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Government of Sri Lanka
NATIONAL EXPORT STRATEGY
OF SRI LANKAINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2018-2022
The National Export Strategy (NES) of Sri Lanka is an official document of the Government of Sri Lanka
For any queries about the NES, please contact :
Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade
Address: Level 30, West Tower, World Trade Centre, Colombo 01.Phone : +94 (0) 112337629Phone : +94 (0)112337627 E-mail : [email protected]
Sri Lanka Export Development Board
Address: No. 42 Nawam Mawatha, Colombo-02, Sri Lanka.Phone : +94-11-230-0705 / 11Phone : +94-11-230-0715E-mail : [email protected]
This IT-BPM Strategy was developed on the basis of the process, methodology and technical assistance of the International Trade Centre (ITC) within the framework of its Trade Development Strategy programme.
ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. As part of the ITC mandate of fostering sustainable development through increased trade opportunities, the Chief Economist and Export Strategy section offers a suite of trade-related strategy solutions to maximize the development payoffs from trade. ITC-facilitated trade development strategies and road maps are oriented to the trade objectives of a country or region and can be tailored to high-level economic goals, specific development targets or particular sectors.
Technical support was provided by Charles Roberge, Olga Khomula and Anushka Wijesinha.
Financial support was provided by the European Union, as part of the ‘European Union –Sri Lanka Trade Related Assistance : Increasing SMEs’ trade competitiveness in regional and European Union markets’ project. The contents of this document can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
The views expressed herein do not reflect the official opinion of ITC. Mention of firms, products, and product brands does not imply the endorsement of ITC. This document has not been formally edited by ITC.
The International Trade Centre
Street address: ITC 54-56, rue de Montbrillant 1202 Geneva, SwitzerlandPostal address: ITC Palais des Nations 1211 Geneva 10, SwitzerlandTelephone: +41-22 730 0111E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.intracen.org
Layout : Jesús Alés (www.sputnix.es)
NATIONAL EXPORT STRATEGY OF SRI LANKA 2018-2022
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY
Government of Sri Lanka
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
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[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
MESSAGE FROM THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRYIn the past ten years, the Sri Lankan IT-BPM industry has expanded by 300% to reach $1.2 Billion in export revenue. The sector has therefore provided employ-ment to more than 80,000 professionals and thereby contributing to 12% of Sri Lankan services exports. Compared to other export sectors, the IT-BPM sector has shown great potential to increase export revenue.
The immense potential of Sri Lanka’s IT-BPM sec-tor has been recognised by identifying it as a priority sector of the Sri Lankan National Export Strategy. This strategy is a five-year endeavour that was established through a consultative process involving both public and private sector stakeholders in the country. In line with other aspirations of the National Export Strategy of making Sri Lanka a vital trade & innovation hub in Asia, this strategy seeks to position Sri Lanka as a global IT-BPM destination.
Sri Lankan IT-BPM companies have asserted their competitiveness internationally. This competitiveness stems from reasonable costs, high quality services and having an educated workforce with exceptional skills. This strategy will further Sri Lanka’s aspirations to achieve national level branding of Sri Lanka’s IT-BPM sector. This branding will support SMEs and larger companies to increases overall sector perfor-mance and to enhance visibility and market outreach.
The strategy identifies two specific areas as being priorities for the implementation of the strategy. First, to create a business-enabling environment, address policy & regulatory bottlenecks swiftly, and provide necessary institutional support to improve marketing and promotion of the IT-BPM sector; and second to
launch a 'Champion Builder' program targeting firms with exponential growth potential who can help col-lectively boost sector export revenue by $2 billion.
Critical to achieving the targets as outlined in the strategy will be to coordinate activities, monitor pro-gress and to mobilise resources for implementation. We as sector representatives have recommended that a ‘Special Advisory Committee’ consisting of public-private stakeholders is established to be re-sponsible for overall coordination, provision of rapid solutions to regulatory and procedural bottlenecks, policy guidance, and the monitoring of industry de-velopment along the strategic orientation.
In addition to this, the strategy also seeks to foster and develop skills of individuals in the IT-BPM sector, promote local awareness and regional development of the sector and to develop start-up ecosystems encourage local & international investor interest in the sector.
This strategy bears the formula to transform Sri Lanka into a global IT-BPM destination and Asia’s favourite centre of excellence. The implementation of this strat-egy will have a direct and immediate impact on mil-lions of Sri Lankans through provision of employment and increasing standards of living.
This is a much-awaited strategy for the IT-BPM sec-tor in Sri Lanka. Stakeholders of this sector are com-mitted to collaborate with all relevant professionals to ensure the smooth implementation of this strat-egy to unlock the potential latent on Sri Lanka’s IT-BPM sector.
Dr.Kithsiri Manchanayakke Ruwindhu Peiris Chairman Chairman The Federation of Information Technology Sri Lanka Association of Software and Industry Sri Lanka ( FITIS ) Service Companies ( SLASSCOM )
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[ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The IT-BPM Strategy was developed as part of the National Export Strategy ( NES ) of Sri Lanka, under the aegis of the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade ( MoDSIT ) and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board ( EDB ), with the financial support assistance of the European Union ( EU ), as part of the ‘EU-Sri Lanka Trade Related Assistance’.
The document benefited particularly from the inputs and guidance provided by the members of the IT-BPM sector team that steered the formulation of the sector Strategy, namely :
Name Position Organization
Sector team
Mr. Ruwindhu Peiris Chairman SLASSCOM
Mr. Sachindra Samaratne Project Manager information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka ( iCTA )
Mr. Nilan Thimbiripola Project Manager iCTA
Mr. Saman Maldeni Director EDB
Ms. Renuka Dasanayake Deputy Director ( investment Appraisal )
Board of investment ( BOi )
Dr. Kithsiri Manchanayakke Chairman Federation of iT industry Sri Lanka ( FiTiS )
Mr. Jeevan Gnanam Director / CEO Orion City ( iT Park ) iT Park ( private or government-led EPZ for iT )
Education, capacity and skills building team
Dr. Janaka Wijayanayake Senior Lecturer Department of industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya
Dr. Lalith Gamage Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Professor
Sri Lanka institute of information Technology ( SLiiT )
Mr. Ashique Mohamed Ali Director, Board representative – Technology Forum
Talliance Pvt. Ltd
Dr. Lochandaka Ranathunga Senior Lecturer Department of information Technology – University of Moratuwa
Dr. Ruwan Weerasinghe Senior Lecturer University of Colombo School of Computing
The ‘$2 billion plan’ team
Mr. Ruwindhu Peiris Chairman SLASSCOM
Ms. Lakmini Wijesundara CEO ironOne Technologies
Mr. Upendra Peiris Vice President OreliT Pvt Ltd
The full list of public and private stakeholders that contributed their precious time to the design of this Strategy are detailed in Appendix 1.
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[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
CONTENTS
Message from the Information Technology Industry ii
Acknowledgements iii
Acronyms vii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
A RAPIDLY EVOLVING INDUSTRY DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS AND DIGITAL BUSINESS INITIATIVES 5
SRI LANKA’S GROWTH PATHWAY : FROM LOW-END AND SIMPLE TO HIGH-END AND COMPLEX IT-BPM PRODUCTS 11
VALUE CHAIN DIAGNOSTICS 17
THE WAY FORWARD 23
THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY 23
MOVING TO ACTION 30
THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK 30
IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK 32
PLAN OF ACTION 2018–2022 35
Appendix 1 : List of participants in the public-private consultations 43
Appendix 2 : ICT services complementary grouping ( Extended Balance of Payments Services classification ( EBOPS 2010 ) 45
References 46
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[ LIST OF FIGURES ]
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 : Sri Lanka IT-BPM and analytics ICT-enable services 1
Figure 2 : World exports of commercial services by main category, 2016 ( annual change, per cent ) 6
Figure 3 : Exported value of global telecommunications, computer, and information services, 2005–2016 ( US $ billion ) 6
Figure 4 : Top 10 countries exporting ICT services and Sri Lanka, 2016 ( US $ thousands ) 9
Figure 5 : Top 10 countries importing ICT services, 2016 ( US $ thousands ) 9
Figure 6 : Sri Lanka ICT export 11
Figure 7 : Existing IT products and future market orientations 12
Figure 8 : Existing BPM products and future market orientations 13
Figure 9 : Regional competitors’ ICT services export value, excluding India 14
Figure 10 : Share of ICT services exports as of total services exports, 2015 14
Figure 11 : Thematic areas for successful IT-BPM development 15
Figure 12 : IT-BPM value chain 18
Figure 13 : IT-BPM future value chain 24
Figure 14 : Institutional framework for IT-BPM industry development 32
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 : Constraints faced by the IT-BPM industry in Sri Lanka 19
Table 2 : Main areas of improvements in IT-BPM sector 25
Table 3 : Product and market opportunities for IT-BPM sector 26
LIST OF BOXES
Definitions used in this document : 3
Box 1 : The EU GDPR 7
Box 2 : TISIs supporting the IT industry 27
Box 3 : Institutional adjustments in the IT-BPM sector 27
Box 4 : Regulation adjustments in the IT-BPM sector 28
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[ ACRONYMS ]
ACRONYMS
The following abbreviations are used :
ADB Asian Development Bank B2B Business-to-businessBOI Board of InvestmentBPM Business process managementBPO Business process outsourcingCBoSL Central Bank of Sri LankaDoC Department of Commerce DoIE Department of Immigration
and Emigration EDB Sri Lanka Export Development Board ESOS Employee share option schemesETA 2006 Electronic Transactions Act,
No. 19 of 2006 EU European UnionFEEA Foreign Exchange Earners Account FITIS Federation of Information Technology
Industry Sri LankaGDP Gross domestic productGDPR General Data Protection Regulation IP Intellectual propertyICT Information and communication
technologyICTA Information and Communication
Technology Agency of Sri Lanka IoT Internet of thingsIMF International Monetary FundIT Information technologyIT-BPM Information technology-business process
managementITC International Trade CentreJV Joint ventureKPO Knowledge process outsourcingLKR Sri Lanka rupee
LPO Legal process outsourcingMNC Multinational corporationMoDSIT Ministry of Development Strategies
and International Trade MoF Ministry of FinanceMoFA Ministry of Foreign AffairsMoHEH Ministry of Higher Education
and HighwaysMoTDI Ministry of Telecommunications
and Digital Infrastructure MoSDVT Ministry of Skills Development
and Vocational Training MoU Memorandum of understandingNES National Export StrategyNIPO National Intellectual Property OfficeOECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development PoA Plan of actionPMO Prime Minister’s officePwC PricewaterhouseCoopers R&D Research and developmentRPA Robotic process automationSLASSCOM Sri Lanka Association of Software
and Service Companies SLSI Sri Lanka Standards Institution SME Small and medium-sized enterpriseTISI Trade and investment support institutionTVET Technical and vocational education
and training UGC University Grants CommissionUNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade
and DevelopmentWTO World Trade Organization
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
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[ ExECUTiVE SUMMARy ]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The development of Sri Lanka’s IT-BPM industry Strategy is a five-year endeavour and was defined by a consultative process between public and private sector stakeholders. The Strategy aims to transform the country into a global IT-BPM destination and Asia’s favourite centre of excellence. Achieving this objective will depend on the ability of industry and the Government to implement the activities defined in this IT-BPM Strategy. To achieve the Strategy’s targets, stake-holders will need to coordinate actions, monitor progress and mobilize resources for its implementation. Providing business development support to firms, enhancing innovation and cre-ating an enabling business environment are crucial for suc-cessful implementation.
Sri Lanka aims to become a global iT-BPM destination and to unlock sector growth by a factor of five. SLASSCOM foresees the industry achieving US $ 5 billion in exports by 2022, creating 200,000 direct jobs and launching 1,000 start-ups.1 This will be achieved by fostering and enabling an adequate regulatory environment and implementing key guidelines and procedures. This will create conditions that are favourable to starting new companies, operating
1.– Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies and PricewaterhouseCoopers ( 2016 ). Vision 2022 : Sri Lanka IT-BPM Sector. Available from https ://slasscom.lk/report/slasscom-strategy-document-2016.
businesses efficiently, growing markets and building indus-try branding.
In the past decade, the IT-BPM industry in Sri Lanka has seen substantial expansion and had some of the strongest growth among all export sectors. Over the last 10 years, the industry has grown more than 300 %, reaching US $ 1.2 bil-lion in revenue,2 providing jobs to more than 80,000 profes-sionals and contributing 12 % of Sri Lankan service exports.
This innovative and constantly evolving industry can pro-vide significant benefits to the national economy. The Sri Lankan start-up ecosystem is expanding, having creat-ed almost half of all new companies in the computer science area. On average, every IT-BPM job generates 2.5 indirect jobs. IT-BPM work has links to all other sectors, supporting retail, hospitality, engineering, agriculture, healthcare, logis-tics and many other industries. Increased development of the industry will require business assistance for start-ups and SMEs to create and operate efficiently. The industry will grow through the provision of facilities and supporting services such as shared working space and advisory and mentorship programmes. Improving the supply of highly qualified professionals will be essential to satisfy the grow-ing IT-BPM market.
2.– PricewaterhouseCoopers ( 2017 ). ICT/BPM in Sri Lanka – Branding GAP Analysis Report. Colombo.
Figure 1 : Sri Lanka iT-BPM and analytics iCT-enable services
IT
Software R&D
Application development
Application management
IT consulting
Market intelligenceinvestment support market research
fanancial analysis
BPM
Medical transcriptions
Financial transcriptions
Financial and accounting operations(FAO) verticaly served
accounting healthcare bankingtaxation leisure telecommunication
Contact centres operations (CCO)Outbound marketing Customer servicesHospitality services Healthcare services
Data and document conversion
Analytics (KPO)
Legal process outsourcing (LPO)conveyancing
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The iT industry in Sri Lanka has expanded its product base from software and applications development, book-ing support and transaction processing centres. Today the industry offers professional services in a number of differ-ent areas and a full range of IT products, from IT develop-ment and maintenance to innovative solutions for all. There is significant potential for Sri Lankan companies to expand the existing range of products and services to create a full range of new products such as mixed reality, augmented re-ality and Internet of things ( IoT ) solutions, in which software and hardware come together, which will increase the coun-try’s intellectual property ( IP ) products and patents and in-crease its high technology product engineering. For smaller companies, focusing on niche products and services will be the most suitable approach. Untapped opportunities lie in further penetration of fast-growing markets with new prod-ucts for SMEs, the public sector and family-run entities in the Asia–Pacific region, Africa and the Middle East, as well as for large companies and for the diaspora market in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Scandinavian countries.
Sri Lankan iT-BPM companies have earned recognition for their cost-competitive advantages, high quality and edu-cated workforce with developed skills, but international recognition of the industry has been limited. Having an IT-BPM national level brand will benefit both large and small companies. Supporting bigger IT-BPM companies by provid-ing consulting services in sales and marketing, building skills and capacities and expanding marketing and promotion will
improve overall industry performance and increase market outreach and the visibility of the industry.
The following key interventions are priorities in order to facilitate the Strategy’s implementation :
� Create a business-enabling environment, address policy and regulatory bottlenecks swiftly and provide necessary institutional support to improve marketing and promotion of the IT-BPM sector ;
� Launch a ‘champion builder’ programme targeting firms with exponential growth potential that collectively can help boost sector export revenue by US $ 2 billion ; and
� Make the industry become higher value and IP-driven.
The following is a delineation of the proposed vision and strategic objectives of this Strategy. The vision statement was agreed upon by all stakeholders of the IT-BPM indus-try in Sri Lanka :
“ Sri Lanka : A global IT-BPM centre of excellence of high-end product
engineering, IP creation and knowledge process outsourcing ”The strategic Plan of Action ( PoA ) responds to this vision
by addressing key constraints and leveraging opportunities in a comprehensive manner. Particular efforts will be made in the following strategic objectives :
Strategic objective 1: Support investment and exports in the IT-BPM sector through a business-enabling, predictable
and transparent policy and regulatory framework.
Strategic objective 2: Drive export growth through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Strategic objective 3: Improve the supply of skilled highly qualified professionals to satisfy the growing
IT-BPM market.
Strategic objective 4: Grow champion firms ('the US$2 billion plan')
• Create an enabling business environment, implement a formal framework and improve sector institutional coordination to direct the industry in the first step towards improved industry growth.
• Provide business development support to firms and enhance innovation to increase the capacities and outreach of IT-BPM start-ups and SMEs in national and international markets.
• Raise awareness about career opportunities, bring more students to the industry during their studies and encourage international experts to share knowledge with youth to sustain IT-BPM industry growth.
• Initiate proactive investment targeting big companies to improve marketing and visibility for Sri Lanka that will enhance the country’s image as a destination for knowledge services and innovation.
Coordinating activities, monitoring progress and mo-bilizing resources for implementation will be critical to successful achievement of these targets. Accordingly, a public-private Advisory Committee for the IT-BPM industry was established, operationalized and empowered. The IT-BPM Advisory Committee is responsible for overall coordina-tion, provision of rapid solutions to regulatory and procedural bottlenecks, policy guidance and the monitoring of indus-try development against the Strategy’s strategic objectives.
An effectively organized and supported advisory commit-tee will plan industry development strategically. High-level support from the Government, in collaboration with strong championship by the private sector, will be the real driv-ers to transform Sri Lanka into a global iT-BPM destina-tion and Asia’s favourite centre of excellence.
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[ ExECUTiVE SUMMARy ]
Definitions used in this document :
The rapidly changing character of Information and com-munication technology ( ICT ) goods and services has grown in parallel with the need for statistics and analy-sis to support and inform policy making in this area. Since 1999, the OECD Working Party on Indicators for the Information Society has been providing statistical standards and developing definitions of ICT sectors and products, electronic commerce and ICT infrastructure. The Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, in-cluding Eurostat, ITU, UNCTAD, the World Bank and other relevant UN agencies, helps countries to adopt the same statistical standards and definitions for the devel-opment of the information society worldwide.
Despite having a clear definition in international trade statistics, there are currently no agreed upon Partnership indicators for international trade in ICT services. The following are the definitions widely accepted by OECD countries, the European Union and the United National Statistical Commission. For the purpose of international harmonization of terms, the same definitions are used in this Strategy.
The iCT sector is the production ( goods and ser-vices ) of a candidate industry must primarily be in-tended to fulfil or enable the function of information processing and communication by electronic means, including transmission and display.
The iCT products are the products that must primar-ily be intended to fulfil or enable the function of infor-mation processing and communication by electronic means, including transmission and display.
The iCT infrastructure consist of all components that play a role in overall IT and IT-enable operations, namely public switched telecommunication networks, internet and telecommunication equipment, facilities
and services provided to the public ( hardware and software ).
The iCT services is defined in international trade as services including telecommunications and computer and information services.*
The iT services include any type of software devel-opment and implementation, content management and development, programming, application testing, IT consulting, IT support services and IT infrastructure management and maintenance.**
The iCT-enabled services are services products delivered remotely over ICT networks, and includes BPO, BPM, and KPO.
The information society is a conceptual model that encompasses the widely agreed elements of ICT supply, ICT demand, ICT infrastructure, ICT prod-ucts and “content”.
