagues at schools and earned their Master Teacher certification.

I extend my sincere gratitude to all those teachers and strongly believe that they would use technology in their classrooms to improve the teaching and learning process in the schools and prepare our future generation for the 21st century.

He thanked Intel for its contribution to the school education system in Sri Lanka including the recently launched Skoool.lk Web site with online interactive science and mathematics educational content."

Intel's main program in Sri Lanka is the Intel (r) Teach program which has been deployed in the Western, Central and Uva provinces with support from the Ministry of Education.

The program - the most successful professional development program of its kind - was launched over a decade ago and is designed to help teachers around the world integrate technology into classrooms.

Tech Distribution - distributor for Oracle

Adding to an enviable portfolio as Microsoft and Adobe distributor, Sri Lanka based Software Distribution Company Tech Distribution Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. became the distributor for Oracle last month.

With the Oracle distributorship, Tech Distribution, the first Sri Lankan company to introduce value-added distribution for software, will represent the top three corporates in the world for desktop software.

Oracle Corporation is the largest enterprise software company in the world and produces database management systems (DMS), tools for database development, middle-tier software, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, customer relationship management (CRM) software and supply chain management (SCM) software.

After 30 years, Oracle remains the gold standard for database technology and applications in enterprises throughout the world. The company is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest independent software company.

Oracle technology can be found in nearly every industry, and in the data centres of 98 of the Fortune 100 companies. Oracle is the first software company to develop and deploy 100 percent internet-enabled enterprise software across its entire product line: database, business applications, and application development and decision support tools.

As distributor for Oracle, Tech Distribution will liaise between principal and re-seller to provide licensing solutions and a range of support services to the latter.