How IT changed my life:

'IT could perform miracles'

Ashan Kumar met Anton Sachith Kevin Fernandopulle, Assistant Vice President - Operations Epic Lanka Technologies (Pvt) Ltd., to understand how "IT" changed his life...

Anton Sachith Kevin Fernandopulle

"At least a quarter of the young generation in Sri Lanka dream of becoming either a doctor or an engineer and it is quite significant as to how some individuals' dreams shift along the path of life. May be due to the influence I had from my parents, teachers and classmates my dreams did not deviate much from the common goal of being either a doctor or an engineer. These are the jobs which carry real pride," recollects young and enthusiastic Sachith Kevin Fernandopulle". It was my own initiative to choose my path in Advanced Level and my dreams remained the same until I completed my A/L in the Mathematics stream at Maris Stella College, Negombo", he said.

"While waiting for my A/L results I was probing for new trends in the job market. I came to know that IT has erupted into a booming industry not only in Sri Lanka but also through out the international arena. Due to this fact I got enroled in an IT diploma at Informatics, Wellawatta. At this course I learnt the miracles that IT could perform irrespective of the business or industry. My enthusiasm in IT grew gradually as I was completing the six month diploma at the institute he said.

Undergraduate studies

"At the same time I got selected to Kelaniya University to continue further studies in the Physical Science stream. However, I had no intention in giving up on IT as my passion drove me to study the real essence in information technology and its applications in the real world. Consequently, I continued up to the Bachelor in Information Technology degree offered by Charles Sturt University, Australia in affiliation with Informatics. During my last year of undergraduate studies I started working as a Trainee Software Developer at Epic Technologies which was one of the leading secure payment solution providers in Sri Lanka during 2004. During my employment, as my first project I was fortunate enough to work on a massive cashiering solution for one of the Telecom giants in Sri Lanka.

While working on the project I had the opportunity of putting the concepts into practice for real world software solutions. Such projects taught me how we can derive information out of raw data for decision making within organizations; how we can streamline a business process using software applications within a business division; how we can make the business process more effective and efficient using online and real-time software applications rather than continuing with manual operations.

In the fast moving turbulent business environment, organizational managers are constantly dealing with uncertainty and unexpected events. The 21st Century has become a decisive era where almost all organizations depend on real time and accurate information for survival. Every profit making or not-for-profit organization uses some sort of software to help themselves in their day to day operations. The linkage between information technology and growth of the organizations has become inevitably strong since it is software that performs the conversion of data into reliable information for decision making.

Large companies

Some large companies use software applications such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Solutions to integrate the business process and information flow of all divisions with each other. I strongly believe irrespective of the business or industry, IT has become one essential component which decides the growth of the organization. Whether you are into Accounting, Stores Management, Production, and Human Resource Management, IT plays a major role in addressing information management needs of your business. Today the field of information technology has become a science which evolves at a tremendous pace. If you are to survive in the arena of information technology you have to keep up with the latest technologies available. They are the well sharpened weapons used in the never ending information hungry battle. If you are into IT and if you are not enthusiastic enough to grab the latest technologies available, the well known technology of yesterday could be no better than a blunt knife for tomorrow's encounter. Being employed at Epic, one of the leading solutions providing companies in Sri Lanka, I have worked on multiple software projects which are related to different business processes and industries. These industries range from Telecommunication, Banking, and Security to Immigration and Emigration. With each project I had the opportunity of learning new business operations and their functions.

IT career

The primary success factor behind all these projects was the relentless effort to learn new concepts behind each business process and technologies available to address the issues at each organization environment. I believe this is the blend of perfection which drives an IT practitioner to success in his/her career.

Since the commencement of my IT career, IT had affected my life in countless ways. My profession taught me how different businesses operate in their environment. If I am to walk into an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), since the moment I insert my ATM card to the machine I know what exactly happens behind stage until I complete my transaction. So does the Credit Card transaction which takes place over a super market. If I am to obtain a Passport from the Department of Immigration and Emigration, now I'm aware of how they personalize and secure our passport to retain our identity. In addition as we continue on automating manual business processes, you involuntarily start seeing now you can optimize certain operations around your organization using IT Software Solutions.

During the past few years the World Wide Web has gained a significant growth. Daily several thousands of people access internet for the first time. Consequently the internet and E-marketing strategies are revolutionizing the way companies create value for customers. It is certain that online marketing will become a successful business model to most of the companies.

Unlike any other industry, being into IT offers you countless paths to choose from if you are to climb up in the ladder. Business Analyst, Programming, Database Administration, Solution Architects and Web/Graphic Designing and IT Project Management are only a few to name. The only requirement you should posses is the passion to innovate and the courage to learn newest trends and technologies available in the market. Thus you can build your own house of technology which opens doors to the future generations for new innovations" he said.