ICT Export Value Survey for 2010 by Export Development Board to Identify Current Export Value of IT/BPO Industry. Fifth Largest Export Earner in 2007

16th May 2011, www.island.lk

In the prevailing globalised business environment, the IT/BPO industry is emerging as one of the significant contributors to the Sri Lankan export market. However, due to the volatile and changing nature of the industry, much of the export revenue that is generated has not been clearly highlighted and recognised.

To address this gap, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) together with the IT/BPO industry, has now launched the second ICT Export Value Survey for 2010, to identify the current export value of the industry, the board said in a statement yesterday (17).

The EDB carried out the first ICT Export Value Survey for 2006/2007. The survey identified 178 IT/ ITES export companies. It also identified the value of the IT/BPO exports to be US$ 173 million in 2006 which grew by 23% to US$ 213.2 million in 2007. The IT/BPO exports in 2007 depicted that its contribution as the fifth largest export earner for Sri Lanka. This finding also gives weight to the industry’s increasing potential of ultimately being one of the topmost players in the Sri Lankan export market.

Janaka Ratnayaka, Chairman and Chief Executive of the EDB, said, "There is a need to continuously measure the growth of the IT/BPO industry and its contribution to the country’s economy as the government has recognized the industry to be one of the key players in the Sri Lanka economy". The survey will show how far the industry has moved towards achieving its export revenue target of US $1 billion by the year 2015.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Sri Lanka, which carried out the initial survey in 2007, has been appointed to conduct the 2010 survey as well.

In addition to ascertaining the export value for the IT/BPO industry in 2010, the current survey will also capture the current status, developments and challenges in other operational areas of the industry. These include the service offerings, workforce, infrastructure, communications, markets, quality certifications and stakeholder support. Further, in light of the end of the war, it is expected that the IT/BPO industry would have appreciably changed and grown since the initial survey was conducted, and therefore the current survey is expected to capture and explore such changes.

The survey will commence in May 2011, with a selection of companies in the industry, being directly interviewed. The survey steering committee, formed by representatives of the EDB, the IT/BPO industry, the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka, Board of Investment and SLASSCOM, encourage the IT/BPO industry to provide their fullest support and cooperation for this survey. The survey results will be the basis for Government policy decisions in the future regarding the ICT industry. Further, a summary report will be generated from the survey, on the ICT export industry in Sri Lanka, which can be used for global and regional comparisons and also as a baseline for planning industry strategy, the EDB statement said.

Related Info :

• Sri Lanka an Attractive Location for Finance & Accounting Outsourcing FAO BPO Operations. Has World’s Second Largest Pool of CIMA Professionals

• Sri Lanka IT/BPO Sector Targets Niche Markets in Finance & Accounting, Telco, Travel and Aviation

• Sri Lankan IT & BPO Industry to Grow by 26pct in 2011. SLASSCOM Launches Careers Initiative for Capacity Building

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.