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SEA,
EDB to hold global technology showcase "We wish
to keep the momentum of the eSri Lanka launch and support it with
our activities," said Manoj Mohinani, Chairman of the Marketing
Committee of the SEA. Discussing other activities next year, the SEA spokesman said there will also be a Sri Lankan delegation of SEA members taking part at J-Office in Japan. This exhibition is a focused event that presents outsourced software development companies. Sri Lanka is one of five countries that will participate at this exhibition. Thereafter the SEA, as in the previous years, will partner the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (SLEDB) at Cebit 2003, a popular international technology exhibition held annually in Hanover, Germany. This year the Sri Lanka pavilion will strive to gain better exposure by occupying Hall No. 4 or 5 instead of Hall No. 8 which it occupied last year. These halls comprise some of the big players like NASSCOM - the Indian software association, Australia, Singapore, etc. Halls charges are very high hence the SEA together with SLEDB hopes to find sponsors to fund the local delegation of 20 companies in these prominent halls. Fifteen companies have already applied to join the delegation. In addition to this, the same delegation will meet BITKOM - the German Software Association and visit France and London where it has organized meetings with industry counterparts and business groups. Six member companies of the association together with six others will also tour USA on a business promotion mission organized by USAID in January 2003. The SEA is a leading industry association that represents over 40 software exporting companies. The association recently became a member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and moved its secretariat to the chamber. Cisco
plans to set up five networking academies Cisco Systems last week conducted several programmes in the country instilling its commitment to the industry. The first Enterprise 2002 technology showcase and conference drew a large audience who updated their knowledge from technical sessions on contemporary technologies such as wireless networking, Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, network security, etc. Demonstrations were also conducted on some of the innovations of the company. Speaking on the Sri Lankan market, Manoj Chugh, President India and SAARC region, said the growth rate of their products is higher here than their Asia Pacific average. The company also established its local office in April this year having been active with their presence through Millennium IT and IBM Sri Lanka, previously. Cisco would continue to function on its worldwide model of multiple partners to design, deploy and service customers in Sri Lanka by offering specialization training and support. Local customers of Cisco include Sri Lanka Telecom, John Keells Holdings, Hayleys, Sampath Bank and SriLankan Airlines. The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology is the first Cisco Networking Academy to be set up in Sri Lanka. Currently there are 154 Cisco certified networking professionals in the country. MIT
campus, a showpiece for Lankan ICT industry
As the first campus to be set up in the Malabe IT Park established by the former government, MIT despite many difficulties has managed to create a true showpiece for the Sri Lankan IT industry. The complex also encompasses a collection of the best in major installations in the Silicon Valley, as the concept was developed through a competition amongst local architects. The winning local team was also taken on a tour of Silicon Valley companies like Netscape, Hewlett Packard and Compaq. "Our tight value engineering helped us to put up this complex below target and below budget," says Manju Hatthotuwa, Chief Operating Officer of MIT, commenting on the completion of the building in a record time of 18 months. The facility also has the best of both worlds from materials such as the wood used in the construction and the cement flooring. This has enabled the company to create an identity of its own. Further the layout has been planned with great care whereby the café acts as a central meeting point between all buildings which promotes a friendly working atmosphere in an industry that otherwise keeps workers glued to their computer screens. From the working environment point of view the office space has been designed in a modular style for mobilizing and demobilizing of teams in the shortest possible time. This includes partitioning, power supply, networking, etc. The campus also has a wireless local area network that enables the staff to move around freely, even into the open space and still be linked to the main network. Some of the other technologically advanced features include a state of the art multimedia auditorium, a user identification based Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephone exchange, universal card based access control mechanisms, etc. As an environment built for its staff to work, live and play, the campus also has a swimming pool, gym, squash courts, indoor arena for badminton, basketball, etc. In addition the company also has limited accommodation facilities for staff working late. Yet another unique feature of the campus is its crèche with trained nannies. "We made it point to have this so that we can help young talent come back to work after pregnancy," added Hatthotuwa saying that the industry is such that there is heavy investment on young people. Asked as to how the facility is managed, he said: "We are not in the business of running this facility and therefore we have outsourced the entire facility management to a hotel service company". Speaking on how the investment can be recovered, Hatthotuwa said that it takes just one mega sales deal to cover the investment considering the business they are in. The company within a short space of time of moving in has also showed its commitment to share its newest addition with the rest of the industry. The operations head said that they would like to consider this as a contribution towards the industry and to encourage others to learn and provide better facilities and build a strong infrastructure for the development of ICT in the country. IBM