There is no coherent definition for the BPO, BPM or KPO, and the grouping of various services could be created to cover business process outsourcing and manage-ment services. In this Strategy, the Business process outsourcing ( BPO ) is any front and back-office ICT en-able services such as call centres, customer contact centres, simple data entry. The Knowledge process outsourcing ( KPO ) are analytics services such as le-gal process outsourcing, market intelligence and finan-cial and accounting operations vertically served. The Business process management ( BPM ) services cover the delivery of a wide variety of established services, in-cluding financial services, insurance services, etc., but also embrace medical and financial transcription, sales and marketing, management, administration, engineer-ing, R&D, education, as well as any other business ser-vice than can be delivered remotely.***
Source: OECD (2011)v, UNCTAD (2015)
* This definition was approved by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its 47th session in March 2016 based on a proposal by UNCTAD. However, Information services, currently included in the BPM6 standard component 9 Telecommunications, computer, and information services, are not part of the economic activities covered by the OECD’s ICT sector definition. UNCTAD (2015). International trade in ICT services and ICT-enabled services. UNCTAD Technical Notes on ICT for Development No. 3, Geneva.
** UNCTAD’s typology of ICT-based services
*** See Appendix 2 for ICT services complementary grouping.
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
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[ A RAPiDLy EVOLViNG iNDUSTRy DRiVEN By TECHNOLOGiCAL iNNOVATiONS AND DiGiTAL BUSiNESS iNiTiATiVES ]
A RAPIDLY EVOLVING INDUSTRY DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGICAL
INNOVATIONS AND DIGITAL BUSINESS INITIATIVES
Over the last decade, the iT sector has experienced sig-nificant growth and developed remarkable innovations. Strong growth in computer services brought to the IT indus-try new technological trends that are changing how compa-nies do businesses today. The industry has been led mainly by Untied States-based companies that are leaders in their fields, such as high-end devices, digital content distribution and app stores, online search and advertising, social me-dia, e-commerce, cloud services and productivity software. Now they are actively diversifying into new businesses.3 Companies offer more and more software solutions provid-ing different type of services, and new global players such as Alibaba, Baidu and Huawei – successful in their home markets – are expanding their scope abroad. There is also a recent tendency for firms providing financial, medical, health-care and legal services to become software companies or companies offering services online. These companies are investing more in the IoT, content, advertising, emerging dis-tribution technologies and devices and services based on fifth generation telecommunications standards.4
Telecommunication, computer and information services have experience increasing export value, with strongly growing computer services. ICT services5 was the most dy-namic sector among commercial services in 2016, growing
3.– Ibid.4.– Ibid.5.– Analyses of trade in ICT services commonly include trade in telecommunications services and in computer and information services, using data from the IMF balance of payments statistics. However, as ICT definition varies and depends on each country, some of them do not report on all three component of ICT commonly accepted components.
by over 4 % ( see figure 2 ) to US $ 493 billion.6 In the 2005–2016 period, the ICT compound annual growth rate was 12.41 % ( see figure 3 ). Outsourced digital business solutions are often used by companies, and ICT uses digital means to connect business processes so that the company can transfer or use those digital business solutions.
6.– World Trade Organization ( 2017 ). WTO Trade Statistical Review 2017. Washington, D.C. Available at https ://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/wts2017_e/wts2017_e.pdf.
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
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Figure 2 : World exports of commercial services by main category, 2016 ( annual change, per cent )
Telecommunication, computerand information services
Personal, cultural and recreational services
Other business services
Insurance and pension services
Charges for the use of intellectual property
Financial services
Construction
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
Source : World Trade Organization, ITC and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ( UNCTAD ) ( 2017 ). WTO-ITC-UNCTAD
annual trade in services database. Sourced from Eurostat, the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) Balance of Payments Statistics and from
the Trade in Services by Partner Country dataset of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ).
Figure 3 : Exported value of global telecommunications, computer, and information services, 2005–2016 ( US $ billion )
600.000.000
500.000.000
400.000.000
300.000.000
200.000.000
100.000.000
02005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
493
118
Source : World Trade Organization, ITC and UNCTAD ( 2017 ). WTO-ITC-UNCTAD annual trade in services database. Sourced from Eurostat,
the IMF Balance of Payments Statistics and from the Trade in Services by Partner Country dataset of the OECD.
Business process outsourcing ( BPO ) is becoming com-moditized and competition is increasing. The global BPO market continues to grow slowly, with increased competition in all segments of the industry. More experienced players are moving into higher-end services, end-to-end business process outsourcing and domain-specific expertise, while new countries continue to announce themselves as BPO destinations. Definitions for segments of BPO services
are becoming wider and providers are becoming more specialized in their offerings. Key technology innovations are driving companies to outsource business processes. Larger offshore players are setting up onshore or near-shore service centres in key geographic locations. India is a leader in providing offshore BPO services, but China is closing the skill gap with India and is expected to outper-form in coming years. Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Viet Nam
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and the Philippines follow in the ranking of top ten global out-sourcing countries.7 The United States of America remains the country most likely to import offshore ICT services, with nearly two-thirds of ICT imports in computer services. 8
Data privacy and data security is particularly important for BPO and outsourcing services. Outsourcing transactions
7.– Sethi, Arun and J. Gott ( 2016 ). The Widening Impact of Automation. New York : A.T. Kearney Global Services. Available at https ://www.atkearney. com/digital-transformation/article?/a/the-widening-impact-of-automation-article.8.– World Trade Organization, ITC and UNCTAD ( 2017 ). WTO-ITC-UNCTAD annual trade in services database. Available at https ://www.wto.org/english/ res_e/statis_e/trade_datasets_e.htm. Accessed December 1, 2017.
involves sensitive data processing and increased cyber-security threats, which mean more difficulties in managing data privacy and security. The number of cybersecurity inci-dents worldwide is increasing and many countries have in-troduced regulations on data protection. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ) holds data processors responsible for protection of personal data. Should a data breach occur, even third party providers can be account-able. Similar regulation will encourage companies to com-ply with data protection laws and regulations regarding the processing, storage, handling, collection and transmission of data.
Box 1 : The EU GDPR
Approved by the EU Parliament on 14 April 2016, this regula-tion will be directly applied by all member states from 25 May 2018. The regulation was designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens’ data privacy and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy.
The GDPR not only applies to organizations located within the EU but also will apply to organizations outside the EU if they offer goods or services to EU data subjects. It applies to all companies that are processing and holding the personal data of data subjects residing in the EU, regardless of the company’s location. A data
protection officer must be appointed in an organization that engages in large scale processing of sensitive personal data.
Most established BPO destinations are aligning their regulations with the GDPR to ensure compliance at national or sector level. Personal data is allowed to leave the European Economic Area only if there is a sufficient data protection standard in the destina-tion country. When a country has been awarded the status of a country that meets the GDPR standards, information can pass freely between that country and the European Economic Area. Company-to-company model agreements can be also used.
Source : European Union, https : / / www.eugdpr.org
THE RAPID PACE OF INNOVATION COMBINING SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE SOLUTIONS The IT industry is evolving constantly and new trends change the global pattern. The following are the emerging IT-BPM trends that need to be considered when planning industry development :
� ioT is considered a very disruptive technology that incor-porates smart physical objects into the networked society and digital value networks.9 IoT affects all sectors of the economy and has the potential to transform business-to-customer relationships that are enabled by smart objects.
9.– Oberlaender, Anna Maria and others ( 2017 ) Conceptualising business-to-thing interactions – a sociomaterial perspective on the Internet of Things. European Journal of Information Systems. ( In press ).
A new concept of business-to-thing has emerged and the rise of IoT has facilitated significantly the abilities of businesses to connect, track and measure technologies and human interactions in a digital environment. It can be easily integrated to manage functions such as administra-tion, payroll, recruitment, organizational safety and other tasks that were previously or currently are managed by humans.10 The management of IoT applications should benefit BPM concepts, methods and technologies and eventually should integrate BPM. IoT can reduce manual tasks and lead to more accurate data, reduced errors
10.– Venkatesh, A.N. ( 2017 ). Connecting the Dots : Internet of Things and Human Resource Management. American International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, February 8, 2017. ISSN ( Print ) : 2328-3734.
Available at https ://ssrn.com/abstract=2913400.
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and efficiency gains.11 Businesses however, will have to secure their networks and data to deploy products that are appropriate and protected.
� Big data is data that contains a great variety of data points, which are arriving in increasing volumes and with ever higher velocity.12 Generated from numerous trans-action, production and communication processes, big data is accelerating knowledge and value creation across society. Big data is the core of almost every digital trans-formation today. New analytical techniques and models are being developed to reveal the value provided by this data. Big data solutions help to predict product and con-sumer trends, expose product reliability and enable better customer services. Data-driven innovation, in this regard, refers to the improvement of existing or the development of new products, processes, organizational methods and markets.13 It has the potential to increase efficiency, pro-ductivity and economic competitiveness. IT companies are rapidly deploying big data processing, storage and integration technologies on public cloud-based solutions. It is easier for SMEs than for larger companies to imple-ment synergy between BPM and big data due to more inherent flexibility and shorter implementation periods. However, systematic human interaction remains impor-tant in order to implement and obtain the best results from big data analytics.
� Cloud computing offers an innovative business model through which organizations can adopt IT without upfront investment, software licenses and other requirements. Even governments have become more interested in using cloud computing to reduce in-real-time costs and increase the capabilities and reach of their service delivery.14 It can offer a number of benefits to companies, including re-duced implementation and maintenance costs, increased mobility for a global workforce, flexible infrastructure, quicker time to market and increased availability of high-performance applications and innovation for SMEs. Cloud computing was adopted much more quickly than initially expected, but the security model has significant issues and data sovereignty is still questionable, which impacts adoption of the cloud model. This new technol-ogy can eventually reduce upfront costs for new BPM
11.– Janiesch, Christian and others ( 2017 ). The Internet-of-Things Meets Business Process Management : Mutual Benefits and Challenges. Available at https ://arxiv.org/abs/1709.03628v1. 12.– Heller, Peter and others ( 2016 ). An Enterprise Architect’s Guide to Big Data. Oracle Enterprise Architecture White Paper. Redwood Shores : Oracle Corporation. Available at http ://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/entarch/articles/oea-big-data-guide-1522052.pdf. 13.– OECD ( 2015 ). Data-Driven Innovation : Big Data for Growth and Well-Being. Paris : OECD Publishing. Available at http ://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264229358-en. 14.– Almorsy, M., J. Grundy and I. Miller ( 2016 ). An Analysis of the Cloud Computing Security Problem. Available at https ://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1609/1609.01107.pdf.
operations that are sourced from the cloud with pay-by-usage contact centre packages. With cloud computing, BPM adoption will expand and become more advanced.
� Data analytics and data mining are the processes of ex-tracting and using knowledge from data that lead to bet-ter diagnostics, efficient monitoring and better analysis in various disciplines such as computer science, statistics, mathematics, logistics and others. The data analytics process produces models for solving problems and in-cludes acquiring, pre-processing, modelling, testing and reporting data. Data mining represents the process of finding the required structure in data to develop certain insights. The structure may take many forms, including a graph, a network, a set of rules, etc. The knowledge re-ceived from a data mining session is a generalized model of the data.15 Integrating data mining into business pro-cess allows flexible design, deployment and manage-ment of business processes, and companies using data mining in business processes can improve their produc-tivity and cost efficiency.
� Robotic process automation ( RPA ) is a software based solution to automate rules-based business processes that involve routine tasks, structured data and determinis-tic outcomes. Most of these solutions were used on back-office business process operations in which the customer was not directly involved. The use of RPA has a number of benefits in terms of productivity, costs, speed and error reduction. RPA allows organizations to automate current tasks and does not require complex integration process-es, as RPA interacts with individual systems in the same way as a human user and robotic software can be rap-idly modelled, with subsequent deployment of automa-tion. On average, RPA software processes are three times faster than if the same work was undertaken by humans, and cost one-third as much as an offshore employee and one-fifth as much as onshore staff. RPA can save 25 % to 50 % in costs in select back-office processes. RPA can threaten low-skills jobs but it represents an opportunity for sophisticated solutions for BPM operations.
For companies to follow global iT trends and to keep up with industry expansion, innovation is important, but it is necessary also to focus on affordability, reliability and the quality of provided services. To succeed in an econo-my driven by innovation, businesses should adapt efficient management solutions, develop new skills required for data processing and comply with the rules and standards for the industry. Legal and regulatory frameworks should match the pace of technology advancement, as well as be aligned to emerging global requirements for data protection and cybersecurity.
15.– Roiger, Richard ( 2016 ). Data Mining : A Tutorial-Based Primer, Second Edition. Boca Raton : CRC Press.
9
[ A RAPiDLy EVOLViNG iNDUSTRy DRiVEN By TECHNOLOGiCAL iNNOVATiONS AND DiGiTAL BUSiNESS iNiTiATiVES ]
With improved economic conditions, global demand for iT software and services has been on the rise. Ireland is a leader in exporting ICT services ( see figure 4 ) because the country has a competitive tax environment and an open economy which attracts many European, Middle Eastern and African headquarters of global IT companies, including
Google, Facebook, PayPal, Amazon, Twitter, Intel, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, MSN and Adobe. Among the coun-tries that import IT services, the United States is number one, while the Netherlands, Germany and France are also top im-porters of IT services ( see figure 5 ).
Figure 4 : Top 10 countries exporting iCT services and Sri Lanka, 2016 ( US $ thousands )
80.000.00070.000.00060.000.00050.000.00040.000.00030.000.00020.000.00010.000.000
-
Irelan
dInd
ia
Netherl
ands USA
German
yChin
a
United
Kingdo
mFra
nce
Sweden
Switzerla
nd
Sri Lan
ka
Source : World Trade Organization, ITC and UNCTAD ( 2017 ). WTO-ITC-UNCTAD annual trade in services database. Sourced from Eurostat,
the IMF Balance of Payments Statistics and from the Trade in Services by Partner Country dataset of the OECD.
Figure 5 : Top 10 countries importing iCT services, 2016 ( US $ thousands )
40.000.00035.000.00030.000.00025.000.00020.000.00015.000.00010.000.0005.000.000
-
United
States
Netherl
ands
German
yFra
nce
Switzerla
ndJa
pan
United
Kingdo
mChin
aIta
ly
Belgium
Source : World Trade Organization, ITC and UNCTAD ( 2017 ). WTO-ITC-UNCTAD annual trade in services database. Sourced from Eurostat,
the IMF Balance of Payments Statistics and from the Trade in Services by Partner Country dataset of the OECD.
10
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
BPM, AN EFFICIENT WAY OF ADAPTING TO THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
The BPM sector shows growth in various application ar-eas, especially in the iT, telecom and healthcare sectors. In 2016, the global BPM market was worth US $ 6.96 billion ; the industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 13.52 % during 2017–2021 to reach US $ 14.89 billion by 2021.16 This growth is caused mainly by the benefits offered by BPM so-lutions, including cost and time efficiency, better productivity, ease of use, flexibility and the capacity to monitor individu-al processes throughout the entire lifecycle. Organizations looking for optimization of their business processes are most likely to adopt BPM software.
Banking, financial services and insurance, the public sector, consumer products and retail businesses use the most
16.– MarketsandMarkets ( 2016 ). Business Process Management Market by Solution, by Service, by Deployment Type ( Cloud, On-Premises ), by Organization Size ( SMES, Enterprises ), by Business Function, by Industry Vertical, by Region ( NA, Europe, APAC, MEA, LA ) Global Forecast to 2021. Hadapsar.
BPM solutions. Due to the early adoption of BPM services in public, banking and financial sectors, North American com-panies dominated the industry with more than 30 % share in 2015. The Asia–Pacific region is gradually growing, and a number of countries provide more and more BPM ser-vices, thanks to the large scale industrialization and emer-gence of several start-ups in India, China and countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.
A continuously developing sector, iT-BPM puts an impor-tant focus on research and development ( R&D ) initiatives that help companies stay competitive. To diversify skills, to develop new offers that provide different solutions and to keep up the increasing pace of industry development, merger and acquisition by bigger players is also anticipat-ed as a key trend.17
17.– Ibid.
• Although the sector starts from a low base, export growth demonstrates the interest in and recognition of Sri Lankan products by markets. Consistent export growth demonstrates that the country is in a good position to upscale the sector and transform it into a leading industry, serving as a major component of national branding and becoming a leading foreign exchange earner.
• Over the last decade, the IT sector has experienced significant growth and remarkable and continually evolving innovations.
• BPO is becoming commoditized and competition is increasing.
• Data privacy and data security is particularly important for BPO and outsourcing services.
• The IT industry evolves constantly and new trends change the global pattern.
• To follow global trends in IT and to keep up with industry expansion, innovation is important, but it is also necessary to focus on the affordability, reliability and quality of the services provided.
• A continuously developing sector, IT-BPM puts an impor-tant focus on R&D initiatives that help companies to stay competitive.
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
11
[ SRi LANKA’S GROWTH PATHWAy : FROM LOW-END AND SiMPLE TO HiGH-END AND COMPLEx iT-BPM PRODUCTS ]
SRI LANKA’S GROWTH PATHWAY : FROM LOW-END AND SIMPLE TO HIGH-END AND COMPLEX
IT-BPM PRODUCTS
The Sri Lankan iT-BPM industry has seen substantial growth in the past decade and has very strong potential to increase export revenue compared to other sectors. The overall ICT sector has experienced growth over past 10 years, growing on average by 17.31 % per year ( see figure 6 ). The IT industry’s share of exported Sri Lankan services is 12 %. Large companies contribute over 85 % and it is one of the largest export revenue earners, with 95 % value addi-tion. More than 300 IT companies operate in Sri Lanka and
the IT-BPM sector directly employs more than 80,000 profes-sionals. IT-BPM achieved a growth of almost 300 % over the last 10 years and in 2017 reached US $ 1.2 billion in revenues. SLASSCOM foresees the industry achieving US $ 5 billion in exports by 2022.18
18.– Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies and PricewaterhouseCoopers ( 2016 ). Vision 2022 : Sri Lanka IT-BPM Sector. Colombo. Available at https ://slasscom.lk/report/slasscom-strategy-document-2016.
Figure 6 : Sri Lanka iCT export
900.000800.000700.000600.000500.000400.000300.000200.000100.000
-2005
Computer services Telecommunications services
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Source : World Trade Organization, ITC and UNCTAD ( 2017 ). WTO-ITC-UNCTAD annual trade in services database. Sourced from Eurostat,
the IMF Balance of Payments Statistics and from the Trade in Services by Partner Country dataset of the OECD.
12
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
The Sri Lankan iT industry has earned recognition and has the established labour pool to move forward and to bring more and bigger contracts to Sri Lankan iT profes-sionals. Sri Lankan IT companies have had a number of contracts with global leaders and the country is emerging as an international IT destination of choice for several key focus domain areas. The IT infrastructure offers tier one ser-vices with a tier two cost structure, fast adoptive technology and a trainable and competent work force, most of which is under 30 years of age.
Despite the relatively recent development of the BPM seg-ment, this niche in the Sri Lankan iT industry represents a number of high-end products developed by local SMEs that are in demand in global markets. The BPM industry is emerging and already offering high-end product engi-neering built around relevant cost-competitive advantages, high quality and an educated workforce pool with devel-oped skills. The country has chosen to concentrate efforts on selected areas such as financing and accounting, among others, because of the large number of internationally cer-tified professionals in accounting. Higher education in ac-counting and finance is offered in Sri Lankan public and private institutes and by the main professional accounting bodies.19 Sri Lanka has the largest pool of qualified pro-
19.– The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka ; the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, United Kingdom ; the Institute of Certified Management Accountants ; Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, United Kingdom and The Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka offer professional accounting qualifications.
fessionals holding the United Kingdom-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountant’s Certificate in Business Accounting outside the United Kingdom.
