The Hindu Business Line : Software scene in Sri Lanka

It is no longer possible to rip out an existing system and replace it or to develop from scratch. With lead times reducing and pressure on supply chains, IT systems are critical to the success of companies.

Dr S. Dharmavasan

D. Murali
C. Ramesh

Sri Lanka and software are not two terms that are taken in the same breath, primarily because little is known about the knowledge economy of the island that is more famous for tea and tourism, not to mention its cricket team.

Kingslake Engineering Systems, a Sri Lankan firm that has been in operation since 1994, is one of the companies active in offering technology-powered solutions for manufacturing and distribution companies, along with consulting, software development, application integration, product design and research and development.

With offices in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the UK, and staff strength of 100, it focuses on complete applications and technology infrastructure. It also partners with Progress Software of the US.

Speaking to eWorld, Dr S. Dharmavasan, founder and Managing Director of Kingslake, shared his thoughts and plans. Excerpts:

What are the advantages of being based out of Sri Lanka?

A strategically located small country that has been part of global trade for centuries, Sri Lanka was the first country in South Asia to have a complete open economy since 1977. This means that the climate for global trade is good.

In addition, due to the fact that Sri Lankan companies have had to face international competition from 1977, they have had to adapt and improve efficiencies. As a result, companies have also used IT to improve efficiencies as well as customer service.

The investor-friendly climate has also helped the country. For example, the apparel industry has forged a number of joint ventures. These have helped the capability of these companies to be world-class.

From a software perspective, Kingslake has worked on providing IT to Sri Lankan companies. This has given us depth and breadth of expertise, as not only do our people understand the technology but are also innovating on the business front.

Where does Sri Lanka figure in the world IT map and what are the prospects?

Sri Lanka is seen as a country working on innovative solutions. In addition, the teams are much smaller and tight-knit. This makes our companies flexible.

Due to the fact that the IT skills pool is smaller than many other major players, companies here have invested more in product development.

This means that they are driving revenue per employee higher to give the companies growth. IT is, in general, a growth business in Sri Lanka and the prospects are very good.

We have worked with Progress Software, a leading US-based supplier of application infrastructure software, since 1996. A number of specialist business applications built on the Progress technology platform have been installed in Sri Lankan businesses.

In addition, applications have also been developed in Sri Lanka on this platform. We are now working together with Progress Software and their application partners to bring their applications into the wider Asian market. In doing so, we sell and support these products and also provide a host of other services, such as integration with complementary products, software development, development of additional products, etc.

We already have channel partners in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand and prospective partners in other Asian countries, including China. All these activities will require partners to sell and provide other services.

Chennai and Bangalore are close to Sri Lanka. Are you planning to outsource/develop your work/products from these two hubs?

We are looking to engage with partners in Chennai and Bangalore. It is estimated that the whole Progress Software-related ecosystem generates $5 billion a year. As some of these applications move to Asia, there will be a requirement to provide services locally.

In addition, some of these partners will also want to have outsourced services. Therefore, we are engaging with partners not just in Chennai and Bangalore but all over India to develop mutually beneficial relationships.

For instance, we are working with an Indian software company based in Kolkata where we are helping to sell their product in the ASEAN region.

There are also other opportunities for India-based companies in the area of service-oriented architecture (SOA) as organisations around the world move to a new paradigm of ensuring that IT systems, both internal and external, can work together.

Progress Software products such as Sonic and Apama are very much at the forefront of such technologies and will require software specialists to deliver the solutions based on these technologies.

How does Kingslake plan to simplify business applications through application infrastructure software?

In a global economy, businesses need to respond faster than their competition to remain in business. Also, with globalisation, advances in technology and other factors, traditional competition has changed and might come from unexpected sources. Another factor is the number of mergers and acquisitions that are taking place. Most of these require rapid changes in IT systems.

Therefore, it is no longer possible to rip out an existing system and replace it or to develop from scratch. With lead times reducing and pressure on supply chains, IT systems are critical to the success of companies.

The challenge organisations are facing is how to map the rapid changes occurring in their businesses to their IT systems. The application infrastructure software from Progress provides ways for existing applications to integrate rapidly.

In addition, there are some 5,000 industry-specific applications that can be integrated to provide very specific functionality.

Finally, from a developer perspective, the tools from Progress Software simplify the building of enterprise-class applications by allowing these programs to be developed at a much higher level than traditional third-generation languages such as Java and VisualBasic.

The OpenEdge Advanced Business Language (ABL) shields the developer from the underlying technology and lets them concentrate on the business logic that is critical to any business application.

What specific talents do you find in short supply? Is attrition an insurmountable problem?

The main talent in short supply is someone who not only understands technology but has a good appreciation of business issues in order to make the technology work for business. This is partly due to the fact that some of our technical graduates are not exposed to more advanced business processes. It will change, though.

Our attrition rates are low partly due to the fact that we have smaller teams and the work is much more personal. However, I take the view that an adequate number of people need to come in at the bottom of the pyramid.

To use a University example, a Ph.D student becomes the expert in a particular area within a short time by focusing in a narrow area. We have used this technique to get people up to speed very quickly.

dmurali@thehindu.co.in