celebrates 40 years in Sri Lanka He also pledged support together with his company's business partners to the government's ICT vision. Having started with the then Insurance Corporation of Ceylon, the company today serves many institutions like the Central Bank, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Department of Census and Statistics, Moratuwa and Peradeniya universities, and the Education Department. IBM is also a key player in the financial market with many banks relying on its services for AS/400 and mainframe server support. IBM also engages in many social community efforts. In Sri Lanka the company recently introduced 'Kidsmart', a programme aimed to introduce computing in education for disadvantaged pre-school children in the three to seven years age group. Celltel
launches Sri Lanka's first secure mobile wallet The first of its kind in the region, the CellWalletTM provides encrypted electronic storage for information pertaining to a user's credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts and other personal data, allowing the user to issue payment instructions from his or her mobile phone, without having to transmit such sensitive data 'over the air' for each transaction. Using Network365 mzoneTM avatar, a secure mobile wallet enabling secure Macro and micro payments, personalization and identification, CellWallet will be launched in Sri Lanka in collaboration with hSenid, a premier mobile software applications developer and Sampath Bank, which provides the Internet Payment Gateway and acts as a clearing house for transactions. Network365 is the Ireland-based provider of secure mobile payment platforms. "This is one of the most exciting, innovative and convenience-enhancing products to date in the local mobile phone sector," Celltel CEO Dumindra Ratnayaka said. "CellWallet exemplifies how the rapid evolution of mobile phone-based IT services can enhance and enrich our lifestyle." Raomal Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Network365, voted one of Europe's 50 hottest tech firms by TIME magazine, said: "Celltel is Sri Lanka's most dynamic mobile operator and we are very excited to be working closely with them. Celltel is an early adopter of pioneering technologies and it is very significant that they have chosen Network365's mobile wallet to meet their customers' requirements in this growing mCommerce market. The successful deployment of mzone avatar will enable Celltel to offer innovative mobile payment services which are secure, convenient and cost effective. Last year Celltel deployed our mzone agora platform and the deployment of mzone avatar further cements the relationship between our two companies." Senid Software International CEO, Dinesh Saparamadu, said his company was pleased to be selected to engineer Network365's mobile wallet to suit the needs of the Sri Lankan market, and to integrate the software with that of Celltel and Sampath Bank. "hSenid has developed several innovative mobile software applications that have powered ground-breaking services to mobile phone users in Sri Lanka. We hope CellWallet will be the inspiration for a new generation of innovative products in this market." US
$381m needed for eSri Lanka rollout However, Eran Wickramaratne, IT Advisor to the Minister for Economic Reform, Science and Technology, added the project would need 'hundreds of millions of dollars', emphasizing that it was not about the cost but the larger picture of deploying ICT towards the achievement of social and economic development. A key priority of the government to see this through would be the raising of the much-needed resources. Several donor
agencies have been solicited to make the vision a reality among
which the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have already
pledged support. Several sessions had also been held to incorporate the views and recommendations of the various industries and interest groups before the steering committee sat down to creating the document that was originally expected in July. The implementation of the roadmap plans will be coordinated by an ICT agency to be established by June 2003. The time bound agency would be legislated to function for a period of five years. A cabinet task
force chaired by the Prime Minister will provide strategic direction
together with a consultative committee comprising industry stakeholders.
The five-phase rollout strategy has been translated into specific goals such as dynamic telecommunication infrastructure, Human Resource development, promotion of software and ICT enabled industries, bridging the digital divide and e-Government, in the strategic action plan. Almost all of the activities in the respective areas are scheduled to commence before the end of 2003 emulating a 'big bang' approach as described by the IT advisor.
Blue Chip enhances
ERP offering Blue Chip, which has been offering the solution even before, now offers a functionally enhanced version of Geac's System 21. The set of enterprise-wide software applications covers the needs of a broad range of industries, while also offering sector-specific functionality for medium sized companies in the apparel, food and beverage, electronics, automotive and service management industries. Blue Chip is
an independent overseas subsidiary of the UK-based Blue Chip Group
of Companies. The company is a 'solutions provider' business partner
of IBM and has several other partnerships with leading technology
companies. A local software
and web development company Microcode (Pvt) Ltd recently launched
a web site aimed at exposing Sri Lanka's Human Resources to the
international market. www.srilankanprofessionals.com contains a
comprehensive online database of Sri Lankan individuals who are
open for jobs in the market. The company charges a fee of Rs. 1,000 per listing for a period of one year. Microcode also engages various marketing and cyber marketing campaigns like posters, advertisements in other media, bulk email campaigns, banner advertisements, etc. Microcode plans to include an online classified advertisement section as part of future enhancements to the site. Microcode is a company engaged in designing and developing websites, e-commerce applications, web hosting and cyber marketing services. Keells markets
Tablet PC The Portege
with an Intel Pentium III 1.33GHz processor is essentially a notebook
computer with an integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity
for wireless networking. A few flips and turns, transforms the computer
into a tablet PC. The tablet pen and eraser enables the user to take down notes in their own handwriting that can converted to typewritten letters. That tablet PC version of Windows also makes it possible for any applications to run on the tablet mode as well. Ceylon Chamber
e-gateway The Chamber said in a statement that it believes e-Sri Lanka can contribute to increased productivity and attain efficiency in delivering products and services while maintaining social equity. |
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