Sri Lanka’s start-up ecosystem is expanding, having cre-ated almost half of all new companies in the computer sci-ence area. Sri Lanka has a growing number of start-ups in the IT industry and various programmes such as Venture Engine, the Startup Sri Lanka Next Generation programme, SeedStars Colombo, StartupXFoundry and John Keells X Open Innovation Challenge support their development. These programmes allow young entrepreneurs and devel-opers to find affordable workspaces, access international and local investment and overcome barriers to future growth. Despite that, limited office space facilities for IT start-ups re-mains one of the bottlenecks for industry expansion.
The IT industry has expanded its product base beyond soft-ware and application development, call centre and book-ing support and transaction processing centres. Today the industry offers professional services in different areas and a full range of IT products, from IT development and main-tenance to innovative solutions and IP creation. Sri Lankan IT companies have been providing services to global cli-ents for customized and outsourced software development ( see figure 7 ). The services most in demand are for product categories such as software for travel and tourism, com-puter graphic design, mobile application, e-commerce and content management systems for websites. These products have high potential to be developed in the future.
Figure 7 : Existing iT products and future market orientations
Software products, solutions to emerging markets (owned in Sri Lanka: patent, trademark)
Products
IPcreation
5%
Share of curent export value
30%
40%
25%
High-end productengineering
Customized softwaredevelopment
Outsourced software development,training and maintenance
Target markets: United States, Canada, EU, Japan
Software, application, products development locally, but owned abroad (concept from abroadTarget markets: United States, United Kingdom, EU, Australia
Content management, customer management, human resource management
Target markets: Australia, United Kingdom, Japan, Scandinavian countries
Technical support with software maintenance
Target markets: Australia, United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Scandinavian countries
Source : Adapted from Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies and PricewaterhouseCoopers ( 2016 ) Vision 2022 :
Sri Lanka IT-BPM Sector and based on stakeholder consultations.
13
[ SRi LANKA’S GROWTH PATHWAy : FROM LOW-END AND SiMPLE TO HiGH-END AND COMPLEx iT-BPM PRODUCTS ]
Professional services from low-end, simple activities to high-end, complex activities in various fields also are pro-vided as offshore services for international companies. Financial and accounting services are the most demanded, but Sri Lankan companies also have qualified professionals in knowledge process outsourcing ( KPO ) services such as engineering, law and architecture. Other specialized services provided by companies include healthcare KPO services, legal process outsourcing and macro and socioeconomic research. KPO activities such as call centre and booking support and basic analytics are also in high demand and have great potential. The range of services vary from low-end, simple tasks such as book keeping and payroll pro-cessing to high-end, complex activities, including investment and quantitative research, financial analysis and others.
The export clients of Sri Lankan iT companies are not only big international companies but also SMEs from abroad, many of which were founded by members of the Sri Lankan diaspora. A number of large foreign compa-nies are clients for Sri Lankan IT, software and BPM ser-vices, including the holiday booking sections of Emirates and Qatar Airways and immigration entities in Mauritius and Fiji. Several multinational companies have set up offshore business support operations in Sri Lanka, including HSBC, the London Stock Exchange, Pearson, Sysco, Navantis and others. Along with large Sri Lankan companies that have already gained a reputation in regional and international markets, there are smaller companies that target mainly
medium-sized companies abroad. Many of their clients are from the diaspora. Most of these projects are from Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and France.
Sri Lankan BPM companies provide professional services in various fields, but, with a large pool of internationally certified accountants, finance and accounting services lead professional services exports. The BPM segment con-sists of outsourced business process management opera-tions and analytics outsourcing operations ( see figure 8 ). Other value added services include such services as data and document conversion and financial and accounting ver-tical service operations, as well as services in banking, tax-ation, healthcare and leisure. Other value added services include legal process outsourcing and market intelligence services, in addition to investment support, financial analysis and conveyancing. Companies providing outsourced BPM operations services take a larger share in export value terms ( around 70 % ) and work mainly with multinational corpora-tions ( MNC ), while analytics services are mainly provided to SMEs in the Middle East, Africa and Asia–Pacific counties.20 The finance and accounting services lead the industry, but the number providing offshore analytics services, legal and medical diagnostics and architectural services are growing.
20.– Stakeholders consultations results and Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies and PricewaterhouseCoopers ( 2016 ). Vision 2022 : Sri Lanka IT-BPM Sector. Colombo. Available at https ://slasscom.lk/report/slasscom-strategy-document-2016.
Figure 8 : Existing BPM products and future market orientations
Legal process outsourcing:• conveyancingMarket intelligence:• investment support• market research• financial analysisFinancial and Accounting Outsourcing verticals served operations:• accounting• healthcare• banking• taxation• leisureTarget markets: African, Asia Pacific and Middle East countries
Contact centre operations:• outbound marketing• customer services• hospitality services• healthcare servicesTarget markets: New Zealand, Canada, African countries
ProductsShare of export value
30%
70%
Analytics• Data and
document conversion• Financial and
medical transcriptions
Outsourced business processmanagement (contact centres)
Source : Adapted from Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies and PricewaterhouseCoopers ( 2016 ), Vision 2022 :
Sri Lanka IT-BPM Sector and based on stakeholder consultations.
14
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
Sri Lankan companies have a number of advantages compared to other iT-BPM destinations in the region in terms of financial attractiveness and information security. Average associated costs can be 30 % lower than other off-shore destinations and the country’s investment laws permit total foreign ownership, with no restrictions on repatriation of earnings, fees, capital or forex transactions relating to current account payments. The country has the most rigor-ous IP protection regimes in region and an efficient IT infra-structure. Broadband, leased-line and satellite connectivity is widely available, and there are eight telecom operators and three international submarine cables.
Even though the industry has great importance for the country, its share in the global market is low. The Sri Lankan IT-BPM sector is small in comparison to regional peers and global leaders, both in volume and value ( see fig-ure 9 ). Sri Lanka as an IT-BPM destination is not well known globally, despite some big international companies using its services. The share for ICT services in Sri Lankan exports is also much lower than for ICT exports in neighbouring coun-tries ( see figure 10 ).
Figure 9 : Regional competitors’ iCT services export value, excluding india
8.000.000
6.000.000
4.000.000
2.000.000
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Malaysia Indonesia
Thailand
Source : World Trade Organization, ITC and UNCTAD ( 2017 ). WTO-ITC-UNCTAD annual trade in services database. Sourced from Eurostat,
the IMF Balance of Payments Statistics and from the Trade in Services by Partner Country dataset of the OECD.
Figure 10 : Share of iCT services exports as of total services exports, 2015
PhilippinesIndia
MauritiusSingapore
BangladeshIndonesiaMalaysiaThailand
Sri Lanka
0 20 40 60 80
72.29%67.28%
30.12%29.37%
28.3%26.5%
23.73%15.24%13.24%
Source : World Bank ( 2015 ). Sri Lanka Innovation, ICT and Competitiveness. Draft working paper. Washington, D.C. : World Bank.
15
[ SRi LANKA’S GROWTH PATHWAy : FROM LOW-END AND SiMPLE TO HiGH-END AND COMPLEx iT-BPM PRODUCTS ]
Although the talent pool of IT professionals in Sri Lanka is limited, a technically qualified workforce together with low la-bour costs gives the country a strong advantage ( see figure 11 ). The size of the IT-BPM industry is directly linked to the number of professionals working in the sector. Even though the size of the workforce in the sector is limited, it continues to grow rapidly. Some state and private educational institu-tions offer diplomas in computer science and engineering and in IT ; most university offer degrees in accounting and finance, as well as post graduates diplomas and master pro-grammes in this field. Around 5,000 students graduate annu-ally with IT diplomas, with more graduating in technical and professional disciplines related to BPM ( engineering, law, architecture ). At the same time, the IT-BPM companies pro-vide internal and external training to their employees, as well as initial training of between three and seven weeks when starting a job. A number of workers have more than one fi-nance or accounting qualification and have internationally recognized certifications, such as those from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, the Chartered Institute
of Management Accountants in the United Kingdom, the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the United Kingdom.
Sector support is provided mainly through chambers and IT associations that concentrate efforts on developing a start-up ecosystem and on capacity building, while the Government of Sri Lanka is committed to improving the busi-ness environment. The Government recognizes the impor-tance of sector development by making efforts to increase IT literacy at the national level and by encouraging investment in the sector through the provision of special tax benefits for IT-BPM. The Government is also committed to improving the business climate in the country by digitalizing the processes for registering employees and paying taxes online. Foreign investment in higher education also has been liberalized to attract private universities to establish branches in Sri Lanka. However, there are other challenges that companies face, namely with supply-side capacity and market entry.
Figure 11 : Thematic areas for successful iT-BPM development
Branding
Workforcecapacity
Workforceretention
Regionalization:inclusive growth
Businessinfrastructure
Attract FDIs
US$5 billion revenue,200 000 jobs,1,000 startups Entrepreneurship
and start-ups
Source : Adapted from Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies and PricewaterhouseCoopers ( 2016 ) Vision 2022 :
Sri Lanka IT-BPM Sector and based on stakeholder consultations.
• The Sri Lankan IT-BPM industry has seen substantial growth in the past decade and has great potential to increase export revenue compared with other sectors.
• The IT industry has earned recognition, thanks to cost-competitive advantages and a high-quality and educated workforce pool with developed skills, and is ready to move
forward and bring more and bigger contracts to Sri Lankan IT companies.
• The relatively recent development of the BPM sector, a niche IT industry in Sri Lanka, today is represented by high-end products developed by local SMEs that are in demand in global markets.
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
17
[ VALUE CHAiN DiAGNOSTiCS ]
VALUE CHAIN DIAGNOSTICS
The value chain analysis in figure 12 and in table 1 gives a better understanding of the dynamics in and the issues af-fecting performance of the industry.
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
18
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
Figure 12 : iT-BPM value chain
Labo
ur L
aw
Hard
war
e
Elec
trici
ty, t
elec
om,
inte
rnet
Softw
are
R&D
R&D
Inte
llect
ual p
rope
rty
right
s
IT in
vest
men
t and
exp
ort
prom
otio
nIT
regu
latio
ns (e
-sig
natu
re,
cybe
r sec
urity
)
Regu
lato
ry a
nd p
olic
y in
puts
Softw
are
deve
lope
rs H
ardw
are
engi
neer
s Co
mpu
ter p
rogr
amm
ers
Acco
unta
nts
Mar
kete
rsHe
alth
pro
fess
iona
ls L
awye
rs A
rchi
tect
s
TVET
Glob
al u
nive
rsity
par
tner
ship
Ph.D
Lege
nd Natio
nal c
ompo
nent
Inte
rnat
iona
l com
pone
nt
Mix
ed c
ompo
nent
High
edu
catio
n
Skill
ed la
bour
Busi
ness
eco
syst
em
Dom
estic
mar
ket
Busi
ness
Gove
rnm
ent
IT
Inte
rnat
iona
l mar
kets
Mar
kets
Unite
d Ki
ngdo
m
Unite
d St
ates
Cana
da
EU Japa
n
Aust
ralia
Afric
a
Mid
dle
East
Asia
Softw
are
prod
ucts
, ap
plic
atio
ns, F
AO, L
PO, C
CO
Softw
are
prod
ucts
, ap
plic
atio
ns, F
AO, L
PO, C
CO
Softw
are
prod
ucts
Softw
are
prod
ucts
Softw
are
prod
ucts
FAO
CCO
FAO
CCO
Othe
r BPM
CCO
Prod
ucts
Anal
ytic
s (K
PO)
BPM
Med
ical
tran
scrip
tions
Fina
ncia
l tra
nscr
iptio
ns
Cont
act c
entr
es o
pera
tions
(CCO
)Ou
tboa
nd m
arke
ting
Cust
omer
ser
vice
sHo
spita
lity
serv
ices
Hea
lthca
re s
ervi
ces
Data
and
doc
umen
t con
vers
ion
Lega
l pro
cess
out
sour
cing
(LPO
)co
nvey
anci
ng
Mar
ket i
ntel
ligen
cein
vest
men
t sup
port
mar
ket r
esea
rch
finan
cial
ana
lysi
s
Fina
ncia
l and
acc
ount
ing
oper
atio
ns(F
AO) v
ertic
aly
serv
edac
coun
ting
heal
thca
re b
anki
ngta
xatio
n le
isur
e te
leco
mm
unic
atio
n
Softw
are
R&D
Appl
icat
ion
deve
lopm
ent
Appl
icat
ion
man
agm
ent
IT c
onsu
lting
Capi
tal/f
inan
cing
Supp
liers
of e
nabl
ing
serv
ices
Offic
e sp
ace
Inpu
tsPr
oduc
t dev
elop
men
tM
arke
t ent
ry
19
[ VALUE CHAiN DiAGNOSTiCS ]
Table 1 : Constraints faced by the iT-BPM industry in Sri Lanka
Lim
ited
finan
cial
and
infr
astr
uctu
ral s
uppo
rt to
enc
oura
ge e
ntre
pren
eurs
hip
and
IT-B
PM s
tart
-ups
:•
Lim
ited
avai
labi
lity
of c
omm
on s
hare
d sp
ace
prov
ided
to IT
sta
rt-u
ps b
y th
e Go
vern
men
t to
build
eco
-sys
tem
.•
Lim
ited
finan
cial
sup
port
to re
duce
the
oper
atio
nal c
osts
of o
ffice
spa
ce.
Lim
ited
avai
labi
lity
of in
dust
ry-r
elev
ant w
orkf
orce
dim
inis
hes
supp
ly-s
ide
capa
city
:•
Wor
kfor
ce p
ipel
ine
is n
arro
w.
• M
igra
tion
of ta
lent
.
Out
date
d la
bour
regu
latio
n le
ads
to la
bour
cha
lleng
es:
• Li
mite
d fle
xibi
lity
in la
bour
regu
latio
ns, s
peci
fical
ly re
latin
g to
nee
ds to
:
- Re
form
the
com
pens
atio
n fo
rmul
a fo
r IT
busi
ness
es (t
o al
low
flex
ibilit
y in
und
erta
king
inte
rnat
iona
l pro
ject
s).
-
Perm
it w
orki
ng h
ours
for w
omen
afte
r 22:
00.
• Co
mpl
icat
ed p
roce
dure
of g
ettin
g w
orke
rs/o
ccup
atio
nal v
isa
for I
T-BP
M in
dust
ry d
ue to
intro
duct
ion
of q
uota
s sy
stem
. L
imite
d in
dust
ry-a
cade
mia
col
labo
ratio
n:•
Diffi
culti
es in
brin
ging
the
exis
ting
wor
kfor
ce in
to in
dust
ry (w
ork
forc
e co
nver
sion
).•
Low
aw
aren
ess
of in
dust
ry c
aree
r pro
spec
ts w
ithin
the
BPM
sec
tor a
mon
g yo
uth,
esp
ecia
lly in
the
regi
ons.
• Li
mite
d co
ordi
natio
n be
twee
n pr
ivat
e se
ctor
and
aca
dem
ia o
n cu
rric
ulum
dev
elop
men
t and
inco
rpor
atio
n of
IT a
nd
appl
ied
skills
into
hig
her e
duca
tion
inst
itutio
ns’ p
rogr
amm
es.
Inad
equa
te p
olic
y an
d re
gula
tory
fram
ewor
k im
pede
s su
stai
nabl
e gr
owth
of I
T-BP
M in
dust
ry:
• Lo
ng, c
ostly
and
bur
dens
ome
proc
edur
e to
sta
rt a
nd to
clo
se a
bus
ines
s.•
Rest
rictiv
e fo
reig
n ex
chan
ge ru
les,
incl
udin
g a
man
dato
ry d
epos
it on
a F
orei
gn E
xcha
nge
Earn
ers
Acco
unt (
FEEA
) and
th
ose
rela
ting
to o
vers
eas
empl
oyee
sha
re o
ptio
n sc
hem
es (E
SOS)
.•
Rest
ricte
d ac
cess
to in
tern
atio
nal o
nlin
e pa
ymen
t sys
tem
s (s
uch
as P
ay P
al) d
ue to
pen
ding
e-p
aym
ent r
egul
atio
n.•
Lack
of r
egul
atio
n to
impl
emen
t a le
gal f
ram
ewor
k fo
r acc
eptin
g el
ectro
nic
sign
atur
es.
• Co
mpl
icat
ed IP
regi
stra
tion
regi
me.
Inad
equa
te in
dust
ry b
rand
ing
and
no p
roac
tive
inve
stor
s ta
rget
ing
limit
mar
ket o
utre
ach
and
awar
enes
s ab
out I
T in
dust
ry:
• La
ck o
f bra
ndin
g st
rate
gy to
pro
mot
e th
e in
dust
ry lo
cally
and
inte
rnat
iona
lly.
• Li
mite
d Go
vern
men
t sup
port
for s
how
casi
ng th
e Sr
i Lan
kan
IT in
dust
ry a
t reg
iona
l and
inte
rnat
iona
l lev
els.
• Su
ppor
t cha
lleng
es w
ith fo
reig
n m
issi
ons
and
com
mer
cial
atta
chés
for t
rade
pro
mot
ion
abro
ad.
• La
ck o
f col
labo
rativ
e go
vern
men
t-to-
gove
rnm
ent p
rogr
amm
es to
pro
mot
e IT
and
ove
rsea
s pa
rtne
rshi
ps.
Lim
ited
gove
rnm
ent-i
ndus
try
dial
ogue
hin
ders
the
IT-B
PM s
ecto
r dev
elop
men
t:•
No c
oord
inat
ion
mec
hani
sm a
long
the
IT in
dust
ry v
alue
cha
in in
the
coun
try.
• Li
mite
d aw
aren
ess
by p
ublic
aut
horit
ies
on h
ow to
sup
port
indu
stry
dev
elop
men
t.
Lim
ited
mar
ket i
ntel
ligen
ce a
nd n
o kn
owle
dge
shar
ing
amon
g bi
g an
d sm
all c
ompa
nies
abo
ut
mar
ket o
ppor
tuni
ties
resu
lts in
insu
ffici
ent
acce
ss to
fore
ign
inve
stor
s:•
Lim
ited
info
rmat
ion
abou
t glo
bal t
rend
s an
d cl
ient
dem
ands
.•
Insu
ffici
ent k
now
ledg
e of
glo
bal s
tand
ards
in
com
putin
g.•
Low
ove
rsea
s ne
twor
king
cap
aciti
es o
f co
mpa
nies
.•
Insu
ffici
ent p
artic
ipat
ion
by S
MEs
in d
eleg
a-tio
ns g
oing
abr
oad
to a
cces
s an
d al
ign
thei
r in
tere
st w
ith in
vest
ors.
Inpu
tsPr
oduc
tion
Mar
ket e
ntry
Lege
nd:
Ente
rpris
e pe
rfor
man
ce is
sues
Re
gula
tory
and
pol
icy
issu
es
Inst
itutio
nal a
nd c
oord
inat
ion
issu
es
20
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
FOCUSING ON THE MOST PRESSING ISSUES
Extensive stakeholder consultations, field visits and litera-ture reviews have revealed constraints in the IT-BPM sector that challenge its short and medium-term growth. To en-sure that the Strategy is efficient and precise, only the most critical bottlenecks to be addressed in this Strategy are de-tailed below.
