Information Technology in Sri Lanka refers to business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, software development, IT Services, and IT education in Sri Lanka. [1] Sri Lanka is always ranked among the top 50 outsourcing destinations by AT Kearney, and Colombo and ranked among "Top 20 Emerging Cities" by Global Services Magazine. [2] The export revenue of this industry grew from USD 213 million in 2007 to USD 1.2 billion in 2021. [3] [4] [5] [6]
For the purpose of developing IT in Sri Lanka, Computer Society of Sri Lanka was started in 1976. [7] Sri Lanka's IT, KPO/BPO industry has a short span of history starting around 2000. [1] IT/BPO sector has been identified as a priority sector for economic development in the country. [3]
Sri Lanka is an offshore development center and Joint venture hub for several Fortune 500 companies from North America, UK, Australia, Sweden, Norway and Japan. Well known customers of Sri Lankan BPO industry include Google, J.P. Morgan & Co, Microsoft, Emirates, Infor and Qatar Airways. [3] [4]
Publication [3] | Publisher | Rank |
---|---|---|
Location Trends Reports | IBM | 12 |
Global Services Location Index | AT Kearney | within top 25 |
Leading Locations For Offshore Services | Gartner | within top 30 |
Global Centers of Excellence for Finance & Accounting Outsourcing | Global Services | within top 19 |
Emerging Global Cities For Finance & Accounting Outsourcing | Tholons | 7 |
Outsourcing Destination of the Year | National Outsourcing Association | 1 |
The prominent government body related to IT in Sri Lanka is the Ministry of Technology. [8] Other than that Ministries of Education, Skills development are working on developing the education while Ministry of Industry and Commerce is on industrial level activities. [9]
Year | Total Export Revenue of ICT/ BPM [5] [10] (in million. US$) |
---|---|
2018 | $1,035.00 |
2019 | $1,089.00 |
2020 | $1,011.00 |
2021 | $1,217.00 |
IT in Sri Lanka is governed under the Information and Communication Technology Act No. 27 of 2003. [11] [12]
Other Related Acts
There are many global IT services companies established in Sri Lanka such as HSBC, IFS, Intel, Motorola, WNS, RR Donnelley, Virtusa, Pearsons and Accenture. [3]
Sri Lanka has few government owned and privately managed IT Parks. [14]
Orion City IT Park established in 2009 is a privately owned IT park situated in Dematagoda area in Colombo. The Park is spread over 16 acres and currently has 800,000 sq feet of developed space. [15] Currently this park houses, Virtusa, IFS AB, WNS Global Services and several other IT and non-IT companies. [16]
In 2011 a full featured IT park was proposed to be built at Hambantota as a government project. [17] In 2012 this project was approved by the Cabinet. [18]
TRACE Expert City is a similar project, developed by the Urban Development Authority, working with the Ministry of Defense. It is situated in Maradana. [19]
In February 2016 India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced that they are offering an IT park for Sri Lanka considering the IT industry's importance in the country. [20]
According to the National ICT workforce Survey 2013, the positive domestic developments and gradual recovery of the global economic situation have created a conducive environment for growth of the industry’s workforce and the projection figure shows that this trend is likely to continue. The overall workforce has grown to 75,107 in 2013 with a projection. In 2013, 63% of the workforce held graduate or post-graduate level qualifications. [3]
The IT industry has become one of the largest sectors in producing employment opportunities in Sri Lanka by creating thousands of IT job openings. [21] Notably, many foreign IT companies start production officers in Sri Lanka due to the wide availability high quality skilled resources and relatively low operational costs.
In the national level curriculum, first computer related subject taught at public schools is Information and Communication Technology. This is an elective subject for GCE Ordinary Level in Sri Lanka. For GCE Advanced Level in Sri Lanka a compulsory subject and an exam called General Information Technology was introduced considering the need of IT literacy for every student. Under the technology stream introduced for GCE Advanced Level in past years a new main subject for IT, Information and Communication Technology is added. [22] [23]
With the rapid development of IT industry and increasing job demand in the 1990s, steps were taken by both government and private sector to improve the IT education across the country.
In 2016 January, the Sri Lankan government announced that Indo-Sri Lankan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and Sri Lanka will be finalized. It is assumed that Sri Lankan IT industry's job market will be opened to Indians by this agreement causing unemployment among Sri Lankans. [24] [25] [26]
Sri Lanka's IT industry's goal is to achieve USD 5 billion in exports by 2022 while creating 200,000 jobs and uplifting 1,000 tech start-ups. [27]
Transport in Sri Lanka is based on its road network, which is centred on the country's commercial capital Colombo. A rail network handles a portion of Sri Lanka's transport needs. There are navigable waterways, harbours and three international airports: in Katunayake, 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Colombo, in Hambantota, and in Jaffna.
Outsourcing is a business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally, Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another.
Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) describes the outsourcing of core information-related business activities which are competitively important or form an integral part of a company's value chain. KPO requires advanced analytical and technical skills as well as a high degree of specialist expertise.
The University of Kelaniya is a public university in Sri Lanka. Just outside the municipal limits of Colombo, in the city of Kelaniya, the university has two major institutions and seven faculties.
One of the most dynamic and fastest growing sectors in the Philippines is the information technology–business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry. The industry is composed of eight sub-sectors, namely, knowledge process outsourcing and back offices, animation, call centers, software development, game development, engineering design, and medical transcription. The IT-BPO industry plays a major role in the country's growth and development.
Business process outsourcing to India refers to the business process outsourcing services in the outsourcing industry in India, catering mainly to Western operations of multinational corporations (MNCs).
