SL knowledge services ‘successful but relatively unknown’ – A.T. Kearney
View(s):Local private sector IT body SLASSCOM recently announced that Sri Lanka has moved up five places, to its current 16th position, in this year’s edition of the Global Services Location Index (GSLI) issued by global consulting firm A.T. Kearney.
Further, the announcement also highlighted the following comment by A.T.
Kearney: “Sri Lanka moves up five places in this year’s index, as it develops a successful but relatively unknown knowledge services industry.
With a highly educated talent base and sophisticated technical skills, Sri Lanka based firms are providing advanced services to clients such as Google, Nokia, JPMorgan and London Stock Exchange. Offerings extend beyond software development and transaction processing to off-shore legal services, architectural drawings and medical diagnostics”.
Additionally, it was also noted that the “GSLI, now in its sixth edition, tracks the contours of the off shoring landscape in 51 countries across three major categories: Financial Attractiveness, People Skills and availability and business environment. Based on 25 metrics they have identified the countries with the strongest underlying fundamentals to potentially deliver IT and (Business Process Management). The consulting giant, A.T. Kearney’s Global Services Location Index (GSLI) index first established in 2004, analyses and ranks top 51 countries worldwide as the best destinations for providing off-shoring services, including IT services and support, contact centres, and back-office support”.
According to the announcement, the “Sri Lankan IT/BPM industry made significant progress over the last five years. Export revenue grew 238 per cent from US$213 million in 2007 to an estimated $720 million in 2013. Total employment grew 123 per cent from 33,700 in 2007 to an estimated 75,100 in 2013. Number of companies in the industry also grew from 171 in 2007 to over 225 in 2013″.
Additionally, the SLASSCOM also quoted Reshan Dewapura, the Chief Executive of the country’s public sector Information and Communication Techonology Agency (ICTA) as stating: “The latest AT Kearny report findings are a testament to the fact that Sri Lanka’s IT/BPM industry can reach great heights, and provide an enormous economic stimulus as a top net foreign exchange earner for the country. These latest rankings, while endorsing the industry roadmap and the Government intervention in the growth and development of this sector, also clearly identify the areas we need to work on in order to further improve our rankings, by analysing our relative position in the global market”. (JH)