Inputs and production issues
Inadequate policy and regulatory framework impedes sustainable growth of IT-BPM industry
Bottlenecks exist in the policy framework that can impede successful industry development. Regulatory constraints relating to the opening and closing of businesses do not enable companies to start or to fail cheaply. There is a cost-ly closing down fee and no incentive to create a business. Labour regulation is not adequately flexible : it is difficult to break a labour contract and three months noticed must be given by an employee wishing to leave a company. Despite the high literacy rate among women and with a 60 % female share of enrolments in university, the female labour force participation rate is around 35 %, while the male participation rate is at 75 %. The IT-BPM sector traditionally is perceived as a male dominated sector and current regulation impedes women’s integration into the industry, partly because of the policy on late working hours for women. Another policy limi-tation is the restraint on students having full-time occupa-tions while being a full-time student, which stops students from getting complete practical experience. In addition, ob-taining a worker / occupational visa to bring foreign profes-sionals and experts into the country for the IT-BPM industry requires going through complex procedures.
The IT-BPM sector is based on outsourced activities. No guidelines exist to implement the Electronic Transaction Act, No. 19 of 2006 ( ETA 2006 ) at the institutional level to in-stitute electronic solutions, including e-payment, e-signa-ture, e-documents and tracking, and restricted access to international online payment system such as Pay Pal hin-der businesses’ abilities to grow globally. Most Sri Lankan businesses, however, have access to smaller internation-al gateways such as 2Checkout and Skrill ( formerly called Moneybookers ). Existing restrictive rules are also applied to foreign exchange, including those relating to ESOS. It is mandatory to use an FEEA to receive or make a payment in a foreign currency.
Two other constraints are the complicated IP registration re-gime and the lack of awareness about how to secure IP. Very few innovations and R&D inventions are exported, and of-ten the ownership belongs to a foreign company. It should
be noted that the Sri Lankan IP protection regime is one of the most rigorous in the region and companies do not face any particular concerns for business-to-business ( B2B ) products.21
These constraints are addressed in PoA : 1.2.3, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.3.4, 1.3.5, 1.3.6, 1.4.1, 1.4.2.
Limited availability of an industry-relevant workforce diminishes supply-side capacity
Despite several state and private universities providing high-quality education in the IT-BPM sector, the number of gradu-ates is insufficient to satisfy the growing industry demand. The industry in coming years will require at least twice the current workforce on the supply side. During sector consul-tations, industry players noted that as many as 18,000 new IT graduates would be needed annually.
There is also an issue in retaining the existing labour force and halting the brain drain. Fresh graduates have high sal-ary expectations. The average wage for an IT programmer in Sri Lanka is on par with Bangladesh and Pakistan and lower than in India, Viet Nam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Mauritius.22 The average wage for a BPO analyst is in the same range as for one working in Viet Nam and much low-er than in Mauritius, India and Pakistan.23 Graduates look for employment abroad in search of better pay or because they have limited awareness of career opportunities in the Sri Lankan BPM industry. IT companies in Colombo attract more graduates ( including those from universities around the country ) as they often provide good internship opportu-nities, higher salaries and additional benefits. This, in turn, affects the availability of talent for IT businesses in regions outside Colombo. Moreover, there are limited IT career guid-ance / awareness campaigns targeting youth, parents and teachers through the media.
These constraints are addressed in PoA : 2.3.1, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.2.6, 3.2.7, 3.3.1, 3.3.2.
Product development issues
Limited industry-academia collaboration makes it difficult to bring existing workforce to industry
There is a skills gap due to limited dialogue between the pri-vate sector and universities. Graduates have good technical
21.– A.T. Kearney ( 2012 ). Competitive Benchmarking : Sri Lanka Knowledge Services. Washington, D.C. Available at https ://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/430128/Country_Competitiveness_Study-Sri_Lanka.pdf/7d3033a4-5935-41d8-bf99-a1462bf7d553. 22.– Ibid.23.– Ibid.
21
[ VALUE CHAiN DiAGNOSTiCS ]
skills, but often are missing soft skills and practical experi-ence. Some internship opportunities are provided to stu-dents, but state universities favour full-time, lecture-mode education and do not promote working experience during university years. This creates a problem with workforce con-version and bringing graduates into the industry. There is limited industry-education sector collaboration for curricu-lum development and incorporation of IT and applied skills into the programmes of schools and higher education insti-tutions to satisfy industry needs. There is also sometimes an overlapping syllabus between different degrees at uni-versities. Recently, the IT Skills Council, under the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training ( MoSDVT ), revised the curriculum with industry, and some emerging technical and vocational education and training ( TVET ) in-stitutes are offering certification to IT technicians, computer graphic designers, computer hardware technicians, Cisco technicians and computer network technicians, but there are no placement opportunities for students coming out of vo-cational training institutes. In addition, there is limited shar-ing of practical knowledge and experience with students to encourage the cultivation and development of an entrepre-neurial mindset at an early age. The limited established re-lationship between industry and academia has meant that there is no research centre to focus on IT industry develop-ment and to build links to other sectors.
These constraints are addressed in PoA : 2.2.1, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.2.6, 3.2.7.
Limited financial and infrastructure suppor t to encourage entrepreneurship and IT-BPM star t-ups in Colombo and in the regions
The number of start-ups in the IT industry is growing, thanks essentially to private sector initiatives. Several start-up net-works have been created and support is provided through private sector associations. However, there is limited start-up funding and mentoring support outside of Colombo. Training and guidance for IT start-ups on how to set up a business or follow-up on payments and on negotiation skills are lacking. Limited start-up friendly credit facilities through a dedicated model for infant companies and the few office and incubator spaces in Colombo and Jaffna are the main constraints to creating a supportive start-up environment. In most cases, companies are started using the founders’ personal savings or funding from family and friends. During the initial stages of a start-up, there is no support to reduce operational costs by providing co-working spaces and lower cost office space or by subsidizing electricity or internet charges. There are few accelerator programmes for start-ups to attract investors and foreign clients. Obtaining finance for SMEs from banks is very difficult, as banks do not understand the valuation models for IT companies and therefore cannot value pro-jects and understand business models. Recently, FITIS and Hatton National Bank launched specialized loan schemes for the IT sector.
These constraints are addressed in PoA : 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.4, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3.
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
22
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
Market entry issues
Inadequate industry branding and no proactive investor targeting limits market outreach and awareness in the world about Sri Lankan IT industry
The lack of a national level brand for the IT-BPM industry hin-ders the development and promotion of Sri Lankan products in the global markets. Improved marketing and determined promotion campaigns that can increase visibility of the sec-tor and add to global recognition of Sri Lanka’s capabilities in knowledge services are lacking. At the same time, at the national level there is a limited recognition of existing suc-cessful IT start-ups case studies in the media. This results in companies needing to make greater efforts to convince customers of their capability and quality and emphasizes the need to raise the importance of the sector among policy makers. Support from Sri Lankan embassies abroad is also limited, as trade missions are understaffed and commer-cial attachés concentrate their efforts mainly on addressing bilateral trade-related issues or on narrowly focused trade promotion activities.
These constraints are addressed in PoA : 1.2.1, 1.2.3, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3.
Limited market intelligence and no knowledge sharing among large and small companies about market oppor tunities results in insufficient access to foreign investors and a knowledge mismatch between product offerings and customer demand in the IT-BPM sector
There are study and survey results available on the IT-BPM sector in Sri Lanka ; however, there is limited informa-tion about global trends and clients’ demands that can be
provided to local companies. The low networking capaci-ties of companies and insufficient participation in outbound delegations to events to access foreign investors, suppliers and partners limits opportunities for discussions between entrepreneurs and investors to align their interests. This re-sults in a knowledge mismatch between what investors see as potentially high growth sectors and the sectors to which entrepreneurs are catering.
In addition, there are limited established mechanisms for mentorship through which large IT companies can share their experiences with smaller companies. Successful com-panies with experience in the global market can support IT SMEs in accessing new markets and can facilitate business matching with their partners.
These constraints are addressed in PoA : 2.2.2.
Issues affecting the entire value chain
Limited Government-industry dialogue hinders the IT-BPM sector development
Despite Government recognition of the importance of IT-BPM sector growth, there is weak coordination between public and private sector stakeholders and limited aware-ness by public authorities of how to support industry de-velopment. This can be explained by the fact that there is no coordination mechanism for the IT industry value chain in the country. Sector associations assist companies, but Government assistance is crucial. Public authorities do not always understand what needs to be improved to create an enabling environment in which IT companies can grow.
These constraints are addressed in PoA : 1.1.1.
Most of the issues identified in the IT-BPM industry are related to institutional and regulatory frameworks. The industry has been developing, stimulated by international demand, but with limited support from the public sector.
At this stage, it is crucial for the Government to create an enabling environment while also providing targeted business development support to firms, enhancing innovation, raising awareness about career opportunities, bringing more students to the industry dur-ing their studies, initiating proactive investment targeting for large companies and improving marketing and visibility for Sri Lanka that will maintain current industry growth.
23
[ THE WAy FORWARD ]
THE WAY FORWARD
Industry stakeholders developed the following industry vision to bring the Sri Lankan IT industry to the next level of IT-BPM industry performance and sophistication :
“ Sri Lanka : A global IT-BPM centre of excellence of high-end product engineering, IP creation and knowledge process outsourcing ”
THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY Unlocking the potential of Sri Lanka’s IT-BPM industry will require transformations throughout the value chain. The tar-geted efforts detailed in the Strategy’s PoA will address the constraints identified earlier. The industry’s future value chain
( see figure 13 ) will be characterized by improved input pro-duction, improved overall coordination and governance, en-hanced forward planning and increased product and market development ( table 2 ).
Strategic objective 1: Support investment and exports in the IT-BPM sector through a business-enabling,
predictable and transparent policy and regulatory framework.
Strategic objective 2: Drive export growth through innovation and
entrepreneurship.
Strategic objective 3: Improve the supply of skilled highly qualified
professionals to satisfy the growing IT-BPM market.
Strategic objective 4: Grow champion firms ('the US$2
billion plan').
• Create an enabling business environment, implement a formal framework and improve sector institutional coordination to direct the industry in the first step towards improved industry growth.
• Provide business development support to firms and enhance innovation to increase the capacities and outreach of IT-BPM start-ups and SMEs in national and international markets.
• Raise awareness about career opportunities, bring more students to the industry during their studies and encourage international experts to share knowledge with youth to sustain IT-BPM industry growth.
• Initiate proactive investment targeting big companies to improve marketing and visibility for Sri Lanka that will enhance the country's image as a destination for knowledge services and innovation.
24
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
Figure 13 : iT-BPM future value chain
Hard
war
e
Conn
ectiv
ity T
elec
omm
unic
a-tio
ns a
nd in
tern
et b
andw
idth
Softw
are
Inno
vatio
n
Lege
nd
Natio
nal c
ompo
nent
Inte
rnat
iona
l com
pone
nt
Mix
ed c
ompo
nent
Inve
stm
ent
Incr
ease
sha
red
offic
e sp
ace
faci
litie
s
Esta
blis
h de
dica
ted
ICT
rese
arch
cen
tres
at u
nive
rsiti
es
‘Plu
g an
d pl
ay’ a
ccel
erat
or s
olut
ions
for s
tart
-ups
Enha
nced
com
pone
nt
New
mar
kets
/pro
duct
s
Mar
ket p
enet
ratio
n
Busi
ness
eco
syst
em
Dom
estic
mar
ket
Supp
ort w
ith in
dust
ry b
rand
ing
and
outr
each
Cham
pion
bui
lder
pro
gram
Colla
bora
te w
ith d
iasp
ora
and
emba
ssie
s
Set u
p in
dust
ry re
pres
enta
tives
or b
usin
ess
mat
chm
aker
s in
targ
eted
mar
kets
Busi
ness
Gove
rnm
ent
IT
Inte
rnat
iona
l mar
kets
pen
etra
ion*
Anal
ytic
s (K
PO)
BPM
Med
ical
tran
scrip
tions
Fina
ncia
l tra
nscr
iptio
ns
Data
and
doc
umen
t con
vers
ion
LPO
conv
eyan
cing
Mar
ket i
ntel
ligen
cein
vest
men
t sup
port
mar
ket r
esea
rch
finan
cial
ana
lysi
s
FAO
vert
ical
y se
rved
acco
untin
g he
alth
care
ban
king
taxa
tion
leis
ure
tele
com
mun
icat
ion
New
pro
duct
s: m
ixed
real
ity, a
ugm
ente
d re
ality
, loT
so
lutio
ns (s
oftw
are
and
hard
war
e co
me
toge
ther
)
Softw
are
R&D
Appl
icat
ion
deve
lopm
ent
Appl
icat
ion
man
agm
ent
IT c
onsu
lting
Capi
tal/f
inan
cing
Supp
liers
of e
nabl
ing
serv
ices
Inpu
tsPr
oduc
t dev
elop
men
tM
arke
t ent
ry
Labo
ur L
aw
R&D
Inte
llect
ual p
rope
rty
right
s
IT in
vest
men
t and
exp
ort
prom
otio
nIT
regu
latio
ns (e
-sig
natu
re,
cybe
r sec
urity
)
Regu
lato
ry a
nd p
olic
y in
puts
Softw
are
deve
lope
rs H
ardw
are
engi
neer
s Co
mpu
ter p
rogr
amm
ers
Acco
unta
nts
Mar
kete
rsHe
alth
pro
fess
iona
ls L
awye
rs A
rchi
tect
s
TVET
Glob
al u
nive
rsity
par
tner
ship
Ph.D
High
edu
catio
n
Indu
stry
coo
rdin
atio
n an
d re
cogn
ition
Skill
ed la
bour
Unite
d Ki
ngdo
m
EU
Cana
da
Japa
n
New
Zea
land
Aust
ralia
Scan
dina
vian
cou
ntrie
s
Asia
Pac
ific
coun
trie
s
Mid
dle
East
cou
ntrie
s
Afric
a co
untr
ies
Unite
d St
ates
IT p
rodu
cts
and
solu
tions
KPO
BPM
IT p
rodu
cts
and
solu
tions
IT p
rodu
cts
and
solu
tions
KPO
BPM
KPO
KPO
BPM
KPO
BPM
KPO
KPO
BPM
KPO
BPM
IT p
rodu
cts
and
solu
tions
KPO
IT p
rodu
cts
and
solu
tions
KPO
IT p
rodu
cts
and
solu
tions
*Pro
duct
s ra
nge
will
depe
nd o
n ea
ch c
ompa
ny’s
prio
rity
targ
et
25
[ THE WAy FORWARD ]
Table 2 : Main areas of improvements in iT-BPM sector
Lege
nd:
Mar
ket p
ersp
ectiv
eIn
stitu
tiona
l adj
ustm
ents
Regu
lato
ry a
men
dmen
tsIn
vest
men
t req
uire
men
ts
Incr
ease
ava
ilabi
lity
of in
dust
ry-r
elev
ant t
alen
t/wor
kfor
ce b
y:•
Attra
ct h
ighl
y ra
ted
high
er e
duca
tion
inst
itutio
ns to
set
up
bran
ches
in S
ri La
nka.
• In
crea
se IT
aw
aren
ess
for y
outh
by
impl
emen
ting
a na
tiona
l IT
care
ers
awar
enes
s ca
mpa
ign.
• In
itiat
e a
prog
ram
me
to in
crea
se th
e nu
mbe
r of I
T an
d IT
rela
ted
grad
uate
s.
Sho
wca
se th
e Sr
i Lan
kan
IT in
dust
ry a
nd p
rom
ote
it at
nat
iona
l and
inte
rnat
iona
l lev
els:
• Co
llabo
rate
clo
sely
with
em
bass
ies
and
the
Sri L
anka
n di
aspo
ra in
targ
eted
cou
ntrie
s.•
Stre
ngth
en o
vers
eas
prom
otio
n an
d pr
oact
ive
inve
stor
s ta
rget
ing
with
cou
ntry
bra
ndin
g an
d pr
ofilin
g to
attr
act
new
con
tract
s an
d in
vest
men
t.•
Orga
nize
mor
e B2
B an
d ta
rget
ed m
atch
mak
ing
mee
tings
in e
ach
indu
stry
seg
men
t.•
Set u
p in
dust
ry re
pres
enta
tives
or b
usin
ess
mat
chm
aker
s (in
divi
dual
con
sulta
nts
or fi
rms)
in ta
rget
ed m
arke
ts.
• In
volv
e co
mm
erci
al a
ttach
és a
nd tr
ade
prom
otio
n of
ficia
ls in
key
targ
et m
arke
ts to
col
lect
, ana
lyse
and
di
ssem
inat
e tra
de in
form
atio
n En
able
and
sup
port
the
deve
lopm
ent o
f stro
ng a
nd d
urab
le G
over
nmen
t–in
dust
ry d
ialo
gue
by c
reat
ing
an ‘I
T sp
ecia
l adv
isor
y co
mm
ittee
’.
Esta
blis
h IT
Res
earc
h Ce
ntre
s at
uni
vers
ities
to s
uppo
rt IT
indu
stry
dev
elop
men
t in
the
nort
hern
, cen
tral
and
wes
tern
pro
vinc
es, a
nd c
reat
e lin
ks w
ith o
ther
indu
strie
s.
Impr
ove
the
regu
lato
ry fr
amew
ork:
• Im
plem
ent k
ey re
gula
tory
cha
nges
to a
ddre
ss re
stric
tive
fore
ign
exch
ange
rule
s an
d en
sure
the
IT in
dust
ry
can
grow
in v
alua
tion.
• Ad
opt a
regu
latio
n to
impl
emen
t the
lega
l fra
mew
ork
for a
ccep
ting
elec
troni
c si
gnat
ures
.•
Allo
w m
ore
flexi
bilit
y in
labo
ur re
gula
tions
rela
ted
to re
form
ing
the
com
pens
atio
n fo
rmul
a fo
r IT.
Crea
te a
n en
ablin
g en
viro
nmen
t for
fost
erin
g IP
cre
atio
n an
d re
focu
sing
out
sour
ced
engi
neer
ing
serv
ices
to IP
-led
prod
uct d
evel
opm
ent,
and
prov
ide
trai
ning
to c
ompa
nies
on
IP in
con
nect
ion
with
br
andi
ng a
ctiv
ities
and
cer
tific
atio
n m
arks
.
Offe
r inf
rast
ruct
ure
supp
ort t
o fo
ster
mor
e IT
firm
s by
cre
atin
g a
shar
ed s
pace
for s
tart
-ups
to b
uild
a
cond
uciv
e ec
osys
tem
and
bui
ld c
lust
er o
f sta
rt-u
ps (‘
plug
and
pla
y’ a
ccel
erat
or s
olut
ions
).
Lau
nch
a 'C
ham
pion
Bui
lder
' pro
gram
me:
• Cr
eate
a p
rogr
amm
e m
anag
emen
t offi
ce a
nd
set u
p m
onito
ring
mod
aliti
es a
mon
g im
plem
en-
tatio
n pa
rtne
rs.
• Es
tabl
ish
elig
ibilit
y cr
iteria
for s
elec
tion
of th
e co
mpa
nies
.•
Laun
ch a
sur
vey
to id
entif
y th
e ta
rget
aud
ienc
e.•
Asse
ss th
e re
sults
and
iden
tify
the
pool
of
com
pani
es.
