Daily News

11-Mar-2010

Novell India Partner Academy, a training program for Novell's partners in selling, distributing and supporting Novell's suite of enterprise IT solutions, held for the first time in Colombo, was a major success.

11-Mar-2010

By Rafik JALALDEEN

Cellular phone usage in Sri Lanka has shown a dramatic rise. A total of over 14 million registered SIM card holders are reported to be using mobile phones, a Telecommunication Regulatory Commission spokesman said.

Over 14 million registered SIM card holders use mobile phones as a means of communication in Sri Lanka. As a developing country, it is a high figure compared with many other developing nations.

Nearly 16.8 percent use fixed land line phones. He said mobile phone users are growing in the country.

10-Mar-2010

Sri Lanka Telecom entered into a partnership with the Moratuwa University to conduct the Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) external degree program at its established Training Centre at Welisara.

The agreement was signed at the Sri Lanka Telecom premises on Monday.

Sri Lanka Telecom Chairperson Leisha De Silva Chandrasena and the Moratuwa University Vice Chancellor Prof. Malik Ranasinghe signed the agreement.

9-Mar-2010

Nimesha Priyadarshani of Katawela Kanishta Vidyalaya was offered a scholarship to study at the Infosys Institute, Hyderabad by Infosys Institute, Founder and Chairman Nayana Moorthy.

She was one of the students sponsored by the Rotary Club of Colombo West, to follow the Toast Masters ‘speech’ Program.

The Chart Foundation, formed under the auspices of the Rotary Club of Colombo West, plans to take the next step by making the Katawela village an integral part of the global village.

8-Mar-2010

By Ramani Kangaraarachchi

UK and Sri Lanka are prioritizing their investments in developing graduate entrepreneurship and enterprise education.

New businesses can lift nations out of recession through job creation which is economic policy’s top priority. British Council Sri Lanka Country Director, Gill Westway said.

8-Mar-2010

Sri Lanka-India Centre for English Language Training (SLICELT) enables every child in Sri Lanka to learn English and access equal opportunities, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said.

She was speaking at the inauguration of the SLICELT at the National College of Education in Peradeniya yesterday.

This promotes English language learning to bring about a better life, Rao said.

English as a life skill, which reacts in fostering our relationship in every angle.

5-Mar-2010

By K. Davidraj(Commerce and Management Faculty Eastern University of Sri Lanka)

An entrepreneur is an individual who owns a firm, business, or venture, and is responsible for its development.

Entrepreneurship is the practice of starting a new business or reviving an existing business, in order to capitalize on new found opportunities.

5-Mar-2010

By Harshini PERERA

While banks are moving into latest technologies with internet and mobile banking, they should also be concerned about the risk factor it carries, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said.

“In a time where people are concerned of the greater potential with less inputs in any industry, savings banks too have introduced fast moving technology into banking transactions”, Cabraal said at the World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI)’s Cross Regional Conference 2010 held at Colombo Hilton yesterday. There are more than 4000 branches and outlets of savings banks in Sri Lanka.

5-Mar-2010

By Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

Sri Lanka and India have immense growth potential for collaborations in the telecommunication industry.

UT Starcom’s Managing Director for South Asia Vijay Yadav said Sri Lanka has a well adopted technology in telecommunications and geographically Lanka is well placed.

4-Mar-2010

SaaS or Software as a service, is computer based applications and services that are provided via remote delivery to end users rather than as a packaged product to be purchased and installed by the end user.

Here an interview with the Suntel’s Head of Corporate Solutions, Ranjith Fernando on SaaS.

Q: How would SaaS transform software investments in future?

The beauty of the solution is that you can use it based on the requirement without spending initial capital expenditure to obtain services.

With the current global economic turmoil calls CEO’s of almost all companies to do business in smarter ways. Ways where earlier we have not even dreamt of. Software as a Service refers to one such way of doing business as an when you would want it.This opens a whole new world of opportunities for commercial establishments plus software vendors.

4-Mar-2010

The Information Technology Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) program organised by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) created huge interest among the student population of the North.

This was shown by more than 4000 students who participated in the three-day IT-BPO career guidance program ICTA held at the Jaffna Vembady Girls' High School the last three days of last month.

Out of the 4000 odd students from grade 9 to 12 who participated in the program the girls slightly outnumbered the boys.

