Technology
Local companies underutilise software
by Gamini WARUSHAMANA
Majority of the CEOs and top level management in the corporate sector
in Sri Lanka do not use information available in the computer systems of
the companies, said the Chairman and Managing director of Datamation
Systems (Pvt) Ltd Fazal Issadeen.
Only 20-25 per cent of the CEOs use information effectively therefore
expensive software solutions that are used in companies are
underutilised as it is used by lower level staff mainly in the
accounting department for routine tasks, Issadeen said.
Fazal Issadeen is one of the first software engineers in Sri Lanka
who started his career in the IT sector in the early 1970s. I met him at
his old fashioned software company in Shrubbery Gardens, Bambalapitiya.
Though the working environment, with over 100 software engineers working
is not posh looking as modern software companies coming up in large
numbers in the Colombo city today, Datamation Systems has been running a
stable business for over two decades securing all its old clients and
attracting new businesses.
I started my career in IT in 1974, just after completion of my
Advanced Level education at S. Thomas' College. By that time IBM
conducted an aptitude test to select computer programmers. From 750
candidates I was among the 70 qualified candidates who qualified to
follow the course. Nineteen of us completed the course and passed all
four exams. Then we joined as computer programmers and developed
software for the Central Bank and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. We
worked on an IBM 360-20 mainframe computer and programming was done by
punch cards. The punch cards were red and information was derived by a
mainframe computer in the Department of Census and Statistics, Issadeen
said recalling his memories.
Then I worked for Prof Senaka Bibile, the Chairman of the
Pharmaceutical Corporation. He wanted an inventory management system to
ensure no excess drugs stocks are ordered while maintaining a buffer
stock of certain drugs. The project was done by the National Institute
of Management (NIM) (Today NIBM).
Then I did some freelance assignments and left the country in 1977. I
worked in Iran as an analyst programmer and while working there I built
up some strategic business relationships and eventually established
Australian software company EDMS, currently employing 50 software
engineers in Sri Lanka and 10 Sri Lankans in Australia.
After completing a degree in business management in the UK I came to
Sri Lanka and in 1989 I started Datamation Systems. We provide
customisable middle range ERP solutions. From the beginning large Sri
Lanka companies were our clients and Ceylon Tobacco, subsidiaries of
Hayleys and JKH are some of them. There was a high demand for our
solutions. However, due to low computer power and lack of human
resources we had to battle for existence. Only by mid 1990s our
universities started to produce IT graduates. The computer power
increased rapidly and we had huge opportunities and we expanded our
business, Issadeen said.
Today, Datamation Systems has over 400 clients and it has expanded
its operations overseas. Issadeen said that he has clients in Malaysia,
Maldives Australia and Japan.
Issadeen has his own way of conducting this knowledge business which
he believes is the key for his success, mainly in retaining his old
clients in a highly competitive market where technology is always
changing. This is a very responsible business. After completion and
installation of a software it becomes the DNA of the business, because
everything depends on it. Our relationship with our clients is very
close and they are the main source of our new customers. Retention of
our clients and employees is proof of our success in this business. We
still have our clients we started with in early 1980s such as Hayleys
and subsidiaries of JKH, Issadeen said. There are number of employees
who count their experience at Datamation Systems as over 10-15 years.
In the software industry, you must be customer driven. The success or
failure of a business depends on the uniqueness of a business. That is
what I learnt in my 34 years experience in this industry. For instance
in our ERP solutions, we have over 4,000 features. But my next customer
may need one feature that is not currently available. Therefore our
solutions should be flexible or customised to cater to the uniqueness of
any client. Standard software packages except very high-end and
expensive packages do not have this feature. In our middle range
solutions we provide this flexibility to our clients at a very nominal
cost.
We have seen some reputed companies failing in finding required
solutions from these standard packages. In 1995 one of the leading real
estate companies had implemented a reputed standard package which costs
millions but all latest versions of the software failed to meet their
requirements. After a four year attempt in 1999 they came to us and we
provided exact solution they required at only a fraction of that cost.
Issadeen is optimistic about the future of the software industry even
under this global economic crisis. Today no business can run without IT.
You can't go back to the manual working environment which needs large
labour force, high cost of operations and less productivity. We can see
this sustainability of the industry today. Even though the economy is in
a recession today, there is no decline in IT sector jobs in Australia,
he said.
I have experience in many countries and I can assure that the Sri
Lankan software professionals are one of the best in the world. However,
they should be more concerned with quality. I saw Indian software
companies in Chennai hiring Sri Lankan software professionals and some
companies are outsourcing in Colombo. The government assistance for the
industry, especially the tax concessions should be more focused.
Bangladesh recently imposed a high tax on all software imports and
going into international markets is becoming difficult. As international
companies competing in the market, the salaries of the software
professionals are increasing rapidly and becoming a burden on local
companies. The country needs a large number of software professionals.
Software professionals are fit for any job and therefore we request the
parents to direct their children to the IT profession, Issadeen said.