• In
terv
iew
sho
rtlis
ted
com
pani
es to
iden
tify
thei
r ne
eds
and
prio
ritie
s.•
Deve
lop
indi
vidu
al tr
ade
supp
ort p
lans
for
com
pani
es.
Impl
emen
t a c
ount
ry b
rand
ing
cam
paig
n:•
Posi
tion
Sri L
anka
in a
naly
st p
ublic
atio
ns s
uch
as G
artn
er a
nd A
T Ke
arne
y.•
Impr
ove
IT c
ompa
nies
’ mar
ketin
g, c
omm
unic
a-tio
ns m
ater
ials
and
ski
lls.
26
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
MARKET PERSPECTIVE
Sri Lankan iT-BPM keeps growing and there are many op-portunities for product and market development ( table 3 ). Further penetration in fast-growing markets with untapped new product opportunities for SMEs, the public sector and family run entities will be possible if an innovative and con-tinuously conducive environment for growth is built for in-dustry development.
Table 3 : Product and market opportunities for iT-BPM sector
Products Rationale Existing markets New markets
iT ( existing products : software products and solutions, application, iT consulting ; new products : mixed reality, augmented reality, ioT solutions where software and hardware come together )
Market segment : MNC and SMEsWhy? Growing market demand, quality of products ; for emerging markets – growing middle class consumption, better understating of market needsHow? Promotion of Sri Lankan products in these countries, business tours
United States, United Kingdom, EU and regional emerging markets including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia
Australia, Scandinavia, Japan
KPO ( finance and accounting outsourcing, data and document conversion )
Market segment : SMEsWhy? Growing market demand, English language, world’s second largest pool of United Kingdom qualified management accounting professionals, diaspora, cultural and professional links to Sri LankaHow? Promotion of Sri Lankan products in these countries, publishing BPM case studies and success stories in targeted markets, B2B
United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong SAR, Australia, Singapore, Luxembourg, ireland, Africa, Asia–Pacific
Norway, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Middle East
BPM and technical support Market segment : MNCWhy? Growing market demand, alternative to india, English languageHow? Publishing BPM case studies and success stories in targeted markets, B2B
United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Asia–Pacific
New Zealand, Canada, Africa
Source : ITC
INSTITUTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS
The role of trade and investment support institutions ( TiSis ) is crucial to supporting companies’ efforts to ex-pand their performance and to export. TISIs play an impor-tant role in assisting SMEs to improve their competitiveness and to help them connect to value chains.24 TISIs provide essential intelligence on trade development and support en-terprises through training, tools and assistance to find ad-equate market entry channels and international partners. The quality of a country’s business ecosystem hinges on the quality of each of the TISIs.
24.– International Trade Centre ( 2017 ). SME Competitiveness Outlook 2017 : Regional Export Strategies. Geneva.
The institutions are divided into four main categories : pol-icy support, trade services, business services, academia and civil society ( box 2 ). They are the drivers for future lo-gistics industry growth, but certain issues of capacity and resources must be addressed to ensure their efficient sup-port of the sector.
Some key institutional adjustment will be required to unlock sector growth. These changes are crucial in the areas of sector coordination, skills development and market outreach and branding.
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
27
[ THE WAy FORWARD ]
Box 2 : TISIs supporting the IT industry
Support TiSis
Policy support • Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure• MoDSIT• Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka
Trade support • EDB • BOI • ICTA
Business support • SLASSCOM• FITIS • Computer Society of Sri Lanka• Ceylon Chamber of Commerce• American Chamber of Commerce
Academia, incubators and accelerators
• Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa• Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology • Informatics Institute of Technology • University of Colombo School of Computing• Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka• Spiralation• Xeleration• Venture Engine• Lanka Angels Network• MIT Global Startup Labs
Box 3 : Institutional adjustments in the IT-BPM sector
institutional adjustment How to implement?
Establish a high-level formal public-private dialogue.
To create a continuous public-private dialogue capable of directing IT-BPM sector development, appoint a high powered ‘IT special advisory committee’ that would be responsible to coordinate all industry development interventions.
Strengthen academia-industry links.
Increase the availability of industry-relevant workforce with technical and soft skills can be achieved through the activities such as :• Conduct an annual skill demand survey and disseminate information about top skills demanded
in the IT sector.• Organize an annual skill demand round table to present the survey findings and to give guidance
to youth and university graduates about sector needs and opportunities.• After conducting the survey and holding a series of meeting between industry and academia,
align the existing vocational training institutes and their programmes to IT industry needs.• Introduce a six-month conversion programme for arts students to guide them to IT-BPM careers.• Incentivize more on-the-job training and internships during student years.
Enhance links in the industry between small and large companies.
To ensure up-to date knowledge and experience sharing, big companies could transfer their know-how on accessing new markets and developing new products by introducing mentorship programmes and more IT events to provide business advice on product development, taxation, negotiation, pricing, etc.
Establish a dedicated iCT research centre.
To facilitate IT industry development, as well as to build links with other sectors outside the Colombo area, establish IT R&D centres at universities in three major cities ( Jaffna, Galle, Kurunegela ).
28
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
REGULATORY AMENDMENTS
in order to stimulate and enable sustainable growth in the iT-BPM industry, a number of regulatory amendments need to be implemented. Key adjustments to be carried out are summarized in box 4.
Box 4 : Regulation adjustments in the IT-BPM sector
Regulatory adjustments Purpose
issue the necessary guidelines for implementation of ETA 2006, including e-payment, e-signature, e-documents and tracking.
The main reason that government agencies do not use e-signatures and e-documents in electronic records, as outlined in ETA 2006, is that no central guidelines exist to enact electronic solutions at the institutional level. Easing regulations that currently restrict the operations of international payment platforms like PayPal and Stripe in Sri Lanka will allow entrepreneurs to receive overseas payments directly, and overall will enhance trade and businesses.
Allow more flexibility in labour regulations. More flexible work arrangements are needed to : • reform the compensation formula for IT businesses ( to allow for flex-
ibility in undertaking international projects ) ;• permit working hours for women after 22 :00.Shop and Office Employee Act and Section 2A of Employment of Women, young Persons, and Children, Act No. 24 of 2006.
Address restrictive foreign exchange rules. Adjust foreign exchange rules relating to overseas ESOS and permit payments in foreign currency with no mandatory deposit in a FEEA.
Simplify the procedure for obtaining a workers / occupational visa for the iT-BPM industry.
Fast track the current approval process for IT enterprises to bring in international experts, as required, by introducing necessary procedural reforms for visas at the Department of Immigration and Emigration ( DoIE ). initiate a programme similar to the French Tech Visa, a simplified, fast-track procedure for three types of international start-up founders, employees and investors.
Allow universities to establish companies and start-ups independently.
Allow universities to establish companies and start-ups independently and facilitate those companies in individually applying for bids and contracts and in leveraging their research through commercialization and entrepreneurship.Universities Act, No. 16 of 1978
Ease regulatory constraints relating to closing down a business and the overall cost of doing business.
Reduce the business closing fee and directors’ personal liability. Sections 266 and 319 of the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007
Align the Sri Lankan regulatory framework with global requirements for data protection ( data classification, encryption, and intermediaries’ liability ).
Provide sufficient data protection standards to meet the requirements of the European GDPR and global requirements for data protection ( data classification, encryption and intermediaries’ liability ) so companies may offer their services in EU countries without obstacle.
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
To provide favourable conditions for SME development as well as for bigger companies’ growth, investment in the iT-BPM sector will need to be concentrated mainly on two components. The two-track Strategy goal to grow pipe-lines of SMEs and to bring big contracts to large compa-nies will need to be supported by coordinated activities and
regulatory mechanisms that support the implementation of identified activities.
The following investment activities will help to support in-dustry growth :
29
[ THE WAy FORWARD ]
� Launch a ‘champion builder’ programme targeting ex-ponential growth firms that collectively can help boost sector export revenues by US $ 2 billion. This activity would establish a programme to provide support to five of the biggest IT-BPM champion companies. The initia-tive will be implemented by MoDSIT together with EDB and SLASSCOM. The target for the initial investment of US $ 100,000 from the national budget would be to grow exports by US $ 2 billion by 2022.
� Create a shared space ( 100,000 square feet ) for start-ups, with common facilities and support services, by converting existing government buildings under pub-lic-private partnerships. Procuring support services and facilities for start-ups is the number one condition needed to grow a pipeline of start-ups and SMEs. An initial investment of US $ 50,000 from the national budget will provide shared facilities and support services ( lower or no electricity cost or internet cost ) to offer ’plug and play‘ accelerator solutions for start-ups. The lead im-plementing agency for this initiative is the Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure ( MoTDI ).
� Establish dedicated iCT research centres. To support IT industry development in the northern, central and western provinces – and to create linkages with other sectors such as agriculture, electronics and tourism – it is important
to develop technologies, applications and methods for improving production and services. To achieve this, es-tablishment of dedicated ICT research centres at univer-sities throughout the country – starting with University of Jaffna, University of Moratuwa and University of Peradeniya – is required. Financing can come from pub-lic-private partnerships with technical support from the Ministry of Higher Education and Highways ( MoHEH ) and the Ministry of Finance’s ( MoF ) University Grants Commission ( UGC ).
� Attract foreign universities. Bringing top foreign univer-sities to set up satellite campuses in Sri Lanka will en-hance advanced skill levels and local R&D capability. Universities such as the Carnegie Mellon University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology can be tar-geted through public-private efforts.
� Set up industry representatives or business match-makers ( individual consultants or firms ) in targeted markets. Collaborating closely with embassies and the diaspora in targeted countries by establishing a network of individual consultants or firms will help to promote the industry abroad. Business matchmakers, financed through cost sharing, will prepare local and regional roadshows, place articles in newspapers and organize local briefings and B2B meetings.
Photo: ITC
30
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
MOVING TO ACTION
THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
The strategic objectives define the main directions that will guide the Strategy’s implementation to achieve the vision laid out by the industry. The PoA will respond to the vision by addressing the sector’s constraints and leveraging op-portunities in a comprehensive manner. To this end, these strategic objectives will be addressed :
Support investment and exports in the IT-BPM sector through a business-enabling,
predictable and transparent policy and regulatory framework
• Enable and support the development of strong and durable Government-industry dialogue capable of steering the IT-BPM sector’s development
• Attract new contracts and investment to grow the IT-BPM industry
• Implement key regulatory changes to stimulate and enable sustainable growth of the IT-BPM industry
• Create an enabling environment to foster IP creation
• Substantially increase market outreach and targeting
• Provide financial and infrastructure support to foster more IT-BPM firms in Colombo and in the regions
• Organise a “Start-up in Sri Lanka” campaign to facilitate return of diaspora and setting up IT-BPM companies
• Increase IT-BPM awareness among youth and encourage innovation
• Increase the availability of industry-relevant talent / workforce
• Enable access to global talent
• Build a cohort of firms with exponential growth potential, currently in the second tier
• Implement a country branding programme focused on growing champion firms and the overall industry
Drive export growth through innovation and
entrepreneurship
Improve the supply of skilled highly qualified
professionals to satisfy the growing IT-BPM market
Grow champion firms (’the US$2 billion plan’)
31
[ MOViNG TO ACTiON ]
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 : SUPPORT INVESTMENT AND EXPORTS IN THE IT-BPM SECTOR THROUGH A BUSINESS-ENABLING, PREDICTABLE AND TRANSPARENT POLICY AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Creating an efficient business and policy environment for enterprises is a first step for the future growth of the IT-BPM sector. Identifying areas for improvement in order to create an enabling environment, as well as having a formal frame-work and improving sector institutional coordination to direct industry development, will be achieved through continuous public-private dialogue. This strategic objective has four op-erational objectives :
� Enable and support the development of strong and du-rable Government-industry dialogue capable of steering IT-BPM sector development.
� Attract new contracts and investment for growing the IT-BPM industry.
� Implement key regulatory changes to stimulate and en-able sustainable growth of the IT-BPM industry.
� Create an enabling environment for fostering IP creation.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2 : DRIVE EXPORT GROWTH THROUGH INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP This strategic objective tackles the lack of infrastructure and of financial and promotional support for start-ups and SMEs to boost their expansion. It covers activities that can improve outreach and business development by firms in national and international markets. At the same time, industry branding and promotional campaigns would increase industry vis-ibility and market outreach. This strategic objective is com-posed of three operational objectives, namely :
� Substantially increase market outreach and targeting. � Provide financial and infrastructure support to foster more
IT firms in Colombo and other regions. � Organize a ‘start-up in Sri Lanka’ campaign to facilitate
the return of members of the Sri Lankan diaspora to start IT companies.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3 : IMPROVE THE SUPPLY OF SKILLED, HIGHLY QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS TO SATISFY THE GROWING IT-BPM MARKET Human capital is a core component of the industry and having highly skilled professionals will help to move sector development forward. Raising awareness about career op-portunities, bringing more students to the industry during their studies, introducing conversion programmes and bring-ing national and international experts to share their knowl-edge with youth are the main activities needed to sustain IT-BPM industry growth. To reach this strategic objective, there are three operational objectives :
� Increase IT awareness among youth and encourage innovation.
� Increase the availability of industry-relevant talent /workforce.
� Enable access to global talent.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4 : GROW CHAMPION FIRMS ( ‘THE US $ 2 BILLION PLAN’ )Providing support and guidance to companies on brand-ing, licensing, IP and the global standards in computing that need to be met to improve their competitiveness is another important element in achieving industry growth. Institutions can provide essential intelligence on trade development and support enterprises through trainings, tools and financial as-sistance. Through the development of a country branding programme, companies will acquire adequate market entry channels and access to international partners. This strate-gic objective is composed of two operational objectives, namely :
� Build a cohort of firms that are currently in the second tier but have exponential growth potential.
� Implement a country branding programme, focused on growing champion firms.
32
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK
The strategic development of the IT-BPM industry in Sri Lanka aims to transform the country into a global IT-BPM destination and Asia’s favourite centre of excellence. Achieving this ambitious objective will depend on the abil-ity of the industry to implement the activities defined in this IT-BPM Strategy. To structure sector development, it is rec-ommended that the following interventions be implemented as a priority :
� Create a business-enabling environment, address policy and regulatory bottlenecks swiftly and provide the neces-sary institutional support to improve marketing and pro-motion for the IT-BPM sector ;
� Launch a ‘champion builder’ programme that targets firms with exponential growth potential that can help col-lectively boost sector export revenue by US $ 2 billion ; and
� Make the industry become higher value and IP-driven.
These immediate quick win activities are necessary to initi-ate successfully the Strategy implementation and to create rapid industry growth.
MANAGING FOR RESULTS
It is the actual translation of the priorities into implementa-ble projects that will contribute to achieving the substantial increase in export earnings and export competitiveness en-visaged under the Strategy. These increases will be driven by reforming the regulatory framework, optimizing institu-tional support to exporters and strengthening private sector capacities to respond to market opportunities and challeng-es. Allocation of human, financial and technical resources is required to efficiently coordinate, implement and monitor overall implementation.
Success in the execution of activities will depend on the abil-ity of stakeholders to plan and coordinate actions in a tacti-cal manner. Diverse activities must be synchronized across public and private sector institutions to create sustainable results, and it is necessary to foster an adequate environ-ment and create an appropriate framework for its implemen-tation ( see figure 14 ).
Figure 14 : institutional framework for iT-BPM industry development
Cabinet
Investment and private sector initiatives aligned to strategic
priorities
Implementation through national institutions and
national budget Development partners’
projects
MoDSIT
EDB coordination
NES Management Unit(MODSIT)
“Advisory committee” on Information technology
Private: Nine private companies, FITIS, and SLASSCOM
Public: Board of Investment, School of Computing at the University of Colombo, Faculty of Computing at SLIIT,
University of Kelaniya, University of Moratuwa, ICT agency of Sfi Lanka, Ministry of Development Strategies and
International Trade, Export development Board
33
[ iMPLEMENTATiON FRAMEWORK ]
Key actions needed to achieve the targets will be coordinat-ing activities, monitoring progress and mobilizing resources for implementation. Industry representatives recommended that a public-private ‘special advisory committee’ for the IT-BPM industry be rapidly established, operationalized and empowered. The IT-BPM special advisory committee is to be responsible for overall coordination, provision of policy guidance and the monitoring of industry development in re-lation to the Strategy.
IT-BPM SPECIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Export Development Act ( 1979 ) grants the EDB the au-thority : ‘On advice from the Board, the Minister may by Order in the Gazette, establish advisory committees for the devel-opment and promotion of certain products, product groups and commodities as well as functional aspects of trade.’ Additionally, ‘each such advisory committee shall have the power to fix and regulate its own procedure, including the power to determine the number of members necessary to form a quorum at its meeting.’ The advisory committees have the function ‘to advise the Board on any or all of the matters which the Minister considers necessary for the pur-poses of carrying out or giving effect to the principles and provisions of this Act.’
An IT advisory committee has been established by Minister MoDSIT to enable private sector and public institutions to strategically steer development of the ICT / BPM industry. The ICT / BPM advisory committee is composed of the fol-lowing members:
Private sector :
� Nine private companies � FITIS � SLASSCOM
Private sector :
� BOI � School of Computing, University of Colombo � Faculty of Computing, Sri Lanka Institute of Information
Technology � Department of Industrial Management, University of
Kelaniya � Department of Information Technology, University of
Moratuwa � ICTA � MoDSIT � EDB
The advisory committee is empowered to meet quarterly and implement the following functions:
i. Create a shared understanding of key market challenges and opportunities facing the sector ;
ii. Set goals and targets that, if achieved, will strengthen the sector’s competitive position and enhance Sri Lanka’s overall capacity to meet the changing demands of markets ;
iii. Propose key policy changes to be undertaken and pro-mote these policy changes among national decision makers ;
iv. Support the coordination, implementation and monitor-ing of activities in the sector by the Government, private sector, institutions or international organizations to en-sure alignment to goals and targets and, as required, contribute to resource identification and alignment.
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION
The presence of the advisory committee to oversee the im-plementation of the Strategy is a key success factor, but it is not sufficient to effectively fulfil its assigned functions.
Private sector support and participation in implementation
The private sector clearly expressed its willingness to con-tribute, directly or in partnership with public institutions, to the implementation of the Strategy. Their implementation ef-forts can range from providing business intelligence to in-stitutions to contributing to project design, promotion and branding, policy advocacy, etc. The private sector’s practi-cal knowledge of business operations is essential to ensur-ing that the Strategy remains aligned to market trends and opportunities.
Proactive networking and communication
The key implementing institutions detailed in the PoA need to be informed of the content of the Strategy and the impli-cations for their 2018–2022 programming. This networking and communication is essential to build further ownership and to provide institutions with the opportunity to confirm the activities they can implement in the short-to-long term. It will be important for the EDB, MoDSIT and members of the special advisory committee to reach out to relevant institu-tions nationally to create awareness of and support for the IT-BPM industry development.
34
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
Resources for implementation
The special advisory committee, in collaboration with the EDB and the NES Management Unit at MoDSIT, will need to leverage additional support for efficient implementation. Effective planning and resource mobilization is indispensa-ble in supporting Strategy implementation. Resource mobi-lization should be carefully planned and organized.
As the IT-BPM industry is a priority of the NES, the Govern-ment of Sri Lanka should define annual budget allocations and support to drive industry growth forward. This commit-ment will demonstrate clear engagement to strengthening the sector and will encourage private partners to support
development. In addition to national budget support, re-source identification will require the BOI to release land and to provide a shared space, with common facilities and sup-port services, for start-ups by converting existing govern-ment buildings under public-private partnerships. Investment flows to Sri Lanka also should be considered as a valua-ble driver of Strategy implementation and overall industry development.