2-Mar-2010

Singapore Informatics is having their project management-training program, the Advanced Project Management Training Program, leading to Project Management Professional Certification (PMP), the world’s most recognized project management credential for the fifth consecutive year.

1-Mar-2010

'The emergence of finance as a key to business transformation in light of the global downturn’ is the theme for discussion at the CIMA CFO forum held in collaboration with LBR-LBO on March 4, at Ceylon Continental Hotel.

CIMA Global President Aubrey Joachim will be the keynote speaker of the forum.

The forum will conclude with a Question and Answer session enabling an opportunity for the audience to actively interact with the speaker.

25-Feb-2010

Freedom from being constrained due to terrorism and counter terrorism acts now gives all Sri Lankans, especially in the North and the East, the prospect of gaining variety of higher education qualifications.

25-Feb-2010

Runeware Integrated together with BE Expositions India will bring to Sri Lanka the Sri Lanka Telecom Summit 2010.

This forum will gather industry leaders to discuss solutions, best practices and technology advancements in the telecommunications industry.

25-Feb-2010

By Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The ICT, BPO Industry will achieve USD 2 billion in export revenue becoming the top revenue earner of the country within the next 10 years. A report from the Export Development Board (EDB) said it will also provide 100,000 direct employment opportunities within the next five years. The report said Sri Lanka is quickly emerging as destination of choice for the ICT and BPO market and it has moved from 29th to 16 in A.T Kearney’s Global Services Location Index in the last 12 months (GSLI 2009).

25-Feb-2010

By Shirley Wijesinghe

The Information and Communication Technology Agency(ICTA) had been able to train around 10,000 Government Service officers in 350 public sector institutions in 13 districts by providing skills and competence to manage and administer e-Government projects including Lanka Government Network(LGN) through its ICT HR Capacity Building Program, Program Manager Nalani Senasekera told the Daily News yesterday.

24-Feb-2010

Kompass, a global leader in the B to B information with a database of 2.3 million companies covering all continents, unveils a new corporate identity to continue with its leading position as a provider of appropriate and accurate business information.

21-Feb-2010

By Dinesh Weerakkody

The global economic crisis of the past three years has triggered an unprecedented debate about the CEOs’ roles. Today economic changes in one part of the world affect others. The fact that in 2008 and 2009 finance ministers from around the world got together and collaborated to stabilize the global economy indicates the connectedness of the world we live in.

Therefore economic up and down turns have a direct impact on the quality of leadership and the contribution of talented people to manage the ups and the downturns. In up-markets and down more than ever leadership really matters.

24-Feb-2010

By Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The growing IT-BPO industry in Colombo offers a unique advantage for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) to enjoy premium access to Sri Lanka’s tier one talent pool, Virtusa Vice President and General Manager Madu Ratnayake told Daily News Business.

23-Feb-2010

By MTI Consulting Regional Consultant Danushka Jayakody

MTI Consulting will launch the Brand Forum, to be held on March 10 at the Ceylon Continental Hotel. Themed “The brand as a business,” the Forum focuses on identifying key challenges faced by brands and looks at avenues to be addressed in overcoming these challenges from a strategic business perspective.

23-Feb-2010

By Ramani Kangaraarachchi

Twelve Russian companies have consented to invest in Sri Lanka following the visit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Russia.

Investment Promotion and International Trade Minister Professor G.L Peiris said a delegation will arrive in Sri Lanka to have preliminary discussions early next month. The twelve companies representing key sectors of several industries such as energy, pre fabricated houses, fish processing and tourism and the private sector will reach maximum benefits from this opportunity.

23-Feb-2010

By Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka is looking very promising for development in sectors such as tourism, dairy industry, IT, apparel, agriculture and Government procurement. The challenge is to attract US investors to the country who focus on transparency, business interaction, legal framework, good governance and infrastructure facilities.

Sri Lanka’s commitment to improve infrastructure is an important move, said American Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis.

23-Feb-2010

Emerging economies face a great challenge posed by the global warming debate. The Copenhagen Environment and Climate Summit of December 2009 shed new light on our planet, the global warming issue and the responsibility of every nation to work towards the reduction of emissions Chairman/Director General of BOI, Dhammika Perera said.

19-Feb-2010

The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) in collaboration with the Industrial Services Bureau has launched a project for taking the dividends of ICT to the small scale businesses in remote villages.

The project centred around Kurunegala, Dambulla and Tambuttegama introduces two key training modules for managing a successful business - computer-based accounting and computer-based business education.