Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka’s telecom industry, which faces an ‘overcrowding’ risk in the medium term would be in a much healthier position overall, if the industry tread through the direction of consolidation, a special report on the telecom industry by Fitch Ratings said.

“The changes that have happened in the last 10 years are greater than what has happened in the previous 100 years”- Bill Gates.

The CIMA Business Leaders Summit 2011 will take place at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo on 21-22 June 2010. The two-day flagship event in the CIMA calendar is expected to attract over 500 diverse groups of corporates, business leaders and professionals.

Internet has penetrated almost every part of the world today and it has already begun to reshape how we live, communicate and how we are governed. Social web tools which are known as Web 2.0 tools such as Twitter and Facebook have made it possible to facilitate political uprisings which are spreading like wildfire in the Middle East.  Wikileaks, a phenomenon of Internet age, showed how vulnerable powerful governments such as the United States are. Citizens world over debate whether there is anything called government secrets due to Wikileaks revelations. Even veteran users of internet may be asking how internet is governed. What are the important organizations which keep Internet running? The answer is - several organizations which are loosely connected and one of the most important of these is the  Internet Society popularly known as ISOC the Sri Lanka Chapter launched on 25th March 2011.

OLAK Group celebrated its newest partnership with the Indira Group of Institutes amidst an elite gathering in a fitting finale at the cinnamon lakeside with Hon. Faiszer Mustapha (Deputy Minister of Technology & Research)as the chief guest.

University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC) BIT Degree Convocation was held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) recently.  Dr. P.S.M. Gunaratne, Acting Vice Chancellor of the Colombo University presided at this ceremony.

Ada Derana has delivered accessibility on yet another platform with the launch of an app for Apple iphones and ipads. This is Sri Lanka’s first comprehensive and interactive app and is in line with its international counterparts.

Globally, there has been an immense surge within the software industry in terms of demand for qualified and suitably trained experts within this field, and Sri Lanka is fast emerging as a preferred global IT-BPO destination of choice in a number of spheres.  The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) seeks to provide a boost to this sector through the institutes partnership with Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) to offer a world class Masters degree programme in Enterprise Applications Development (EAD).

While completely dismissing media reports with speculations of a possible location shift for the Colombo University, the Higher Education Ministry assured there would be absolutely no such location shift in the university premises.

India’s second largest software exporter Infosys has raised concerns that negative sentiment about outsourcing in various countries, including the US and the UK , could hurt its business prospects .

In recent times, there has been increasing criticism about outsourcing in many developed markets, especially in the wake of huge job losses due to sluggish economic activities. “Recently, some countries and organisations have expressed concerns about a perceived association between offshore outsourcing and the loss of jobs,” Infosys said in a recent filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Senior Indian Professor of Operations Management B. Mahadevan has adviced developing nations such as Sri Lanka to positively exploit growth opportunities available in the service sector by utilizing Information Technology as the backbone to bridge the geographical gap with other nations which will ensure long term economic growth for the country.

Federation for Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) will host 2011 ASOCIO (Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation) plenary council meetings in Colombo from 6-7 June 2011 at Cinnamon LakeSide Hotel.

Computer and information & communication technology are powerful weapons in the country’s development war, Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya  said recently.

Sierra Global Network Private Limited, one of the leading telecommunication infrastructure development and managed services company has established it’s latest regional office in Mullaitivu to cater to the growing needs of the newly liberated area.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) recently published the 2011 Bound Volume of the Sri Lanka Accounting Standards which will be effective from January 01, 2012 and is based on the corresponding International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Accounting Standards (IAS) (2009 bound volume).

Facebook, the social media giant, has now reached a 665+ million user base with 80 million new accounts in the first quarter of 2011. It is with no doubt that it has hit the Sri Lankan context with a 47.2% online penetration that is a user base of 830k+ taking the country into the 75th position of the global Facebook list. However, Sri Lanka experienced a 7% drop in the user base that is over a 64k+ users. Mark & Comm Limited (MNC), a strategic marketing, reputation and communications partnered with Social Baker, the heart for Facebook statistics and a leading Facebook App developer, to bring in insights into Facebook pages in Sri Lanka and how it is misused when it comes to brand engagement, and the measures taken to tackle and change perspective.

Finishing school is an exhilarating feeling, after thirteen years of structure you’re suddenly free to move on, to pursue your dreams and are ready to get the most out of life. Now that  it’s time to step into the real world , you need to decide what you are going to do with the rest of your life-definitely no small decision to make .This is therefore , a good time to start thinking about a concrete plan which will in turn determine the course of your professional life.

Sri Lanka’s economy grew by an impressive 8% in 2010, reflecting a fast recovery from the setback suffered for many years, and has moved to a high and sustainable growth path. All key sectors of the economy demonstrated commendable performance in 2010, underpinned by the peaceful domestic environment, and improved investor confidence, favourable macroeconomic conditions and gradual recovery of the global economy from one of the deepest recessions in history.

Dr. P. B.  Jayasundara, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Planning, in his keynote speech to the CIO forum of Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) a few weeks back, illustrated the key changes that happened in the Sri Lankan economy roughly from 1990 to 2010, without referring to any particular government.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is now inviting entries for the 10th CIMA Annual Awards. The awards recognise excellence in management accountancy and honours those involved in promoting the profession from around the world. The individuals, teams and organisations who have achieved outstanding success throughout 2011 are recognised by the awards.

The Lanka BPO Academy (LBA) is taking a major initiative to accelerate and drive the growth of the BPO industry by launching world recognized qualifications that matches the requirements of BPO employers to build industry-specific expertise and ensure better job outcomes for individuals.

The term “App” which has been used for decades as shorthand for “software application” had a recent resurgence in use and popularity due to the advent of mobile applications on Apples iPhone. This term has now extended to refer to small software applications on all types of computers, phones and other devices. This article will focus on the growing market for Apps in regular desktop and notebook computers.  

India’s leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel which entered the Sri Lankan market two years ago, may look into opportunities of acquiring an existing celco or telco, considering prevailing market conditions, according to a senior Airtel official. “This is not the right time to consider an opportunity as such, but  from time to time we may consider such opportunities in Sri Lanka.”

Mohandas Pai,a Member of the Board of Directors of Infosys, and Head – Administration, Education and Research, Finances, Human Resources, and Infosys Leadership Institute is scheduled to be in Colombo with N. Ahmedali founder of HR Cornucopia India,one of the fastest growing HR Consulting outfits to address the AAT CEO Forum on May 9.   Mohan joined Infosys in 1994 and has served as a Member of the Board since May 2000. He was the Chief Financial Officer from 1994 to 2006. In 2006, he voluntarily demitted the office of CFO to lead efforts in the areas of Human Resources and Education and Research.

Showcasing organisational success stories for the benefit of the wider business community is a key objective of the CIMA Case Study Awards 2011. The Technical Team of CIMA Sri Lanka division held a workshop on case study narration on 9 April 2011 at the CIMA auditorium with this objective in mind - focusing on improving participant’s capability to identify, document, analyse and evaluate a real life organisational case.