Virtusa - the 'out of the box' idea which became a global IT company

by Anjana Samarasinghe

IT: Little Tushara didn't have the ambition, just like other kids, to be a doctor or any other such fancied professional when she grew up. But she knew that she needed to be in an area that is creative.

Tushara who always wanted to be out of the box and learn beyond that had the continued support of her family to realise her dreams and ambitions which made her the co-founder of the Sri Lanka's well known IT company Virtusa. Executive Vice President Technical Operations Virtusa Corporation, Tushara Canekeratne said the schools she attended helped instill good values and standards in her that enabled her to play a vital part at Virtusa.

She completed her education at Ladies College and joined Colombo International School (CIS). She joined a foreign university for higher studies. She also worked as a banker at a national bank for a short period of time.

Today Tushara Canekeratne oversees global operations of the company. She is responsible for ensuring quality standards and managing the technology delivery process. She is also responsible for building organizational capabilities and for maintaining client delight through delivery excellence.

Going down on memory lane Tushara said the past ten years have been an exciting journey for her. "We have grown globally and our teams are now across four countries serving fortune 1000 clients in US and Europe. It has been extremely rewarding to make a difference, creating opportunities for IT professionals and to make contributions to the IT industry as a whole", she said.

"People in an organization need to be motivated and we need to provide the environment for them to innovate. Ensuring support and providing more opportunities for them to succeed in their careers too is important, Tushara said.

Virtusa is built upon the core values of culture, integration and respect for people. Team work and quality are the key strategies to Virtusa's success.

Virtusa has achieved a three year compounded annual growth rate of over 45 percent and will continue to focus on enterprise software, financial services, communications and high technology firms. At present Virtusa is highly focused on US and European markets which have significant opportunities.

She said in the future global companies will be challenged to be in their business segment. Companies will try to bring their products to the market in time. It seems that efficiency plays an important role in any kind of business.

"Keen IT has a vital role to play in providing services for these companies to be more efficient in their business segments, she added.

Talking about her award "Women Entrepreneur of the year 2005" presented by the Women's Chamber of Industry and Commerce, she said that it is a reflection of the dedicated team work at Virtusa.

Commenting on local women entrepreneurs, Virtusa co founder said that Sri Lanka has a talented outstanding group of women business leaders. There are so many avenues through which these leaders could contribute more to business development of the nation as well as internationally.

Tushara said that if any woman has a belief or a passion for something she needed to stick to the fundamentals of that belief and surround herself with enabling resources to succeed beyond her expectations.