BIZ-TECH

Providence BPO increases service capacity

Provider of superior Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Inbound and Outbound Contact center services, Providence Business Services announced of the addition of 105 seats in its existing capacity. This increase will help Providence meet its new and existing client requirements.

The Providence BPO office in Colombo

Through its flexible and “can do” attitude, Providence is able to offer customized services to its local and international clients for their non-core business areas. This helps clients to better concentrate on their own core interests with a peace of mind.

Providence Business Services Managing Director S Vaz Gnanam, said “As we provide 24/7/365 quality BPO services, we need to keep our promise in providing efficient services with the required capacity across all areas including Call Centre services and non-voices services such as Finance and Accounting, Social Media Optimization (SMO), Medical Underwriting, Conversion Rate Optimization and Data entry services.

“This capacity increase will certainly support effective execution of the services we provide”.

Sri Lanka is a hub for the BPO and KPO industry. The industry currently serves many local and international organizations by delivering services across sectors, reaching people at all corners of the globe.

The high literacy rate in the country produces highly capable and educated youth, who with proper training can be equipped with skills to serve global organizations via the local BPO and KPO industry.

Providence Business Services Chief Executive Officer Shahed Naseem said. They take ownership for what they do and are always working towards exceeding the service level agreements.

“Since we are committed to grow Sri Lankan youth in the BPO sector, our human capital strategy allows us to offer them an option of selecting their work schedule from one day a week to five days a week.

This helps our youth to continue their education while financially supporting themselves and gaining expertise in the BPO industry.

This workforce together with fast development of communications sector has great potential in making Sri Lanka the regional capital of the BPO industry,” he said.

Providence Business Services established in January 2007 by St. Anthony’s Group of Companies, is managed by professionals with over 20 years of industry experience.

Hemas selects Pyxle as strategic web partner

Pyxle was selected by Hemas as its global strategic web partner.

Within this role; Pyxle will be given the responsibility to manage the internet and online presence for the Hemas Group.

The partnership is expected to significantly enhance the internet presence of Hemas and result in the delivery of superior online communications and engagement.

The tie-up between the two companies was formalised at the recently concluded launch function which took place at Hemas.

The first phase of the assignment consisted of Pyxle taking over multiple projects including the design and development of websites for Hemas Power, Hemas Corporate and Investor relations portal, Serendib Leisure corporate website and sites for Dolphin Hotel, Hotel Sigiriya, Kani Lanka and Hotel Serendib.

The project plans to offer a comprehensive CMS (Content Management System) solution, a strategy designed and supported by Pyxle, where each department of Hemas could take the ownership of the content.

Pyxle intends to develop an advanced investor section with live stock alerts, comparative charts and develop a business locator to find the relevant businesses of Hemas.

This turnkey project also includes a more investor focussed mobile version of the website, catering to the immerging number of iPhone and PDA users in Sri Lanka and Worldwide.

This CMS driven dynamic solution also sees an HR Management system which is user friendly for the potential employees.

Hemas Chief Process Officer Kasturi Wilson said they are happy to have collaborated with a leading web and internet media solutions provider like Pyxle. We believe Pyxle has the capability to make this project succeed with our desired objectives in mind. We like to have long term partners who share our goals and desire to achieve them,” he said.

Pyxle Managing Director Presantha Jayamaha said, they are delighted to have been appointed as the strategic web solutions partner to Hemas Holdings.

FITIS welcomes IT and Telecom Ministry

Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) welcomed appointing a Minister focusing on Telecommunicating and Information Technology.

FITIS Chairman Govind Nangrani

FITIS Chairman Govind Nangrani said information and communication technology are closely connected and inseparable fraternities and policy decisions in each fraternity can have implications on each other.

“Also the new Ministry will help to synergise efforts in institutions representing each industry,” Nangrani said.

FITIS also welcomed the 2010 budget as a step towards a knowledge economy. Nangrani believes budget proposals and incentives will boost local software industry, broadband proliferation, expansion on research and development, expansion of Telecommunication coverage and increasing the access to ICT at all levels and growth of IT BPO sector.

FITIS believes that 2010 budget lays a strong foundation on achieving the nation’s target of ICT literacy of 75 percent by 2016.

Etisalat, hSenid launch AppZone mobile store

First telco applications store in Sri Lanka:

Etisalat and hSenid Mobile announced the commercialization of their breakthrough Mobile Application Eco-System ‘AppZone’, enabling all Etisalat users to download applications that are useful and important for them in day-to-day information sourcing and entertainment.

The AppZone portal that was launched in June initially to local developers to start developing mobile phone applications, is now accessible for commercial purposes.

Etisalat CEO Duminda Ratnayaka introducing the breakthrough mobile value adding service.

Customers can now dial #141# or visit www.appzone.lk to download mobile applications ranging from train schedules, horoscope predictions, games, sports updates or anything else at the click of a key.

There is a comprehensive listing of applications and the most significant factor is all these have been developed by local technocrats to suit local requirements.

Etisalat CEO Duminda Ratnayaka introducing a breakthrough mobile value adding service in Sri Lanka said, “what commenced as a pilot project in application development has today become a general service to Etisalat customers.

AppZone will enable customers to access an array of applications, be it searching for bus routes, checking for rahu kalaya or checking for a cab listing.” Ratnayaka further stated that since there is very highly evolved techno-culture woven around the mobile phone, it was important that service provides introduce more and more value added services to their customers.

“In order to substantiate the entrepreneurial angle of this project we will be sharing 70 percent of revenue with respective application developers”, Ratnayaka said.

AppZone is based on the revolutionary Cloud Telco Application Portal (Cloud TAP) developed by hSenid Mobile based on open standards and technologies, end-to-end service creation and rapid time to market Telco Applications. The state-of-the-art Telco developer portal helps to create opportunities from simple to enterprise applications that can be developed with minimum effort.” hSenid Mobile CEO Dinesh Saparamadu is pleased with the responses they have received for the competition.

“AppZone is Sri Lanka’s first ever Telco App Store. We believe this is the beginning of taking our developers to a global Telco application platform powered by hSenid Mobile,” Saparamadu said.

Asanka Gayan, a young technocrat from Peradeniya University who has developed an SMS based application enabling users to access islandwide train time-route schedules as per the Railway Department said, “once the idea was in place, the execution was immensely simple. All I had to do was gather the technical background from the online AppZone forum and follow instructions. I was motivated by the challenge of developing an application as well as the revenue incentive! I have no doubt that this experience will be a stepping stone for my future ambition of making it big in the industry.”

The inter-university competition is still on and the winner will receive an Apple i-pad from the organizers. Endorsing the success of this breakthrough initiative, Colombo University School of Computing (UCSC) Director Prof Gihan Wickramanayake said, “AppZone covers a wide range of applications from business to pleasure. Creation of innovative mobile applications is a business opportunity for our undergraduates.”