For the first time in Sri Lanka the code-addicts, geeks and tech-enthusiasts get the chance to participate in a Coderetreat. This pioneering effort to build knowledge and expertise within the emerging software industry in Sri Lanka is a rare opportunity for our local tech-enthusiasts.

The shared services of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) could be employed by business organizations as business as a transformation tool not just as a functional method, a top financial specialist said. "Sharing of services and out sourcing appears to be the two most popular strategies in recent times. But the most important thing is these methods must fit the organization and increases its business values rather than just a functional or cost cutting mechanism," Group Finance Director and Executive Director of John Keells Holdings Plc Ronnie Peiris said at the Executive Briefing Series on Finance Transactions: Expert insights on shares services and out sourcing.

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the leading National Integrated Telecommunications Service Provider continued its financial trajectory, complemented with pragmatic operational initiatives, to deliver Q1, 2012 results with a growth of 9% in revenue and 14% in operating profit. The Group is driving a visionary business strategy coupled with a pragmatic transformation plan, which is unequivocally reflected in these results and on-the-ground initiatives which the Group has continued to unwaveringly deliver according to the mandate it has mapped for growth.

 The Business Software Alliance (BSA) reported yesterday in the 2011 BSA Global Software Piracy Study that Sri Lanka has recorded a further two percentage point drop in its PC piracy rate in 2011, bringing the rate down from 86% last year to 84% this year. The only other Asian countries that achieved a similar 2 point drop over 2011 are Hong-Kong and Vietnam.

According to IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Worker Population Forecast 2011-2015, 838.7 million employees in Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will be mobile workers by 2015 and majority of these mobile workers will be office-based. At its forthcoming IDC Asia/Pacific Enterprise Mobility Conference 2012 starting from 17 May across several Asian cities, IDC will explore in-depth what this means for companies in the Asia/Pacific region and how they can develop a strong, comprehensive enterprise mobility strategy to tap into this trend.

Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayake appointed a special committee to reconsider the system which prevails in admitting new students to universities under the directions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Mahapola Higher Education Trust Fund has approved the granting of Mahapola higher education scholarships to 10,300 students who had qualified for university entrance and 1,500 students who had qualified to enter other higher educational institutions for the academic year 2010-2011.

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said a Parliament Act would be brought in soon to regulate all International Schools operating in the country. “All telecommunication service providers in Sr Lanka are monitored by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) and they have to follow the rules and regulations set by the TRCSL. Likewise, International Schools too should have a regulatory body” the Minister told the Daily News.

The Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC) is inviting young ICT visionaries who are between the ages of 18 to 25 years to take part in an international competition organised by ITU the UN agency for ICT. The competition is organised in two categories, namely; Concepts and Projects.

The 30th National Information Technology Conference (NITC), organised by the Computer Society of Sri Lanka, will be held from 9 to 11 of July at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo under the theme ‘ICT for GAP: Governance, All, Peace. The National Information Technology Conference, one of the topmost ICT conferences held annually in Sri Lanka, provides a forum for industry practitioners and academia to keep up to date with current technology trends, interact with industry experts and network with peers.

It’s no secret that computer literacy is fast becoming a basic necessary skill in almost all of today’s industries. Not only is it a means to enhance the productivity within organisations, the seemingly limitless amount of information on the internet has literally left us with the world at our fingertips.

India's fastest-growing institute preparing IT professionals for global challenges, Networxx, has opened its second overseas centre in Colombo after Dubai. Networxx, founded in 2011 by serial entrepreneur Naveen Gupta of Ideacount Education fame and the world's leading master trainer and penta-CCIE and CCDE, Khawar Butt, is aiming at pan-India presence with centres in 20 major locations already in place.

Westborough IT services company Virtusa Corp. saw its revenues rise 27 percent year-over-year to $74.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012. Its profits rose 12 percent for the quarter, to $5.8 million. For the full 2012 fiscal year, Virtusa made a $20 million profit on revenues of $277.8 million.

Sri Lanka has been recognised as a niche centre of excellence for Finance and Accounting Outsourcing with the world's second largest pool of UK qualified accounting professionals, second only to the UK. This was revealed at an executive briefing breakfast session organised by SLASSCOM (Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies), the IT-BPO and knowledge services industry chamber.

Winners of the Sri Lanka Science and Engineering Fair (SLSEF) felicitated at the Ministry of Education

The three winners of the Sri Lanka Science and Engineering Fair (SLSEF) 2011 - ChathuraEngineering Fair (SLSEF) 2011 - Chathura Saman Kumara from Pinnawala Central College, Rambukkana, Maleen Wijeratna from Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala, and a team comprising Pipunika Vimanthi Silva and Nipun Kavishka Silva from, De Mazenod College, Kandana will travel to Pittsburg, PA in the USA to represent Sri Lanka at the annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair from the 14th through 18th of this month. The participants met with Education Minister, the Hon. Bandula Gunawardena, prior to their departure to the US. 

By Cassandra Mascarenhas

As the fifth largest export revenue earner in Sri Lanka, the BPO industry has recorded phenomenal growth over the last couple of years. Looking to differentiate itself in this rapidly expanding sector, Hayleys Business Solutions International (HBSI) recently became the first and only BPO in the country to obtain CarbonNeutral certification, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and service differentiation.

The Institute of Personnel Management Sri Lanka Inc. announced that it will host its International HR Conference 2012 on June 26 and 27, at Waters Edge, Battaramulla.

A preoccupation for CFOs in today's global economy is how they can shape and evolve the optimal finance model to drive business performance. Increasingly, finance and accounting delivery through shared services and outsourcing is playing an important part in optimizing the structure of the finance function.

Dialog Group recorded strong growth in revenue during the first quarter to register Rs 12.9 billion, a significant increase of 8% relative to Q4 2011 and 18% relative to Q1 2011 ended 31st March 2012.

The three winners of the Sri Lanka Science and Engineering Fair (SLSEF) 2011 - Chathura Saman Kumara from Pinnawala Central College, Rambukkana, Maleen Wijeratna from Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala, and a team comprising Pipunika Vimanthi Silva and Nipun Kavishka Silva from, De Mazenod College, Kandana will travel to Pittsburg, PA in the USA to represent Sri Lanka at the annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair from the 14th through 18th of this month.

99X Technology became the first-ever software company in Sri Lanka to win the prestigious Arch of Europe Gold Award for Quality and Technology. The award was handed over to 99X Technology CEO Mano Sekaram at the BID International Quality Convention 2012 held in Frankfurt, Germany earlier this week.

“Sri Lanka is ahead of many countries in mobile users with 90 percent population coverage with 18 million out of its population of about 21 million.”

“Adaptability”, “the ability to change” or “the capacity to accommodate” are what we expect when we talk about agility in general. These are reasonable expectations. The same expectations will apply in the arena of business, business processes and the technology that governs it.

SLIIT is a leader in the education sector which provides focused academic pathways to students through the institute's Professional Development Programmes, enabling students to develop and reach their full potential within a highly competitive business arena.

The TRCSL ventured in exploring the possibility of extending its broadband QoS of fixed broadband services to remote locations to check whether the subscribers are receiving the same level of service as observed by the TRCSL at its monitoring unit.

The subscribers who are using fixed broadband to access the Internet have recently complained to the TRCSL regarding discriminatory action carried out by some providers in their operations.