The various implementation modalities detailed will deter-mine the success of Strategy implementation. However, high-level support from the Government, in collaboration with strong championship by the private sector, will be the real driver of successful Strategy implementation.
To achieve the vision and strategic objectives discussed, a robust, actionable and realistic strategic PoA is required. This is provided below, and constitutes the heart of this Strategy.
The PoA is structured along the four strategic objectives and their respective operational objectives. For each objective, the PoA outlines detailed activities and their implementation modalities, which include:
• Priority level: Priority 1 is the highest and 3 the lowest.• Start/end dates: The desired time frame of the activity.• Targets: Quantifiable targets that allow completion monitor-
ing of the activity during the implementation stage.
• Leading implementing partners: One single accountable lead institution per activity. (The institution can restrict itself to an oversight and coordination role but also can have a technical role.)
• Suppor ting implementing par tners: Any institution that should be involved at any stage of an activity’s implementation.
• Existing programmes or potential support: Existing initia-tives ongoing in the specified area of the activity.
• Indicative costs (US$): An estimate of the activity’s cost for the total implementation
Photo: (cc) @pixabay
PLAN OF ACTION 2018–2022
36
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
Stra
tegi
c ob
ject
ives
Oper
atio
nal
obje
ctiv
esAc
tivity
Prio
rity
Star
t dat
eEn
d da
teTa
rget
sLe
adin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rs
Supp
ortin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rsIn
dica
tive
cost
s (U
SD)
1: S
uppo
rt
inve
stm
ent
and
expo
rts
in th
e IT
-BPM
se
ctor
thro
ugh
a bu
sine
ss-
enab
ling,
pr
edic
tabl
e an
d tra
nspa
rent
pol
icy
and
regu
lato
ry
fram
ewor
k.
1.1:
Ena
ble
and
supp
ort t
he
deve
lopm
ent o
f st
rong
and
dur
able
Go
vern
men
t–
indu
stry
dia
logu
e ca
pabl
e of
st
eerin
g th
e IT
-BPM
sec
tor
deve
lopm
ent.
1.1.
1 Ap
poin
t a h
igh-
powe
red
IT s
peci
al a
dvis
ory
com
mit-
tee
resp
onsi
ble
for t
he c
oord
inat
ion
of in
dust
ry d
evel
op-
men
t int
erve
ntio
ns:
• Th
e co
mm
ittee
sho
uld
be c
ompr
ised
of a
ll re
leva
nt
gove
rnm
ent a
genc
ies,
toge
ther
with
lead
ing
indu
stry
re
pres
enta
tives
;•
The
Min
iste
r of M
oDSI
T sh
ould
be
invi
ted
to c
hair
the
com
mitt
ee;
101
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
22•
IT S
peci
al A
dvis
ory
Com
mitt
ee e
stab
lishe
d;•
PMU
esta
blis
hed
• 8
mee
tings
per
yea
r co
nduc
ted
Min
istry
of
Deve
lopm
ent
Stra
tegi
es a
nd
Inte
rnat
iona
l Tr
ade
Expo
rt De
velo
pmen
t Boa
rd;
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
i-ca
tion
Tech
nolo
gy A
genc
y (IC
TA);
SLAS
SCOM
; Pol
icy
Deve
lopm
ent O
ffice
of t
he
Prim
e M
inis
ter’s
Offi
ce
20,
000
1.2:
Attr
act n
ew
cont
ract
s an
d in
vest
men
t to
grow
the
IT-B
PM
indu
stry
.
1.2.
1 Ru
n an
out
reac
h ca
mpa
ign
to a
ttrac
t fiv
e to
10
glob
al
MNC
s (s
uch
as H
SBC)
thro
ugh
a ta
rget
ed in
vest
men
t pro
-m
otio
n pr
ogra
mm
e (in
clud
ing
gove
rnm
ent-t
o-go
vern
men
t ap
proa
ches
). Th
is e
ffort
will
incl
ude:
• Bu
ildin
g th
e ca
paci
ty o
f inv
estm
ent p
rom
otio
n of
ficer
s;•
Anal
ysin
g an
d id
entif
ying
pot
entia
l inv
esto
rs;
• Pr
epar
ing
the
inve
stm
ent c
ase
and
inve
stm
ent p
rofil
es
for t
arge
ted
inve
stor
s; a
nd
• Es
tabl
ishi
ng c
omm
unic
atio
n wi
th g
over
nmen
t bod
ies
of
targ
et c
ount
ries
resp
onsi
ble
for i
nves
tmen
t abr
oad.
201
/04/
2018
31/0
3/20
22•
5 M
NC c
ompa
nies
re
ache
d pe
r yea
r;•
2 co
mpa
nies
attr
acte
d pe
r yea
r
Boar
d of
Inve
st-
men
t (BO
I)M
inis
try o
f Dev
elop
men
t St
rate
gies
and
Inte
rnat
iona
l Tr
ade;
Min
istry
of F
inan
ce;
Min
istry
of F
orei
gn A
ffairs
; Ex
port
Deve
lopm
ent B
oard
; SL
ASSC
OM; F
eder
atio
n of
Info
rmat
ion
Tech
nolo
gy
Indu
stry
; Dep
artm
ent o
f Co
mm
erce
–
1.2.
2 Hi
re a
n in
tern
atio
nal a
genc
y an
d as
sign
the
task
of
brin
ging
five
IT s
ecto
r mul
tinat
iona
ls (s
econ
d tie
r) to
es-
tabl
ish
oper
atio
ns o
r JVs
in S
ri La
nka,
with
rem
uner
atio
n ba
sed
on a
suc
cess
fee,
pai
d up
on a
chie
ving
targ
ets.
201
/04/
2018
31/0
3/20
22•
1 IT
com
pani
es
succ
essf
ully
attr
acte
d by
th
e hi
red
agen
cy p
er y
ear
Boar
d of
Inve
st-
men
t (BO
I)M
inis
try o
f Dev
elop
men
t St
rate
gies
and
Inte
rnat
iona
l Tr
ade;
Exp
ort D
evel
op-
men
t Boa
rd; S
LASS
COM
; Fe
dera
tion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Indu
stry
50,
000
1.2.
3 Am
end
Sect
ions
266
and
319
of t
he S
ri La
nka
Com
-pa
nies
Act
, No.
7 o
f 200
7. to
eas
e re
gula
tory
con
stra
ints
re
latin
g to
clo
sing
a b
usin
ess,
par
ticul
arly
the
busi
ness
cl
osin
g fe
e an
d di
rect
ors'
pers
onal
liab
ility
,
101
/04/
2018
30/0
3/20
20Re
gula
tion
# to
ope
n an
d cl
ose
the
busi
ness
adj
uste
dM
inis
try o
f De
velo
pmen
t St
rate
gies
and
In
tern
atio
nal
Trad
e
Min
istry
of I
ndus
try a
nd
Com
mer
ce; M
inis
try o
f Fi
nanc
e; S
LASS
COM
; Fed
-er
atio
n of
Info
rmat
ion
Tech
-no
logy
Indu
stry
; Sri
Lank
a Re
gist
rar o
f Com
pani
es
–
1.3:
Impl
emen
t ke
y re
gula
tory
ch
ange
s to
st
imul
ate
and
enab
le s
usta
inab
le
grow
th o
f the
IT
indu
stry
1.3.
1 Pr
ovid
e in
form
atio
n se
ssio
ns to
SM
Es a
nd s
tart-
ups
on th
e av
aila
ble
inst
rum
ents
to re
ceiv
e fo
reig
n pa
ymen
ts
and
exch
ange
mon
ey d
igita
lly, s
uch
as B
usin
ess
Fore
ign
Curre
ncy
Acco
unts
(BFC
A) a
nd E
lect
roni
c Fu
nd Tr
ansf
er
Card
. Add
ition
ally
, dev
elop
of a
dditi
onal
inst
rum
ents
to
faci
litat
e th
e ex
chan
ge o
f mon
ey d
igita
lly.
101
/04/
2018
30/0
3/20
20•
Sens
itiza
tion
and
info
rmat
ion
sess
ions
co
mpl
eted
• Ne
w in
stru
men
ts
deve
lope
d
Cent
ral B
ank
of
Sri L
anka
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
i-ca
tion
Tech
nolo
gy A
genc
y (IC
TA);
SLAS
SCOM
; Fe
dera
tion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Indu
stry
10,
000
1.3.
2 Is
sue
the
nece
ssar
y gu
idel
ines
for i
mpl
emen
tatio
n of
ETA
200
6 to
fully
ena
ble
e-pa
ymen
t, e-
sign
atur
e, e
-do
cum
ents
and
trac
king.
201
/04/
2018
30/0
3/20
20Pr
ovis
ion
of th
e “E
lect
roni
c Tr
ansa
ctio
ns A
ct, N
o. 1
9 of
20
06”
(ETA
200
6) im
ple-
men
ted
Min
istry
of T
el-
ecom
mun
ica-
tion
and
Digi
tal
Infra
stru
ctur
e
Cent
ral B
ank
of S
ri La
nka;
In
form
atio
n an
d Co
mm
uni-
catio
n Te
chno
logy
Age
ncy
(ICTA
); M
inis
try o
f Jus
tice
–
37
[ PLAN OF ACTiON 2018–2022 ]
Stra
tegi
c ob
ject
ives
Oper
atio
nal
obje
ctiv
esAc
tivity
Prio
rity
Star
t dat
eEn
d da
teTa
rget
sLe
adin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rs
Supp
ortin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rsIn
dica
tive
cost
s (U
SD)
1: S
uppo
rt
inve
stm
ent
and
expo
rts
in th
e IT
-BPM
se
ctor
thro
ugh
a bu
sine
ss-
enab
ling,
pr
edic
tabl
e an
d tra
nspa
rent
pol
icy
and
regu
lato
ry
fram
ewor
k.
1.3:
Impl
emen
t ke
y re
gula
tory
ch
ange
s to
st
imul
ate
and
enab
le s
usta
inab
le
grow
th o
f the
IT
indu
stry
1.3.
3 Al
low
mor
e fle
xibili
ty in
labo
ur re
gula
tions
, spe
cifi-
cally
to:
• Re
form
the
com
pens
atio
n fo
rmul
a fo
r IT
busi
ness
es (t
o al
low
flexib
ility
in u
nder
takin
g in
tern
atio
nal p
roje
cts)
; an
d•
Perm
it wo
rkin
g ho
urs
for w
omen
afte
r 22:
00, b
y am
endi
ng th
e Sh
op a
nd O
ffice
Em
ploy
ees
Act,
No. 1
5 of
19
54 a
nd S
ectio
n 2A
of E
mpl
oym
ent o
f Wom
en, Y
oung
Pe
rson
s an
d Ch
ildre
n Ac
t, No
. 24
of 2
006.
201
/04/
2019
31/1
2/20
22
Depa
rtmen
t of
Labo
ur
The
Empl
oyer
s' Fe
dera
tion
of C
eylo
n; S
LASS
COM
; Fe
dera
tion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Indu
stry
–
1.3.
4 Pr
ovid
e in
form
atio
n se
ssio
ns to
SM
Es a
nd s
tart-
ups
on: f
orei
gn e
xcha
nge
rule
s (in
clud
ing
thos
e re
latin
g to
ov
erse
as E
SOS)
for s
tart-
ups
and
digi
tal e
ntre
pren
eurs
, and
pa
ymen
ts in
fore
ign
curre
ncy
with
no
man
dato
ry d
epos
it on
FE
EA. T
his
follo
ws p
assi
ng o
f For
eign
Exc
hang
e Ac
t, No
12
of 2
017.
As
requ
ired,
dev
elop
of a
dditi
onal
inst
rum
ents
to
faci
litat
e th
e fo
reig
n ex
chan
ge tr
ansa
ctio
ns.
101
/04/
2018
30/0
3/20
20•
Info
rmat
ion
sess
ions
pr
ovid
ed•
Addi
tiona
l ins
trum
ents
de
fined
and
pro
mot
ed
Cent
ral B
ank
of
Sri L
anka
Min
istry
of D
evel
opm
ent
Stra
tegi
es a
nd In
tern
atio
nal
Trad
e; E
xpor
t Dev
elop
men
t Bo
ard;
SLA
SSCO
M
20,
000
1.3.
5 Si
mpl
ify th
e pr
oced
ure
for o
btai
ning
a w
orke
rs/o
c-cu
patio
nal v
isa
for t
he IT
-BPM
indu
stry
by
intro
duci
ng a
pr
e-ap
prov
ed, q
uota
-bas
ed s
yste
m.
201
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
22Re
gula
tion
# a
djus
ted
To b
e fin
alize
d by
Dep
artm
ent
of Im
mig
ratio
n an
d Em
igra
tion
Boar
d of
Inve
stm
ent (
BOI);
In
form
atio
n an
d Co
mm
uni-
catio
n Te
chno
logy
Age
ncy
(ICTA
); SL
ASSC
OM;
Fede
ratio
n of
Info
rmat
ion
Tech
nolo
gy In
dust
ry
–
1.3.
6 In
trodu
ce a
men
dmen
ts to
faci
litat
e th
e es
tabl
ish-
men
t of s
pin-
off c
ompa
nies
and
sta
rt-up
s to
spu
r res
earc
h co
mm
erci
aliza
tion
in s
tate
uni
vers
ities
and
to a
llow
them
to
func
tion
inde
pend
ently
of c
urre
nt u
nive
rsity
regu
latio
ns.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
19UG
C Ac
t am
ende
dM
inis
try o
f Hi
gher
Edu
ca-
tion
and
High
-wa
ys
Univ
ersi
ty G
rant
s Co
m-
mis
sion
–
1.4:
Cre
ate
enab
ling
envi
ronm
ent
for f
oste
ring
IP
crea
tion.
1.4.
1 Fa
st tr
ack
the
spee
d/pr
oces
ses
of g
rant
ing
IP re
gis-
tratio
n by
the
Natio
nal I
ntel
lect
ual P
rope
rty O
ffice
(NIP
O)
and
impr
ove
the
awar
enes
s an
d gu
idan
ce p
rovi
ded
by N
IPO
rega
rdin
g IP
cre
atio
n, a
pplic
atio
n fil
ing
and
regi
stra
tion.
201
/04/
2019
31/1
2/20
19•
IP a
pplic
atio
n pr
oces
sing
tim
e re
duce
d by
50%
• 2
guid
ance
and
aw
aren
ess
sess
ions
on
IP a
pplic
atio
n an
d fil
ing
cond
ucte
d an
nual
ly
Natio
nal I
ntel
-le
ctua
l Pro
perty
Of
fice
Expo
rt De
velo
pmen
t Boa
rd;
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
i-ca
tion
Tech
nolo
gy A
genc
y (IC
TA);
SLAS
SCOM
; Fe
dera
tion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Indu
stry
40,
000
1.4.
2 Pr
ovid
e tra
inin
g to
com
pani
es o
n IP
in c
onne
ctio
n wi
th b
rand
ing
activ
ities
and
esp
ecia
lly o
n ce
rtific
atio
n m
arks
. Offe
r tra
inin
g to
SLA
SSCO
M a
nd F
ITIS
sta
ff. S
uppo
rt al
l the
men
tione
d in
stitu
tions
to d
evel
op g
uida
nce
and
ser-
vice
s fo
r ind
ustry
repr
esen
tativ
es. L
ink
to 1
.4.1
201
/04/
2018
31/0
3/20
221
train
ing
to b
e co
nduc
ted
annu
ally
to a
ll th
e in
stitu
-tio
ns
Natio
nal I
ntel
-le
ctua
l Pro
perty
Of
fice
Expo
rt De
velo
pmen
t Boa
rd;
SLAS
SCOM
; Fed
erat
ion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
In
dust
ry
50,
000
38
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
Stra
tegi
c ob
ject
ives
Oper
atio
nal
obje
ctiv
esAc
tivity
Prio
rity
Star
t dat
eEn
d da
teTa
rget
sLe
adin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rs
Supp
ortin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rsIn
dica
tive
cost
s (U
SD)
2: D
rive
expo
rt
grow
th th
roug
h in
nova
tion
and
entre
pren
eurs
hip.
2.1:
Sub
stan
tially
In
crea
se m
arke
t ou
treac
h an
d tra
getin
g
2.1.
1 In
trodu
ce s
truct
ured
mec
hani
sm to
hav
e at
leas
t two
B2
Bs a
nd ta
rget
ed m
atch
-mak
ing
mee
tings
per
indu
stry
se
gmen
t per
yea
r on
both
loca
l and
inte
rnat
iona
l lev
els.
B2
B m
eetin
gs m
ust b
e ve
ry fo
cuse
d an
d we
ll-st
ruct
ured
an
d cr
oss-
subs
idiza
tion
fund
ing
shou
ld b
e en
able
d, in
-cl
udin
g a
trans
pare
nt m
echa
nism
to u
tilize
the
fund
s in
a
timel
y m
anne
r.
The
mai
n fu
ndin
g ag
ency
for t
his
activ
ity w
ill b
e ED
B/M
oDSI
T. Th
e bu
dget
s se
t for
this
wou
ld b
e fo
r adm
inis
tra-
tion.
Eac
h of
the
mar
ketin
g ev
ents
wou
ld re
quire
add
ition
al
fund
ing.
The
spe
cific
mar
kets
are
in d
iscu
ssio
n.
101
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
22•
B2B
mec
hani
sm o
n ho
w to
con
duct
the
mee
ting
deve
lope
d;•
Resu
lts o
f mee
tings
m
onito
red
SLAS
SCOM
Min
istry
of F
orei
gn A
ffairs
; Ex
port
Deve
lopm
ent B
oard
; Fe
dera
tion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Indu
stry
30,
000
2.1.
2 Se
t up
indu
stry
repr
esen
tativ
es o
r bus
ines
s m
atch
-m
aker
s (in
divi
dual
con
sulta
nts
or fi
rms)
in ta
rget
ed m
arke
ts
(sta
rting
with
Aus
tralia
, New
Zea
land
, Sca
ndin
avia
, Uni
ted
King
dom
, EU,
Uni
ted
Stat
es, C
anad
a, J
apan
and
the
Mid
dle
East
) thr
ough
cos
t sha
ring
by E
DB a
nd D
oC a
nd c
olla
bo-
rate
clo
sely
with
em
bass
ies
and
the
Sri L
anka
n di
aspo
ra in
ta
rget
ed c
ount
ries.
Bus
ines
s m
atch
mak
ers’
resp
onsi
bilit
ies
incl
ude,
but
will
not
be
not l
imite
d to
:
• Or
gani
zing
loca
l ana
lyst
brie
fings
;•
Plac
ing
artic
les
in lo
cal/r
egio
nal m
edia
;•
Prep
arin
g lo
cal/r
egio
nal r
oads
hows
and
mis
sion
s; a
nd•
Esta
blis
hing
a n
etwo
rk w
ith th
e lo
cal d
iasp
ora.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
2110
B2B
mee
tings
per
indu
s-try
seg
men
t in
targ
eted
mar-
ket a
re o
rgan
ised
by
indu
stry
re
pres
enta
tive
year
ly
Expo
rt De
velo
p-m
ent B
oard
Min
istry
of F
orei
gn A
ffairs
; SL
ASSC
OM 5
0,00
0
2.1.
