US based Leapset launches ground-breaking innovation in SL

The Silicon Valley software developer ‘Leapset’ announced plans to expand their development centre in Sri Lanka at a media briefing held recently. Leapset’s product is a platform that is changing local commerce by bridging the gap between online and mobile consumers to offline merchants. It will revolutionize the merchant-consumer interaction through a platform which includes a point-of-sale (POS) device and utilize payments, CRM, web and mobile components.

Leapset fosters disruptive innovation. The difference between disruptive innovation and conventional incremental innovation is that, while incremental innovation focuses on improving existing processes, disruptive innovation looks to replace process and create entirely new business models. Leapset’s hardware and cloud based software service, looks to disrupt conventional thinking on merchant customer interaction, including POS, payments, relationship management and online/mobile purchasing. The core development of the Leapset product portfolio will be done in Sri Lanka.

Leapset’s CEO Mani Kulasooriya, said,“Disruptive innovation does not merely improve, but creates and replaces entirely new business models.” When asked to elaborate with an example, Kulasooriya replied “If you wanted to order from a restaurant all you have to do was take out your phone and Leapset would display a list of restaurants located in your area; it would allow you to navigate through the menus, select the items you wished and delivery would be made to your doorstep. The restaurant receives the customer’s order and customer details on their POS device and payment is processed automatically. This is just a simple example of the different solutions that run on the Leapset platform.”

“It sounds simple and the best innovations always simplify people’s lives, but think about the innovation that has gone into placing an order from a restaurant. The process of selecting a restaurant and accessing a menu, placing an order, paying for it and getting it delivered to your doorstep has been simplified down to a push of a few buttons on a mobile phone and a POS device,” elaborated Kulasooriya.

Leapset is based at the heart of the Silicon Valley, the mecca of technology innovation and home to giants like Facebook, Google, Apple and Paypal. Leapset’s Colombo based staff take full advantage of the direct access to the latest technology and work closely with the US team.

Their training includes planned visits to the US office where they gain exposure to the Silicon Valley culture; employees also get a unique opportunity to participate in technology conferences and training programmes hosted by the top tech firms in the Valley.

Commenting on their roots, Kulasooriya continued, “Coming from the Valley gives us a distinct edge; we have the access to the latest ideas, methodologies and technologies, so we are always on the cutting edge.