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WSO2 wins Bossie awards

WSO2, the open source SOA company, has been named an InfoWorld 2009 Best of Open Source Software (Bossie) Award winner. The company was recognized in the platforms and middleware category for the WSO2 Carbon Framework, which serves as the basis of WSO2's fully componentized service-oriented architecture (SOA) platform.

The annual InfoWorld Bossie Awards recognize the best open source products for business. This year, the InfoWorld Test Centre identified the top 40 most promising and cost-effective products available to IT organizations.

InfoWorld's Test Centre review editors noted that, "Carbon provides the framework for all of the core functionality-data services, ESB/routing, process management, registry, monitoring, and security-allowing you to plug in these components as necessary. With Carbon the whole is greater than the sum of the parts."

"We're honoured to earn an InfoWorld Bossie, long a hallmark of open source innovation in the enterprise," said founder and CEO of WSO2 Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana. "It validates the game-changing role of componentized open source middleware in the enterprise, which is being led by WSO2 Carbon. No longer is product definition limited to vendors. Now IT professionals can decide exactly which SOA functions to deploy-and when-based on their individual demands," he said. WSO2 Carbon, the industry's first fully componentized SOA framework was launched in February 2009. WSO2 Carbon, which complies with the OSGi specification, enables developers to easily deploy only those components they need. This eliminates the complexities of middleware integration, resulting in significant savings in SOA project time, money and staffing.

With WSO2 Carbon, developers also have unprecedented flexibility. They can implement component-based SOA products-such as the WSO2 Enterprise Service Bus, WSO2 Web Services Application Server, WSO2 Governance Registry, WSO2 Business Process Server, and WSO2 Identity Server-or deploy any combination of the more than 100 Carbon components on which these products are built.

Raux Brothers turns 50

Raux Brothers celebrates fifty years as a leading designer and manufacturer of exclusive quality furniture.

Raux Brothers was established in 1959 with a commitment to creating an extensive range of wood furniture in traditional and contemporary designs. The company has built a reputation for being a supplier of stylish and aesthetic designs for interiors that range from classical elegance to modern chic.

The newest addition to the Raux flagship stores on De Fonseka Road, Colombo 5 is a Design Centre. The design centre and the flagship store house an archive of tasteful furniture, throught the different eras.

Whether traditional or more contemporary, the luxurious furniture styles of almost every era can be found in these collections.

Raux Brothers collaborates closely with its clients, architects and designers to produce furniture to special requirements.

A core part of the company's business today consists of furnishing projects for resorts in Sri Lanka and overseas, plantation bungalows, private residences, chateaus, apartments and restaurants.

ComBank branches open on Ramazan

Over 80 branches of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon will stay open for business on Monday, September 21, a public and bank holiday on account of Ramazan.

Eighty-four ComBank branches in Colombo and Gampaha will be kept open on this day, in addition to the 23 supermarket banking counters all over the country and the six 365 day banking centres which are open on all public, bank and mercantile holidays.

"Long weekends can be an inconvenience to businesses that stay open and to people who have urgent banking needs," - Deputy General Manager (Operations) Sanath Bandaranayake said.

"Our policy of opening a substantial number of branches on holidays has helped many corporate and retail customers", he said.

He said customers would be able to carry out all over-the-counter banking transactions including opening of accounts and obtaining foreign exchange for travel overseas on this day.

Italian investment:

Green Paradise Agro Eco Hotel to open shortly

Green Paradise Agro Eco Hotel is an Italian hotel project of the BOI that is almost complete and expected to be opened in December 2009 or in early 2010. BOI Chairman/Director General Dhammika Perera visited this project recently. Its total investment value is around Rs 500 million and could go up to Rs 1 billion. The hotel has 50 rooms and is a full Italian investment. The project will start with a workforce of 120. The hotel is 95 percent made of wood.

It will use agro technology to help local farmers and the local agricultural technology with Italian agricultural expertise.

The company has plans to make this a chain of hotels by constructing a second agro resort in Marawila.

Hayleys Agro wins double gold again

Brings 220 rural farmers to Colombo for Ag-Biz exhibition:

Farmers from Welimada and Anuradhapura at the Ag-Biz exhibition.

Hayleys Agro Products Limited (HAPL), four awards including two Golds at the Ag-Biz Awards 2009, the highest number of awards won by a single entity at this year's event.

The company received the Gold award in the Large category as the Best Input Supplier, Gold award in the Medium category for its veterinary products, Silver Award in the Large category for farm machinery and equipment and Silver Award in the Large category for its extension services, at the annual Agribusiness Awards organized by the National Agribusiness Council.

"These awards recognize our commitment in many facets of local agriculture and livestock development as well as the catalytic role played by Hayleys Agro in helping Sri Lankan farmers to improve yields and quality of both agri crops and livestock," Hayleys PLC Agri Sector Head Rizvi Zaheed said.

Zaheed attributed the company's consistent success at the Ag-Biz awards to the close affinity and rapport it had built up with farmers in many parts of the country.

Hayleys Agro brought 220 farmers to visit the Ag-Biz 2009 exhibition held in conjunction with the awards ceremony. These farmers from areas such as Welimada, Uva Paranagama, Kirawanagama, Rathamba, Madawela, Dangamuwa, Keppetipola, Boralanda, Bogahakumbura, Girambe, Rajanganaya, Thambuththegama, Thalawa, Saliyapura, Ketiyawa, Eppawala, Kekirawa, Pahala Maragahawewa and Nachchaduwa were members of Hayleys Agro Farmer Clubs (Govi Samajaya) established in Welimada and Anuradhapura.

Caltex provides aid for Northern IDPs
 

Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC donated a variety of essential relief items to the value of over Rs. 1.2 million in aid of the IDPs in the North last week. Here Lt. General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Sri Lankan Army accepting the donation from Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC Managing Director/CEO Kishu Gomes. Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC General Manager/Director Finance Anura Perera is also in the picture.