3 Bu
ild c
apac
ities
in o
vers
eas
fore
ign
mis
sion
s fo
r pr
omot
ion
and
proa
ctiv
e in
vest
or ta
rget
ing
in ta
rget
ed
mar
ket b
y:
• Or
gani
zing
train
ing
of c
omm
erci
al a
ttach
és a
nd tr
ade
prom
otio
n of
ficia
ls in
key
targ
et m
arke
ts to
col
lect
, an
alys
e an
d di
ssem
inat
e tra
de in
form
atio
n; a
nd•
Activ
ely
invo
lvin
g IT-
BPM
indu
stry
repr
esen
tativ
e in
ou
twar
d m
issi
ons
and
trade
sho
ws).
101
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
20•
Ccom
mer
cial
atta
chés
in
key
targ
et m
arke
ts tr
aine
d;•
prom
otio
nal p
acka
ge
targ
eted
at c
usto
mer
for
com
mer
cial
atta
chés
de
velo
ped;
• 10
exa
mpl
e ca
se
stud
ies
and
test
imon
ials
de
velo
ped
(by
loca
l ed
itor)
Expo
rt De
velo
p-m
ent B
oard
Min
istry
of F
orei
gn A
ffairs
; SL
ASSC
OM; D
epar
tmen
t of
Com
mer
ce
30,
000
2.1.
4 Tr
ain
SMEs
on
best
pra
ctic
es in
bra
ndin
g, s
ales
and
pr
omot
ion
stra
tegy
, and
app
ly th
e ne
w br
andi
ng s
trate
gy,
deve
lope
d by
the
Asia
n De
velo
pmen
t Ban
k (A
DB)/P
ricew
a-te
rhou
seCo
oper
s’ (P
wC) p
roje
ct, t
o ad
apt a
nd im
prov
e th
eir
mar
ketin
g co
mm
unic
atio
ns m
ater
ials
and
to b
uild
cap
ac-
ity in
sel
ecte
d in
divi
dual
firm
s to
pro
mot
e th
e ne
w br
and
posi
tioni
ng to
cus
tom
ers.
Thi
s ca
n be
com
plet
ed th
roug
h wo
rksh
ops
and
clin
ics
with
indi
vidu
al fi
rms
on b
rand
ing,
sa
les
train
ing
and
com
plem
ent t
he d
esig
n of
mar
ketin
g pl
ans
with
impr
oved
com
mun
icat
ion
stra
tegi
es.
101
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
19•
Wor
ksho
ps o
n be
st
prac
tices
in b
rand
ing
– m
arke
ting
com
mun
icat
ion
for S
MEs
con
duct
ed;
• Ad
viso
ry o
n ho
w to
im
prov
e m
arke
ting
com
mun
icat
ion
mat
eria
ls
thro
ugh
clin
ics
with
se
lect
ed in
divi
dual
firm
s pr
ovid
ed;
• Se
ctor
leve
l prin
ted
mar
ketin
g m
ater
ials
for
sele
cted
firm
ada
pted
and
im
prov
ed.
Expo
rt De
velo
p-m
ent B
oard
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
i-ca
tion
Tech
nolo
gy A
genc
y (IC
TA);
SLAS
SCOM
; Fe
dera
tion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Indu
stry
100
,000
39
[ PLAN OF ACTiON 2018–2022 ]
Stra
tegi
c ob
ject
ives
Oper
atio
nal
obje
ctiv
esAc
tivity
Prio
rity
Star
t dat
eEn
d da
teTa
rget
sLe
adin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rs
Supp
ortin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rsIn
dica
tive
cost
s (U
SD)
2: D
rive
expo
rt
grow
th th
roug
h in
nova
tion
and
entre
pren
eurs
hip.
2.2:
Pro
vide
fin
anci
al a
nd
infra
stru
ctur
al
supp
ort t
o fo
ster
m
ore
IT fi
rms
in
Colo
mbo
and
in
the
regi
ons.
2.2.
1 Es
tabl
ish
dedi
cate
d IC
T re
sear
ch c
entre
s at
uni
vers
i-tie
s th
roug
hout
the
coun
try, s
tarti
ng w
ith th
e Un
iver
sity
of
Jaffn
a, U
nive
rsity
of M
orat
uwa
and
Univ
ersi
ty o
f Per
aden
iya
to s
uppo
rt IT
indu
stry
dev
elop
men
t in
the
north
ern,
cen
tral
and
west
ern
prov
ince
s an
d cr
eate
link
s to
the
agric
ultu
ral
sect
or (i
.e. A
g-Te
ch) i
n pr
ovin
ces
to d
evel
op te
chno
logi
es,
appl
icat
ions
and
met
hods
to im
prov
e yi
elds
.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
21IC
T Re
sear
ch C
entre
at U
ni-
vers
ity o
f Jaf
fna,
Uni
vers
ity
of M
orat
uwa,
Uni
vers
ity o
f Pe
rade
niya
esta
blis
hed
Min
istry
of
High
er E
duca
-tio
n an
d Hi
gh-
ways
Min
istry
of F
inan
ce; U
ni-
vers
ity o
f Mor
atuw
a; U
ni-
vers
ity o
f Per
aden
iya;
Uni
-ve
rsity
of J
affn
a; U
nive
rsity
Gr
ants
Com
mis
sion
100
,000
2.2.
2 Ho
ld 'b
usin
ess
clin
ics
for I
T st
art-u
ps' in
thre
e m
ajor
ci
ties
(Jaf
fna,
Gal
le, K
urun
egel
a) tw
ice
a ye
ar to
pro
vide
bu
sine
ss s
ervi
ces
and
advi
ce o
n co
ntra
cts,
neg
otia
tion,
pr
icin
g, la
bour
regu
latio
ns, t
axat
ion,
etc
. To
be im
plem
ent-
ed b
y SL
ASSC
OM/F
ITIS
.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
21'B
usin
ess
Clin
ics
for I
T St
art-u
ps' in
3 m
ajor
citi
es
orga
nise
d tw
ice
a ye
ar.
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
ica-
tion
Tech
nolo
gy
Agen
cy (I
CTA)
Expo
rt De
velo
pmen
t Boa
rd;
SLAS
SCOM
; Fed
erat
ion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
In
dust
ry
150
,000
2.2.
3 Cr
eate
a s
hare
d sp
ace
(100
000
squ
are
feet
) for
st
art-u
ps b
y co
nver
ting
exis
ting
gove
rnm
ent b
uild
ing.
Sh
ared
spa
ce to
pro
vide
:
• Fl
exib
le le
asin
g op
tions
that
invo
lve
min
imal
co
mm
itmen
t;•
High
-spe
ed In
tern
et a
nd b
usin
ess
cent
re s
ervi
ces;
and
• Co
nfer
ence
room
s.
A fir
st s
tep
is fo
r the
Gov
ernm
ent t
o pr
ovid
e th
e fa
cili-
ties
and
thro
ugh
a te
nder
pro
cess
let m
anag
emen
t of t
his
shar
ed s
pace
to S
LASS
COM
.
101
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
19A
land
for s
hare
d sp
ace/
faci
litie
s fo
r sta
rt-up
s pr
o-vi
ded
Min
istry
of T
el-
ecom
mun
ica-
tion
and
Digi
tal
Infra
stru
ctur
e
Min
istry
of D
evel
opm
ent
Stra
tegi
es a
nd In
tern
atio
nal
Trad
e; M
inis
try o
f Fin
ance
; In
form
atio
n an
d Co
mm
uni-
catio
n Te
chno
logy
Age
ncy
(ICTA
); SL
ASSC
OM;
Fede
ratio
n of
Info
rmat
ion
Tech
nolo
gy In
dust
ry
100
,000
2.2.
4 En
hanc
e fin
anci
al s
uppo
rt fo
r ear
ly -s
tage
IT s
tart-
up
com
pani
es u
nder
the
‘spi
rala
tion’
pro
gram
me,
pro
vidi
ng u
p to
LKR
2 m
illio
n ea
ch fo
r 50
com
pani
es.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
22Gr
ants
for 5
0 st
art-u
ps to
su
bsid
ise
infra
stru
ctur
e,
capa
city
bui
ldin
g, b
usin
ess
deve
lopm
ent p
rovi
ded
year
ly
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
ica-
tion
Tech
nolo
gy
Agen
cy (I
CTA)
Min
istry
of D
evel
opm
ent
Stra
tegi
es a
nd In
tern
atio
nal
Trad
e; M
inis
try o
f Fin
ance
; Ex
port
Deve
lopm
ent B
oard
500
,000
2.3:
Org
anize
a
‘Sta
rt-u
p in
Sri
Lank
a’ c
ampa
ign
to fa
cilit
ate
retu
rn
of m
embe
rs o
f th
e Sr
i Lan
kan
dias
pora
and
se
tting
up
of IT
co
mpa
nies
.
2.3.
1 In
clud
e fa
st tr
ackin
g of
vis
as a
nd o
ther
resi
denc
y re
quire
men
ts to
attr
act m
embe
rs o
f the
Sri
Lank
an d
iasp
ora
to c
reat
e IT
sta
rt-up
com
pani
es a
nd p
rom
ote
thes
e op
por-
tuni
ties
abro
ad (l
inke
d to
2.1
.2).
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
21•
Fast
trac
king
visa
for
dias
pora
impl
emen
ted;
• Pr
omot
ion
to d
iasp
ora
of
busi
ness
opp
ortu
nitie
s th
roug
h so
cial
med
ia a
nd
othe
r com
mun
icat
ion
chan
nels
com
plet
ed
Min
istry
of T
el-
ecom
mun
ica-
tion
and
Digi
tal
Infra
stru
ctur
e
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
i-ca
tion
Tech
nolo
gy A
genc
y (IC
TA);
SLAS
SCOM
; De-
partm
ent o
f Im
mig
ratio
n an
d Em
igra
tion;
Fed
erat
ion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
In
dust
ry; S
ri La
nka
Regi
s-tra
r of C
ompa
nies
; Dep
art-
men
t of C
omm
erce
20,
000
3: Im
prov
e su
pply
of s
kille
d,
high
ly q
ualif
ied
prof
essi
onal
s to
sa
tisfy
gro
win
g IT
-BPM
mar
ket
grow
th.
3.1:
Incr
ease
IT
aw
aren
ess
amon
g yo
uth
and
enco
urag
e in
nova
tion.
3.1.
1 Co
nduc
t IT
awar
enes
s ev
ents
in a
ll pr
ovin
ces,
sta
rting
wi
th s
even
citi
es (G
alle
, Mat
ara,
Rat
hnap
ura,
Kur
uneg
ala,
An
urad
hapu
ra, B
attic
aloa
, and
Ban
dara
wela
) to
rais
e aw
are-
ness
abo
ut IT
indu
stry
car
eers
opp
ortu
nitie
s.
001
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
22•
Year
ly e
vent
s fo
r IT
Care
ers
Awar
enes
s in
the
regi
ons
cond
ucte
d
Expo
rt De
velo
p-m
ent B
oard
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
i-ca
tion
Tech
nolo
gy A
genc
y (IC
TA);
SLAS
SCOM
; Fe
dera
tion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Indu
stry
20,
000
3.1.
2 Sh
owca
se th
e Sr
i Lan
kan
IT in
dust
ry b
ased
on
ex-
istin
g di
gita
l con
tent
and
pro
mot
e in
a ta
rget
ed m
anne
r th
roug
h so
cial
med
ia a
nd w
ebsi
tes
to ra
ise
awar
enes
s ab
out i
ndus
try im
porta
nce.
To b
e im
plem
ente
d by
SLA
SS-
COM
/FIT
IS.
001
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
22•
6 Sh
ow c
ases
and
su
cces
s st
orie
s pe
r yea
r pu
blis
hed
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
ica-
tion
Tech
nolo
gy
Agen
cy (I
CTA)
Expo
rt De
velo
pmen
t Boa
rd;
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
i-ca
tion
Tech
nolo
gy A
genc
y (IC
TA);
SLAS
SCOM
; Fe
dera
tion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Indu
stry
50,
000
40
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
Stra
tegi
c ob
ject
ives
Oper
atio
nal
obje
ctiv
esAc
tivity
Prio
rity
Star
t dat
eEn
d da
teTa
rget
sLe
adin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rs
Supp
ortin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rsIn
dica
tive
cost
s (U
SD)
3: Im
prov
e su
pply
of s
kille
d,
high
ly q
ualif
ied
prof
essi
onal
s to
sa
tisfy
gro
win
g IT
-BPM
mar
ket
grow
th.
3.2:
Incr
ease
th
e av
aila
bilit
y of
in
dust
ry-r
elev
ant
tale
nt/w
orkf
orce
.
3.2.
1 Co
nduc
t, pu
blis
h an
d di
ssem
inat
e th
e fin
ding
s an
d ke
y m
essa
ges
of a
n an
nual
sur
vey
of th
e to
p 10
skil
ls d
e-m
ande
d in
the
IT s
ecto
r to
give
gui
danc
e to
you
th a
nd u
ni-
vers
ity g
radu
ates
on
sect
or n
eeds
and
opp
ortu
nitie
s.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
22•
Surv
ey fi
ndin
g of
10
skill
s de
man
ded
in IT
sec
tor
publ
ishe
d ye
arly
• M
edia
IT C
aree
rs
Awar
enes
s Ca
mpa
ign
held
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
ica-
tion
Tech
nolo
gy
Agen
cy (I
CTA)
Min
istry
of E
duca
-tio
n; M
inis
try o
f Hig
her
Educ
atio
n an
d Hi
ghwa
ys;
SLAS
SCOM
; Fed
erat
ion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
In
dust
ry; U
nive
rsity
Gra
nts
Com
mis
sion
20,
000
3.2.
2 In
col
labo
ratio
n wi
th S
LASS
COM
, im
plem
ent a
n IT
ca
reer
s aw
aren
ess
cam
paig
n on
sta
te m
edia
targ
etin
g pa
r-en
ts a
nd te
ache
rs.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
22M
edia
IT C
aree
rs A
ware
ness
Ca
mpa
ign
held
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
ica-
tion
Tech
nolo
gy
Agen
cy (I
CTA)
Min
istry
of E
duca
tion;
M
inis
try o
f Hig
her E
duca
-tio
n an
d Hi
ghwa
ys; E
xpor
t De
velo
pmen
t Boa
rd;
SLAS
SCOM
; Fed
erat
ion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
In
dust
ry
20,
000
3.2.
3 Co
mm
issi
on a
n em
ploy
abili
ty s
urve
y wi
thin
the
SLAS
SCOM
HR
Foru
m to
iden
tify
a m
eans
to g
ive
feed
back
to
uni
vers
ities
and
facu
lties
. Con
duct
an
annu
al s
kill d
e-m
and
roun
d ta
ble
in w
hich
find
ings
of s
urve
y an
d in
dust
ry
trend
s ar
e co
nvey
ed to
uni
vers
ities
and
oth
er e
duca
tiona
l in
stitu
tes
and
step
s fo
rwar
d ar
e id
entif
ied
to m
eet t
hose
ne
eds.
Alig
n th
e ex
istin
g vo
catio
nal t
rain
ing
inst
itute
s an
d th
eir
prog
ram
mes
to IT
indu
stry
nee
ds.
001
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
22•
Year
ly ro
und
tabl
e co
nduc
ted;
• Re
com
men
datio
ns to
m
eet i
ndus
try n
eeds
co
nclu
ded
IT p
rogr
ams
for T
VET
deve
lope
d
SLAS
SCOM
Min
istry
of H
ighe
r Edu
ca-
tion
and
High
ways
; Min
is-
try o
f Skil
ls D
evel
opm
ent
and
Voca
tiona
l Tra
inin
g;
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
i-ca
tion
Tech
nolo
gy A
genc
y (IC
TA)
50,
000
3.2.
4 In
itiat
e a
prog
ram
me
to in
crea
se th
e nu
mbe
r of I
T re
-la
ted
grad
uate
s by
18,
000
over
the
next
four
yea
rs (m
ix of
fre
e an
d fe
e-le
vyin
g). T
his
can
be a
chie
ved
by:
• Ex
pend
ing
capa
city
in u
nive
rsiti
es;
• In
trodu
cing
dis
tanc
e le
arni
ng p
rogr
amm
es; a
nd
• De
velo
ping
Ope
n Un
iver
sity
con
cept
lect
ures
onl
ine.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
22Pr
ogra
mm
e to
incr
ease
the
num
ber o
f IT
grad
uate
s is
in
trodu
ced
and
appl
ied
Min
istry
of
High
er E
duca
-tio
n an
d Hi
gh-
ways
Min
istry
of S
kills
Dev
el-
opm
ent a
nd V
ocat
iona
l Tr
aini
ng; V
ocat
iona
l Tra
in-
ing
Auth
ority
of S
ri La
nka;
SL
ASSC
OM; F
eder
atio
n of
Info
rmat
ion
Tech
nolo
gy
Indu
stry
200
,000
3.2.
5 Th
roug
h pu
blic
-priv
ate
partn
ersh
ips,
brin
g in
top
for-
eign
uni
vers
ities
to s
et u
p sa
telli
te c
ampu
ses
in S
ri La
nka
to e
nhan
ce a
dvan
ced
skill
leve
ls a
nd lo
cal R
&D
capa
bilit
y (C
arne
gie
Mel
lon
Univ
ersi
ty, M
assa
chus
etts
Inst
itute
of
Tech
nolo
gy, e
tc.).
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
21•
2 fo
reig
n un
iver
sitie
s re
ache
d pe
r yea
r•
1 un
iver
sity
attr
acte
d
Boar
d of
Inve
st-
men
t (BO
I)•
EDBT
reas
ury;
SL
ASSC
OM; P
olic
y De
velo
pmen
t Offi
ce o
f th
e Pr
ime
Min
iste
r’s
Offic
e; U
nive
rsity
Gra
nts
Com
mis
sion
50,
000
3.2.
6 In
trodu
ce a
six-
mon
th c
onve
rsio
n pr
ogra
mm
e fo
r gr
adua
tes
in d
iffer
ent d
isci
plin
e to
stu
dy fo
r IT-
BPM
ca-
reer
s (B
ache
lor o
f Arts
deg
ree
to K
PO a
nd m
anag
emen
t, Ba
chel
or o
f Sci
ence
to s
oftw
are
deve
lopm
ent a
nd h
ardw
are
engi
neer
ing)
and
dev
elop
tech
nica
l, an
alyt
ical
and
pro
fes-
sion
al s
kills
spe
cific
to th
e in
dust
ry.
101
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
22Co
nver
sion
pro
gram
is in
tro-
duce
d an
d ap
plie
d M
inis
try o
f Hi
gher
Edu
ca-
tion
and
High
-wa
ys
Min
istry
of S
kills
Dev
el-
opm
ent a
nd V
ocat
iona
l Tr
aini
ng; V
ocat
iona
l Tra
in-
ing
Auth
ority
of S
ri La
nka;
SL
ASSC
OM
100
,000
3.2.
7 Ba
sed
on M
oF re
gula
tions
and
pro
cedu
res,
incr
ease
ac
cess
to IT
trai
ning
and
deg
rees
by
prov
idin
g fin
anci
al
assi
stan
ce th
roug
h ex
istin
g st
uden
t loa
n pr
ogra
mm
e an
d in
trodu
ce a
mor
e ef
fect
ive
IT s
peci
fic s
tude
nt lo
an s
chem
e im
plem
ente
d by
sta
te b
anks
.