Kingfisher selects JKCS
John Keells Computer Services (JKCS) - Sri Lanka's only specialist
aviation software company - was recently selected by Kingfisher Airlines
to provide it with a passenger services solution. Kingfisher Airlines
ranks as one of India's largest privately owned airlines. It is also one
of only six airlines in the world to have a "5-Star" rating from Skytrax
along with Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore
Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways.
The JKCS solution will serve many of Kingfisher Airlines' stakeholder
touch points. A single seamless administrative engine will facilitate
the airline's Internet based passenger service operations. The solution
offers the right combination of technological efficiency and business
process dynamism necessary to consistently deliver a safe, value-based
and enjoyable travel experience in one of the largest growing economies
of the world. As the leading private airline in India, Kingfisher
Airlines serves the largest number of cities in India. Its long-haul
sectors include Bangalore-London and the recently introduced
Mumbai-London route. "Asia Pacific's Top 1,000 Brands" survey in 2008
named Kingfisher the most admired airline brand in Asia-Pacific. A
unique business model that focuses on a positive customer experience
aimed at delighting its flyers has helped the airline stay on top.
Kingfisher Airlines opted for the JKCS solution as it offers a
comprehensive set of modules, features and functions that support its
complex business model.
"We are proud to have been selected by Kingfisher Airlines from among
a host of other top tier global aviation software providers. This shows
the confidence the airline has in our ability to provide innovative
solutions that will support its rapid growth plans in a highly volatile
environment." said JKCS' CEO, Dhananjaya Chandrasekera. He went on to
say that Kingfisher Airlines will be the second 5-star airline in the
JKCS customer portfolio and that the company's strategy to selectively
identify and target potential customers has enabled it to carry a rich
portfolio of airlines. JKCS, which recently celebrated their 10th year
in global aviation software, has steadily made a name for itself in the
industry. The company has designed, developed and implemented software
solutions for many global airlines ranging from full service to low cost
carriers. JKCS regards the current global recession, which directly
impacts the aviation industry, as an opportunity to emerge as a leading
provider of technologically innovative aviation solutions that will help
airlines overcome the negative impacts of such turbulent times.
MillenniumIT sees opportunities despite downturn
MillenniumIT (MIT), a premier technology solutions provider serving
the global capital market industry from Sri Lanka, says that new
opportunities driven by regulations and cost consciousness are available
for IT firms with the right mix of products despite the global economic
downturn. In the US, the regulation known as 'Regulation NMS,' created a
level playing field among exchanges by mandating transparency in price
discovery. Price discovery across multiple venues have created demand
for high speed, low cost order routing systems among brokers and
exchanges.
"Because of new regulations on pricing transparency in stock markets
in the US, stock markets have to route orders to the lowest priced
destination. This created a demand for systems that provide high volume,
high speed, order-routing capabilities. This effect is now spreading
across the Canadian market as well", says Feroz Cader, Vice President -
Product Management, at MillenniumIT. The new systems in demand are
required to handle large volumes of orders and market data at
'micro-second' speeds.
"The first person to get to the exchange, offering the best price,
will get the order. So latency to get to an exchange becomes paramount.
At one point people were talking in milliseconds but now the requirement
is in micro-seconds. The system must also be able to handle large
volumes of data in the range of 500,000 - 1,000,000 updates per second,"
says Cader.
MillenniumIT has already responded to market demand and has developed
systems capable of catering to the high-speed, high-volume needs of the
capital markets in North-America. One of the first adopters of the
MillenniumIT order routing technology was the American Stock Exchange.
Perimeter Financial Corporation of Canada is another. Says Cader: "The
opportunity has spread to the EU as well, driven by new regulations that
promote competition. Previously, the London Stock Exchange controlled
the total market for UK equity. Now, in London alone, 6 - 7 new stock
exchanges have emerged to compete for order-flow creating significant
opportunity for order routing technology."
MillenniumIT has also recently been short-listed for the provision of
order routing technology in Africa, mainly driven by moves by East
African exchanges and South African exchanges to virtually- integrate
their exchanges to create greater cross border trading opportunities. In
conclusion, Cader opines that cutting edge technology that is not just
affordable, but also saves on existing costs while creating new
opportunities is the need of the hour given the current global economic
climate.
Passport office made more hospitable
Sampath Bank, firmly in the driving seat of Sri Lanka's banking
sector through technology driven products and financial solutions
attuned to human needs, gave added credence to the more human side of
its business approach, when they chose to revamp the Sri Lanka Passport
Office, located at Borella, giving it a New Year `makeover', benefiting
the thousands of Sri Lankans to be found there daily. Accordingly, the
new and improved Passport Office was handed over to the public on
January 1, as a humanitarian initiative undertaken by Sampath Bank. The
efforts to revamp the existing facilities focused on the main lobby of
the Passport Office, which is witness to an unending, multitudinous,
daily human traffic, numbering in the thousands. The upgrade, aimed at
easing the burden on the public, involved the provision of comfortable
chairs, placed throughout the lobby, while the entire lobby area was
covered with a plush carpet. |