Government initiatives in IT and English welcome:

Lanka must compete to win

‘Universities, technical and commercial institutes offering IT education and the private sector have to be linked into one national program and driven towards creating an ICT workforce and jobs worthy of attention from overseas markets. A high level engagement by the Government to attract large IT services users like Yahoo, Google or Microsoft to look at Sri Lanka as a Development Hub will give an indication of what we have and what more we need to have to attract that kind of job creating entity to Sri Lanka and the gaps to be filled quickly. Sri Lanka must compete to win. Which means we must have a game plan’

Government initiatives towards IT and English are commendable. Each Province has to assess their human and infrastructure resource pool for ICT and take meaningful steps to quickly bridge the infrastructure gaps for the human resource pool to be trained and productive, said Chief Operating Officer of (COO) Just In Time Group Chrishan Mendis.

Excerpts of the interview.

Q: What is the contribution made by your company to the ICT sector in Sri Lanka?

A: We have introduced many trail blazing technologies to Sri Lanka. We have won overseas contracts for IT specialists to offer consultancy and professional services. It helped Sri Lankan IT professionals to gain exposure and opportunity with Foreign Principals and we are proud to note that the capabilities of our Sri Lankan staff has been praised by many reputed overseas IT giants whom we serve.

In addition we have also brought in international best practices in solutions architecture, project management and support services into the country.

We have successfully completed and continue to support our projects which includes IPTV, banking, electronic switching solutions, disaster recovery, billing solutions, high end routing and switching solutions, load balancing, bandwidth optimisation, data security and access management solutions, storage and server virtualisation, installation of wide area and local area networks. Many of these projects are complex and requires a multi-skilled resource pool for implementation and support.

Q: What was the growth you had for last year?

A: Last year our group had opportunities in IT and cost optimization consultancies, and virtualisation. Many of our clients opting for alternate models such as Revenue Share and Managed Services has also had an impact on our top line.

Q: How can Sri Lanka be the ICT hub among the other countries in the region?

A: We have to aim more for the high skill ICT services segment and create a good brand image for Sri Lankan IT services.

The Government must take a bold step to modernize their overseas missions to be more of a marketing arm for Sri Lankan talent including but not limited to the ICT sector. Must differentiate our country in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities to those of other nations who have a larger work force.

The Government with the help of the private sector must drive initiatives for selected specialized IT service offerings to attract potential overseas clients.

Since our potential IT resource pool is comparatively small, a clustering initiative by giving the necessary infrastructure such as IT parks with competitive facilities to attract investors to every district with talent has to be expedited before we lose potential market share to other countries.

Universities, technical and commercial institutes offering IT education and the private sector have to be linked into one national program and driven towards creating an ICT workforce and jobs worthy of attention from overseas markets.

A high level engagement by the Government to attract large IT services users like Yahoo, Google or Microsoft to look at Sri Lanka as a Development Hub will give an indication of what we have and what more we need to have to attract that kind of job creating entity to Sri Lanka and the gaps to be filled quickly. Sri Lanka must compete to win. Which means we must have a game plan.

On a long-term basis Government must invest into upgrading or setting up a dedicated university for world class ICT research and development to cater to the region for both graduate and post graduate studies. This will give a brand identity to our IT degrees in the same manner our Engineering degrees have a reputation in the world.

Q: How do you see the IT professionals in the industry?

A: We have very capable IT professionals. What’s lacking is opportunity for them to excel within this country. If someone does a survey of how our IT professionals who have found jobs in overseas markets are rated by their employers, it will give us a statistic to be proud of. As a country we must now start looking at ways to keep them within the country and yet earn in foreign currency by working for overseas employers.

Q: What are the possible ways that Sri Lanka can take ICT to rural areas?

A: Government initiatives towards IT and English are commendable. Each Province has to assess their human and infrastructure resource pool for ICT and take meaningful steps to quickly bridge the infrastructure gaps for the human resource pool to be trained and productive.

We can expect some Provinces human capital training and development needs including English language skills also to be comparatively lagging.

Investments (Foreign or Local) into those provinces should be offered incentives like long-term lease of land, tax holidays, concessionary electricity rates for any Public Private partnerships that will help bridge the gaps and create ICT jobs.

Here too the Provincial Universities and technical schools to be linked into the ICT job creation initiative for continuous supply and development of employable resources.

Q: What is the strength of your company capital and employees?

A: We started in 1996 with three employees and now our group has close to 100 employees.

Q: What are the future plans of your company?

A: Industries involving technology such as ICT has frequent change impacting its business. Our group has to keep up with the future requirements of our clients.

This includes business models, financing models, service offerings and use of asset instead of ownership becoming important to customers. We see value in partnerships with related stakeholders such as telecom companies and professional service providers to leverage on resulting cost benefits and synergies that can be passed on to the customer.

Going forward we will be laying even more emphasis on strengthening the multi skilled work force so that our core competencies will be a strength for our customers to hand over their ICT requirements to us and concentrate on their own core business.

Q: What is your advice to young people who wish to climb the corporate ladder?

A: Whatever you do in life your motives has to be pure and good. You must have the correct attitude towards the company.

You must believe that you will grow only if the company grows because it’s your company. Focus towards achieving corporate objectives and always look for positives and solutions. Maintain trust and confidentiality at all times and talk only to the necessary people if there is a problem.

Q: What is your philosophy in life?

A: To enjoy life within a framework based on the religious teachings I believe.

Q: What is the country you like to visit most?

A: Switzerland

Q: What is the place you like to visit in Sri Lanka?

A: Every place in Sri Lanka is special, I enjoy the traditional village hospitality and food. The rough drive in the Knuckles Range gives a different thrill.

Q: How do you spend your leisure?

A: Mostly playing with my children during school vacations and travelling within Sri Lanka with family and friends.