101
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
20IT-
spec
ific
stud
ent l
oan
sche
me
intro
duce
dDe
partm
ent o
f De
velo
pmen
t Fi
nanc
e M
oF
Min
istry
of F
inan
ce;
SLAS
SCOM
; Fed
erat
ion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
In
dust
ry; B
ank
of C
eylo
n;
Peop
le's
Bank
100
,000
41
[ PLAN OF ACTiON 2018–2022 ]
Stra
tegi
c ob
ject
ives
Oper
atio
nal
obje
ctiv
esAc
tivity
Prio
rity
Star
t dat
eEn
d da
teTa
rget
sLe
adin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rs
Supp
ortin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rsIn
dica
tive
cost
s (U
SD)
3: Im
prov
e su
pply
of s
kille
d,
high
ly q
ualif
ied
prof
essi
onal
s to
sa
tisfy
gro
win
g IT
-BPM
mar
ket
grow
th.
3.3:
Ena
ble
acce
ss to
glo
bal
tale
nt.
3.3.
1 En
able
a tw
o-we
ek ra
pid
visa
app
rova
l to
fill t
he c
riti-
cal r
oles
from
glo
bal t
alen
t poo
l for
em
erge
ncy
case
s fo
r ro
les
that
can
not b
e fil
led
loca
lly.
101
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
192-
week
rapi
d ap
prov
al
intro
duce
dM
inis
try o
f De
velo
pmen
t St
rate
gies
and
In
tern
atio
nal
Trad
e
Expo
rt De
velo
pmen
t Boa
rd;
SLAS
SCOM
; Fed
erat
ion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
In
dust
ry; M
inis
try o
f Int
er-
nal A
ffairs
–
3.3.
2 Fa
cilit
ate
intro
duci
ng a
sch
eme
to fa
st-tr
ack
shor
t-te
rm b
usin
ess
visa
s (w
ithin
24
hour
s) c
ater
ing
to d
isas
ter
reco
very
/bus
ines
s co
ntin
uity
ser
vice
s (in
clud
ing
allo
wing
im
med
iate
vis
as fo
r pre
-app
rove
d lis
ts (n
amed
or q
uota
-ba
sed)
.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
20A
fast
-trac
k sh
ort-t
erm
bu
sine
ss v
isas
sch
eme
in
trodu
ced
Min
istry
of
Deve
lopm
ent
Stra
tegi
es a
nd
Inte
rnat
iona
l Tr
ade
Min
istry
of F
orei
gn A
ffairs
; Ex
port
Deve
lopm
ent B
oard
; De
partm
ent o
f Im
mig
ratio
n an
d Em
igra
tion
–
4: G
row
cha
mpi
on
firm
s ('t
he U
S$2
billio
n pl
an').
4.1:
Bui
ld a
co
hort
of f
irms
with
exp
onen
tial
grow
th p
oten
tial,
curr
ently
in th
e se
cond
tier
.
4.1.
1 La
unch
a 'c
ham
pion
bui
lder
' pro
gram
me
targ
etin
g ex
pone
ntia
l gro
wth
firm
s, w
ith a
pro
gram
me
man
agem
ent
offic
e, c
all f
or a
pplic
atio
ns, a
nd c
redi
ble
and
robu
st s
elec
-tio
n cr
iteria
. Thi
s pr
ogra
mm
e wi
ll ta
rget
two
grou
ps b
ased
on
reve
nue/
grow
th a
chie
vem
ents
:
• 20
com
pani
es w
ith U
S$20
mill
ion
in re
venu
e th
at a
im to
re
ach
US$1
00 m
illio
n ov
er fi
ve y
ears
; and
• 50
com
pani
es w
ith U
S$2
mill
ion
in re
venu
e th
at p
lan
to
reac
h 10
mill
ion
in fi
ve y
ears
.
Follo
wing
ste
ps a
re re
quire
d to
iden
tify
the
com
pani
es a
nd
thei
r nee
ds:
• Cr
eate
a p
rogr
amm
e m
anag
emen
t offi
ce a
nd s
et u
p m
onito
ring
mod
aliti
es a
mon
g im
plem
enta
tion
partn
ers;
• Es
tabl
ish
elig
ibili
ty c
riter
ia fo
r the
sel
ectio
n of
the
com
pani
es;
• La
unch
the
surv
ey to
iden
tify
the
targ
et a
udie
nce;
• As
sess
the
resu
lts a
nd id
entif
y th
e po
ol o
f com
pani
es;
• In
terv
iew
shor
tlist
ed c
ompa
nies
to id
entif
y th
eir n
eeds
an
d pr
iorit
ies;
• De
velo
p in
divi
dual
trad
e su
ppor
t pla
n fo
r com
pani
es.
105
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
22•
'Cha
mpi
on B
uild
er'
prog
ram
laun
ched
;•
20 c
ompa
nies
with
$20
m
illio
n re
venu
e se
lect
ed;
• 50
com
pani
es w
ith $
2 m
illio
n re
venu
e se
lect
ed;
• Ne
eds
and
prio
ritie
s of
sel
ecte
d co
mpa
nies
id
entif
ied
To b
e fin
alize
d by
Pol
icy
Deve
l-op
men
t Offi
ce o
f th
e Pr
ime
Min
-is
ter’s
Offi
ce
Min
istry
of D
evel
opm
ent
Stra
tegi
es a
nd In
tern
atio
nal
Trad
e; E
xpor
t Dev
elop
men
t Bo
ard;
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
icat
ion
Tech
nolo
gy
Agen
cy (I
CTA)
500
,000
4.1.
2 Pr
ovid
e te
chni
cal a
nd fi
nanc
ial s
uppo
rt fo
r bus
ines
s de
velo
pmen
t to
'cham
pion
bui
lder
' firm
s th
roug
h a
trans
-pa
rent
pro
cess
, nam
ely
with
:
• Ac
cess
to c
onsu
lting
ser
vice
s: m
arke
t orie
ntat
ion,
pr
oduc
t pos
ition
ing,
and
IP m
anag
emen
t; •
Skill
s an
d ca
paci
ty d
evel
opm
ent:
spec
ializ
ed tr
aini
ng
prog
ram
mes
on
disr
uptiv
e/em
ergi
ng te
chno
logi
es,
gran
ts a
nd s
ubsi
dies
for p
roce
ss c
ertif
icat
ion
and
fast
-tra
ck p
roce
ss fo
r wor
k vi
sas;
•
Mar
ketin
g an
d sa
les:
pro
mot
ion
and
adve
rtisi
ng
cam
paig
n, s
ubsi
dies
to fa
cilit
ate
trade
vis
its a
nd
mar
ketin
g m
ater
ials
; and
• As
sist
ance
with
sca
ling
for g
rowt
h: c
onsu
lting
on
mer
ger/a
cqui
sitio
n st
rate
gies
, set
ting
up jo
int v
entu
res
and
partn
ersh
ip in
targ
et m
arke
rs, i
ntro
duct
ion
to
inve
stor
s an
d co
st-e
ffect
ive
acce
ss to
offi
ce s
pace
.
101
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
22•
Tech
nica
l and
fina
ncia
l su
ppor
t for
sel
ecte
d co
mpa
nies
to re
ach
$2
billi
on p
lan
prov
ided
To b
e fin
alize
d by
Pol
icy
Deve
l-op
men
t Offi
ce o
f th
e Pr
ime
Min
-is
ter’s
Offi
ce
Min
istry
of D
evel
opm
ent
Stra
tegi
es a
nd In
tern
atio
nal
Trad
e; E
xpor
t Dev
elop
men
t Bo
ard;
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
icat
ion
Tech
nolo
gy
Agen
cy (I
CTA)
200
,000
42
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
Stra
tegi
c ob
ject
ives
Oper
atio
nal
obje
ctiv
esAc
tivity
Prio
rity
Star
t dat
eEn
d da
teTa
rget
sLe
adin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rs
Supp
ortin
g im
plem
entin
g pa
rtne
rsIn
dica
tive
cost
s (U
SD)
4: G
row
cha
mpi
on
firm
s ('t
he U
S$2
billio
n pl
an').
4.2:
Impl
emen
t a
coun
try b
rand
ing
prog
ram
me
focu
sed
on
grow
ing
cham
pion
fir
ms
and
the
over
all i
ndus
try
4.2.
1 De
velo
p a
bran
d fo
r the
IT-B
PM in
dust
ry a
nd p
rodu
ce
mar
ketin
g m
ater
ials
with
in th
e fra
mew
ork
of th
e IT-
BPM
Br
andi
ng Im
plem
enta
tion
Plan
(ADB
-PwC
), na
mel
y:
• De
velo
p br
and
guid
elin
es (v
isua
l ide
ntity
and
form
ats
for
visu
als
aids
);•
Rese
arch
and
dev
elop
a s
et o
f con
tent
(cas
e st
udie
s) to
be
use
d fo
r mar
ketin
g m
ater
ials
;•
Desi
gn a
nd p
rint m
arke
ting
mat
eria
ls;
• Pr
oduc
e su
ppor
ting
vide
os; a
nd•
Laun
ch a
dig
ital m
arke
ting
cam
paig
n (s
ocia
l med
ia,
sear
ch e
ngin
e op
timiza
tion
and
man
agem
ent).
101
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
22•
IT-BM
P br
and
crea
ted;
• Co
nten
t by
sub-
sect
or
deve
lope
d an
d ed
ited;
• M
arke
ting
mat
eria
ls
desi
gned
;•
Supp
ortin
g vi
deos
pr
oduc
ed;
• Di
gita
l mar
ketin
g ca
mpa
ign
laun
ched
Expo
rt De
velo
p-m
ent B
oard
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
i-ca
tion
Tech
nolo
gy A
genc
y (IC
TA);
SLAS
SCOM
; Fe
dera
tion
of In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Indu
stry
100
,000
4.2.
2 Ho
ld g
loba
l pub
lic re
latio
ns d
esig
n an
d m
anag
emen
t ca
mpa
ign
with
in th
e fra
mew
ork
of IT
-BPM
Bra
ndin
g Im
ple-
men
tatio
n Pl
an (A
DB-P
wC),
nam
ely:
• Po
sitio
n Sr
i Lan
ka in
ana
lyst
pub
licat
ions
suc
h as
Ga
rtner
and
AT
Kear
ney
by in
vitin
g an
alys
ts o
r by
fund
ing
coun
try s
uppl
emen
ts;
• Pl
ace
IT-BP
M in
dust
ry in
glo
bal b
usin
ess
and
trade
m
edia
;•
Orga
nize
ana
lyst
and
jour
nalis
t fam
iliar
izatio
n to
urs;
and
• Le
vera
ge th
e gl
obal
dia
spor
a to
pro
mot
e th
e in
dust
ry
abro
ad.
101
/04/
2018
31/1
2/20
22•
Indu
stry
pos
ition
ed a
t le
ast a
t 1 a
naly
tical
pu
blic
atio
n pe
r yea
r;•
Indu
stry
is p
lace
d in
gl
obal
bus
ines
s an
d tra
de
med
ia a
t lea
st 4
tim
es
per y
ear;
• 2
tour
s fo
r jou
rnal
ist
fam
iliar
isat
ion
held
per
ye
ar
Info
rmat
ion
and
Com
mun
ica-
tion
Tech
nolo
gy
Agen
cy (I
CTA)
Boar
d of
Inve
stm
ent (
BOI);
Ex
port
Deve
lopm
ent B
oard
; In
form
atio
n an
d Co
mm
uni-
catio
n Te
chno
logy
Age
ncy
(ICTA
); SL
ASSC
OM
200
,000
4.2.
3 Or
gani
ze in
boun
d to
urs
for c
hief
info
rmat
ion
offic
ers
from
iden
tifie
d to
p te
ch fi
rms
to s
howc
ase
tale
nts
and
skill
s an
d ex
perie
nce
the
pote
ntia
l in
Sri L
anka
thro
ugh
the
loca
l an
d re
gion
al ro
adsh
ows
and
mis
sion
s.
Targ
et th
ree
well-
prep
ared
road
show
s pe
r yea
r, e.
g.:
• 1s
t yea
r: Ja
pan,
the
Unite
d Ki
ngdo
m, A
ustra
lia a
nd N
ew
Zeal
and;
• 2n
d ye
ar: I
ndia
, Uni
ted
Stat
es, N
ordi
c co
untri
es;
• 3r
d ye
ar: G
ulf/M
iddl
e Ea
st, c
ount
ries
in th
e As
soci
atio
n of
Sou
thea
st A
sian
Nat
ions
, Ger
man
y.
201
/01/
2019
31/1
2/20
22-3
road
show
s or
gani
zed
year
ly
Expo
rt De
velo
p-m
ent B
oard
Min
istry
of F
orei
gn A
ffairs
; Bo
ard
of In
vest
men
t (BO
I);
SLAS
SCOM
450
,000
43
[ PLAN OF ACTiON 2018–2022 ]
APPENDIX 1 : LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS
No. Name Designation Name of the institution
1 Mr. S. Kariharakanapathy Head Of the Department/iT Advanced Technical institute
2 Mr. Thiriyambaga Sharma iT Executive Agoysoft (Pvt) Ltd
3 Mr. ishan Kannangara Director- Marketing Apps Technologies (Pvt) Ltd
4 Ms. Angela Croslin Project Analyst Asian Development Bank (ADB)
5 Mr. Udaya De Silva DGM -Business Development Bartleet Electronics (Pvt) Limited
6 Ms. Renuka Dasanayake Deputy Director(investment Appraisal)
Board of investment (BOi)
7 Mr. A.S. Subasinghe Assistant Director Board of investment (BOi)
8 Mr. S. Shanthakumar Additional Director College of Technology Jaffna
9 Mr. Asela Jayarathna Business Development Consultant EPiC Lanka (Pvt) LTD
10 Mr. Sharanyan Sharma Managing Director Extreme SEO internet Solutions
11 Dr. Kithsiri Manchanayakke Chairman Federation of iT industry Sri Lanka (FiTiS)
12 Mr. indika de Zoysa Director (Projects) information and Communication Technology Agency (iCTA)
13 Mr. Sachindra Samararatne Project Manager information and Communication Technology Agency (iCTA)
14 Mr. Nilan Thimbiripola Project Manager information and Communication Technology Agency (iCTA)
15 Ms. Lakmini Wijesundera Chief Executive Officer ironOne Technologies Pvt Ltd
16 Mr. T. Loganathan Director Jaffna College institute of Technology
17 Mr. Jeewana Waidyarathne General Manager Metatechno Lanka Company (Pvt) Ltd
18 Mr. Pubudu Basnayake OEM Director - New Market for South East Asia
Microsoft Sri Lanka
19 Mr. U G Ratnasiri Additional Secretary - Economic Affairs Ministry of National Policies & Economic Affairs
20 Mr. Waruna Dhanapala Senior Assistant Secretary (iCT for Dev) Ministry of Telecommunication & Digital infrastructure
21 Mr. R. Thirumurugan Inspection Officer National Apprentice and industrial Training Authority (NAiTA)
22 Mr. T. Thavaruban Chairman Northern Chamber of information Technology
23 Mr. y. Sharmmhik Vice Chairman Northern Chamber of information Technology
24 Mr. Upendra Pieris Vice President OreliT (Pvt) Limited
25 Mr. Jeevan Gnanam Director / CEO Orion City iT Park
26 Mr.Siddharthan Udhayakumaran Executive Assistant to CEO Orion City iT Park
27 Mr. Nishan Mendis Director - Consulting PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC)
28 Ms. Pubudini Abeyesekera-Anthonypillai
Executive Coordinator S.A. Knowledge Services (Pvt) Ltd (SAKS)Website DirectionsOrion City
29 Mr. M. Nilashan Director Satron
30 Mr. Haridhu Abeygoonaratne General Manager Sim Centric Technologies (Pvt) Ltd.
31 Mr. Ruwindu Peiris Chairman Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM)
32 Mr. Chrishan De Mel Executive Director Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM)
44
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
No. Name Designation Name of the institution
33 Ms. Menushika Fernandopulle Programme Manager - Tentative Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM)
34 Mr. Channa Manoharan Director Operations Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM)
35 Dr. Pradeepa Samarasinghe Head OF DepartmentDepartment of iT
Sri Lanka institute of information Technology (SLiiT)
36 Dr. Pradeep Abeyguunawardane Senior LecturerHead - Department of information Systems Engineering
Sri Lanka institute of information Technology (SLiiT)
37 Mr. Ashique Mohamed Ali Director Talliance (Pvt) Ltd
38 Mr. M.C.M. Farook Deputy Director Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka
39 Mr. T.G. Premaratne Development Officer Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka
40 Dr. Ruvan Weerasinghe DGM Business Development University of Colombo School of Computing
41 Dr. A. Ramanan Head Of the Department(iT) University of Jaffna
42 Dr. Janaka Wijayanayake Senior Lecturer - Department of industrial ManagementFaculty of Science
University of Kelaniya
43 Mr. Bhanu Watawana University of Kelaniya - Faculty of Science
44 Dr. Lochandaka Ranathunga Senior Lecturer - Department of information Technology
University of Moratuwa
45 Mr. Madu Ratnayake Executive Vice President Virtusa Polaris
46 Mr. E. Vijithan Assistant Director Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka
47 Mr. Vidura Gamini Abhaya Director of engineering WSO2
48 Mr. Tharmarajah Suresh Chairman/ Group CEO Zillione Holdings (Pvt) Ltd.
49 Mr. M.K.S.K. Maldeni Director – Export Services Export Development Board
50 Ms. Vajira Kularathna Assistant Director Export Development Board
51 Mr. Dinesh Aththanayaka Export Promotion Officer Export Development Board
52 Ms. Dhanushka Ruwanpathirana Export Promotion Officer Export Development Board
45
[ PLAN OF ACTiON 2018–2022 ]
APPENDIX 2 : ICT SERVICES COMPLEMENTARY GROUPING ( EXTENDED BALANCE OF PAYMENTS SERVICES CLASSIFICATION ( EBOPS 2010 )
EBOPS2010
EBOPS 2010 descriptionCPCVer.2.1
CPC Ver.2.1 descriptioniSiCRev.4
iSiC Rev.4 description
9.1 Telecommunications services
841 Telephony and other telecommunications services
61 Telecommunications
842 internet telecommunications services
84631 Broadcasting services 60* Programming and broadcasting activities
9.2.1 Computer services-computer software
83143 Software originals 5820* Software publishing
8434 Software downloads
84391 On-line games
84392 On-line software
9.2.2 Computer services-Othercomputer software
8313 iT consulting and support services 6202* Computer consultancy and computer facilities management activities
83141 iT design and development services for applications
6201* Computer programming activities
83142 iT design and development services for networks and systems
6202* Computer consultancy and computer facilities management activities
8315 Hosting and information technology (iT) infrastructure provisioning services
6311* Data processing hosting and related activities
8316 iT infrastructure and network management services
6202* Computer consultancy and computer facilities management activities
8713 Maintenance and repair services of computers and peripheral equipment
9511* Repair of computers and peripheral equipment
92919* Other education and training services, n.e.c.
8549* Other education
8.3 Licenses to reproduce and/or distribute computer software
73311 Licensing services for the right to use computer software
5820* Software publishing
Note: *Partial allocation.
46
[ SRI LANKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ]
REFERENCES
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Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade
Developed as part of the EU-Sri Lanka Trade-Related Assistance project, funded by the European Union (EU)
Sri Lanka Export Development Board