Lanka seen as brimming with IT development potential

EMC Corporation gives positive assessment:

Shirajiv SIRIMANE

IT: With a resilient economy, sophisticated telecom industry, educated workforce, strategic location and progressive and liberalised Government policies, Sri Lanka is among the more mature and promising markets in the Asia Pacific and Japanese region.

"A robust IT infrastructure and independent information infrastructure play a pivotal role in accelerating the overall economic development of the country.

The launch of our operations in Sri Lanka is the first step towards enabling the development of this independent information infrastructure in the country," General Manager, South Asia and Vice President, Partners Alliances, Asia Pacific, EMC Corporation, Ron Goh, said at the launch of their operations in Sri Lanka. "We have long term plans for Sri Lanka."

Commenting on EMC's launch of operations in Sri Lanka R. Srinivasan, Managing Director, Redington Private Limited, Singapore, said, "The optimism in the Sri Lanka market for information technology solution," is captured by the significant focus of the Government on this sector and the presence of a large number of IT companies in the region.

Businesses in Sri Lanka are beginning to realise that the adoption of IT will significantly impact their growth and success. Given this backdrop it is the right time for companies like EMC who offer best-of-breed information management solutions to enter the market and help enterprises build an intelligent and independent information infrastructure."

He said they want to exploit the Lankan high literacy rate and train local staff and field them for their international operations.

He was also very pleased with the infrastructure development that is taking place in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at the launch of EMC's operations in Sri Lanka, President, EMC, India and SAARC region, Manoj Chugh said, "Sri Lanka is a burgeoning market for information technology adoption. Telecom, banking and financial services, Government, textiles and apparels are among the most dynamic verticals in the country fast adopting IT.

As these verticals work on streamlining their IT and business operations, we see immense potential for our information management and storage solutions in this market."

Chugh said that Sri Lankan mobile growth of 60 per cent is remarkable for a developing country. "The banking sector in Sri Lanka with nearly 20 banks too are encouraging for us to invest in Sri Lanka," he said.

The Lankan personal computer and server market which has a growth of around 20 per cent too is very encouraging for a developing country.

He also said that the manner in which the Government is investing in these sectors too should be praised.

EMC Corporation, the world leader in information management and storage, with 2005 revenues of $9.66 billion, reinforced its commitment to the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region and announced the launch of its operations in Sri Lanka.

EMC announced the opening of its office in Colombo and outlined a three pronged strategy to tap this market.