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.