Sri Lanka High Tech Economy Survey underway to Study Disposition & Makeup of the Industry. A Joint Effort of FITIS, IISEIE & Microsoft

19th February 2011, www.dailynews.lk

The Federation of IT Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS), the International Institute for Software Economics, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incorporated (IISEIE) and Microsoft has jointly launched the Sri Lanka High Tech Economy Survey in a collaborative partnership.

This will provide a view of the disposition and makeup of the high-tech industry in Sri Lanka.

“The purpose of this study is to better understand the needs and opportunities for Sri Lankan high-tech industry development, with the results helping to develop programs and initiatives that will grow the industry and develop it as a key driver of economic and social development for Sri Lanka,” FITIS Chairman and FITIS Software Chapter President Govind Nangrani said.

“The information provided by the High Tech Economy Survey will assist the Government and the industry to better understand the needs and opportunities for growth within the Sri Lankan High-tech Economy.

It will also help to align specific programs to enable high tech companies and entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to create new solutions, new companies and new jobs in the market place,” Nangrani said.

“The output of this study will be the High Tech Economy Report for Sri Lanka that will provide a view of the disposition and makeup of the high-tech industry within the country. Report output will consist of four key components, namely technical audience insight, local high-tech economy maturity, Innovation Readiness Index and strategic entrepreneur outlook,” FITIS CEO Damith Hettihewa said.

“Members will benefit from the survey as the results of the survey will be available for participating members in a form of Innovation Readiness Index - a comparative benchmarking tool which will help them to better understand their organizational capacity for innovation, identify their innovation strengths and that can be leveraged for competitive advantage,” Hettihewa said.

The survey commenced on February 15 and results are expected to be out before the end of March 2011.

The Sri Lanka’s unified ICT Industry Association, FITIS, the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka, which constitutes the Hardware Chapter - Sri Lanka Computer Vendors Association (SLCVA) -, Software Chapter - Sri Lanka Association for the Software Industries (SLASI), the Training chapter - Association of Computer Training Organizations (ACTOS), the Telecommunications chapter- Licensed Internet Service Providers Association and Telecom Service Providers Association (LISPA)/ (TPA) and the Professional Chapter - Information Security Audit and Control (ISACA). FITIS has been in operation for the last 15 years as the unified umbrella organization of the ICT industry in Sri Lanka.

FITIS has been actively engaged in developing the ICT industry in Sri Lanka with many programs, which have been successfully implemented for the growth of ICT usage and consequently the growth of job opportunities in the ICT industry.

FITIS has also significantly contributed to ICT awareness in all regions in the country.