Education in Sri Lanka has a long history that dates back two millennia. While the Constitution of Sri Lanka does not provide free education as a fundamental right, the constitution mentions that 'the complete eradication of illiteracy and the assurance to all persons of the right to universal and equal access to education at all levels" in its section on directive principles of state policy at (27. Sri Lanka's population had an adult literacy rate of 96.3% in 2015, which is above average by world and regional standards. Computer literacy in 2017 28.3% and phone users in 2017 105%, website users 32% in 2017. Education plays a major part in the life and culture of the country, which dates back to 543 BC. Sri Lanka's modern educational system modeled after Christian missionary system was brought about by its integration into the British Empire in the 19th century. Education currently falls under the control of both the Central Government and the Provincial Councils, with some responsibilities lying with the Central Government and the Provincial Council having autonomy for others.
The Southern Expressway is Sri Lanka's first expressway. The 222-kilometre-long (138 mi) highway links the Sri Lankan capital Colombo with Galle, Matara and Hambantota, major cities in the south of the island.
The primary form of agriculture in Sri Lanka is rice production. Rice is cultivated during Maha and Yala seasons. Tea is cultivated in the central highlands and is a major source of foreign exchange. Vegetables, fruits and oilseed crops are also cultivated in the country. There are two Agriculture Parks abbreviated as A. Parks established by the Department of Agriculture. Out of the total population in Sri Lanka, 27.1% engages in agricultural activities. Agriculture accounted for 7.4% of the GDP in 2020.
The information technology (I.T.) industry in India comprises information technology services and business process outsourcing. The share of the IT-BPM sector in the GDP of India is 7.4% in FY 2022. The IT and BPM industries' revenue is estimated at US$ 245 billion in FY 2023. The domestic revenue of the IT industry is estimated at $51 billion, and export revenue is estimated at $194 billion in FY 2023. The IT–BPM sector overall employs 5.4 million people as of March 2023. In December 2022, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha informed that IT units registered with state-run Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and Special Economic Zones have exported software worth Rs 11.59 lakh crore in 2021–22.
The Sri Lankan Advanced Level (A-level) formerly called Higher School Certificate (HSC), is a General Certificate of Education (GCE) qualification exam in Sri Lanka, similar to the British Advanced Level, conducted annually by the Department of Examinations of the Ministry of Education. It is usually taken by students during the final two years of collegiate level (grade 12 and 13 or external candidates, after they have completed GCE Ordinary Level exams. The majority of candidates enter the exams via their respective schools, while candidates who have finished school education can also apply as private applicants. The qualification also serves as an entrance requirement for Sri Lankan state universities. The exams are held in three mediums: Sinhala, Tamil and English.
The Information and Communication Technology Agency is the lead agency in Sri Lanka for implementation of information and communications technology (ICT) initiatives by the Government of Sri Lanka. It was established to develop the economy of Sri Lanka through ICT. To this end, it works to improve the country's technological capacity, such as building infrastructure, and the readiness of its people, through education and human resources. It is also active in developing regulations around the use of technology and disseminating information worldwide about Sri Lankan ICT. Its current Chairman is Prof. Malik Ranasinghe.
The Philippine Cyberservices Corridor is a plan that is being pursued by the government of the Philippines to create interconnected centers of technology-related services, that are spread out all over the country. Services include business process outsourcing, medical transcription, outsourcing of animation, and the like. It is part of the ten-point agenda of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and is one of the five "super-regions" outlined in her 2006 State of the Nation Address.
The Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is a government body headquartered in Smart Village Egypt. Established in 1999, the Ministry is responsible for information and communications technology (ICT) issues in the Arab Republic of Egypt, including the planning, implementation, and operation of government ICT plans and strategies. It is led by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, who is nominated by the Prime Minister and is a member of the Cabinet. The current ICT Minister is Amr Talaat, who assumed office on June 14, 2018.
ESOFT Metro Campus is a private sector educational institute or college located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It offers academic and professional qualifications in Computing, Business & Management, Engineering, Hospitality and English. Established in the year 2000, the company today has 40 branches nationwide. It is headed by Dr. Dayan Rajapakse.
The Department of Agriculture (DOA) functions under the Ministry of Agriculture of Government of Sri Lanka is one of the largest government departments with a high profile community of agricultural scientists and a network of institutions covering different agro ecological regions island wide. DOA focuses on maintaining and increasing productivity and production of the food crops in the country. Two Agriculture parks functions under the department.
Kulappu Arachchige Don Dhammika Perera, commonly known as Dhammika Perera, is a Sri Lankan billionaire businessman and politician. A top corporate leader, he is one of the wealthiest people in Sri Lanka, controlling 23 listed companies on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Perera owns a controlling stake in the conglomerates Hayleys and Vallibel One, a company he founded. Through Hayleys, Perera controls Amaya Leisure, The Kingsbury and Singer while Royal Ceramics, LB Finance, and Lanka Tiles are controlled by Vallibel One. Perera has been closely linked to the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, having served as chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka from 2007 to 2010 and Transport Secretary from 2011 to 2015. He was appointed a Member of Parliament in the National List in June 2022, succeeding Basil Rajapaksa from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, briefly serving President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as his Minister of Investment Promotion from June to July 2022.
The Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology is a Sri Lankan research institute specialising in the field of nanotechnology. It was incorporated in 2008 as a public-private partnership between the Government of Sri Lanka and five private companies, and is notable for being the first public-private research institute in the country.
Janaka Ratnayake is a Sri Lankan businessman currently serving as the Chairman of Trillium Property Management and Services Ltd, City Housing and Real Estate PLC, Trillium Residencies Pvt Ltd, and Rent A Comp Pvt Ltd.