Business ICT

ICTA to launch grant schemes

A comprehensive update on the developments in the ICT Capacity Building Programme (ICBP), a programme implemented by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) which is a US$5.2 million initiative to provide a short-term boost to private sector ICT firms will be released in next month.

The ICTA together with the ICT Industry is making strides towards increasing the ICT workforce that will feed this fast growing industry in the form of a ‘National ICT Capacity Building Strategy’.

Under the ICTA’s Industry Capacity Building programme many initiatives have been taken to increase HR capacity and quality of the existing ICT Industry that would assist Sri Lankan Companies to compete effectively in the International ICT environment.

“Assistance has been given to over 60 companies to get internationally accredited certifications which will enhance the Company quality and recognition” said COO/Director of ICT Agency of Sri Lanka, Reshan Dewapura.

“Scholarships are awarded to aspiring ICT professionals to follow recognised foreign and local courses in order to gain more knowledge and experience,” he added.

The ‘Train the Trainer’ programme, incentives for in house training for ICT companies and the ‘Training Voucher’ scheme where an incentive is given to individuals who at present are not in the ICT Industry in order to gain a basic ICT education are also carried out under ICBP. Seminars and Workshops are also organised at regular intervals in response to the Industry requirement.

Encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship in the ICT Industry, part subsides are given for innovative ICT projects including projects related to improving processors related to Sri Lanka’s thrust industries such as the tourism industry, apparel industry and the gem and jewelry industry.

A special programme to assist computerisation of accounting processors for the small and medium enterprises is also underway with the collaboration of reputed banks in the country.

Business matchmaking for Sri Lankan companies who want to enter the outsource market or widen their existing foreign client base in order to assist them to sell their products and services to the UK is another unique project carried under ICBP.

The ICTA Private Sector Forum is a platform which has been used effectively in the past by Industry and other stakeholders to exchange views on the ICT Agency driven programmes. The demand for the event has been growing steadily and we saw more than 300 Industry Leaders participating at the last event’ Programme Manager, ICTA, Fayaz Hudah, said.

The 12th Information Communication Technology Agency Private Sector Forum will be held on August 5, in Colombo.

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eCollege honoured as finalist in 2008 CODiE Awards

eCollege, the USA’s leading provider of comprehensive online learning technology to colleges, universities and schools, was recently named a finalist in the Software and Information Industry Association’s (SIIA) 23rd Annual CODiE Awards. The company’s software teams - located in Colorado, USA and Colombo, Sri Lanka - were honoured in the Best Postsecondary Enterprise Solution category.

Established in 1986 by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), the CODiE Awards celebrate outstanding achievement and vision in the software, digital information and education technology industries in 68 categories of outstanding product and services.

This year’s finalists represent an impressive array of technology and business excellence, passion and success. They were chosen from more than 1,100 nominations submitted by more than 600 companies.

“Competition was tough this year and that makes selection as a CODiE finalist a real achievement,” said SIIA president Ken Wasch. “All the companies on this year’s list should feel justifiably proud of their recognition”.

The eCollege solution provides a comprehensive, Software-as-a-Service course management system coupled with the best support services in the industry.

The company provides all the hardware, software and support for successful online learning under one roof, allowing schools to focus on what is truly important: creating and maintaining top-notch educational programmes.

“To be a CODiE finalist is a terrific honour, and recognises the diligence and dedication of our software engineering teams in both the United States and Sri Lanka,” said Chief Technology Officer at eCollege Vance Allen.

In 2007, eCollege launched its next-generation eLearning platform. This new platform unites eCollege’s tradition of stability and reliability with greater capabilities to exchange information between eCollege and the school’s other administrative systems, such as enrolment.

The new eCollege platform provides schools with greater control over the look and feel of their online courses for more personalised learning. A team of more than 25 software engineers and quality assurance technicians from the company’s headquarters in the United States and eCollege Lanka worked to develop the new technology platform using the latest Microsoft.Net technology.

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Lumen Technologies introduces Xerox Solid Ink technology

Lumen Technologies Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Golden Key Group under the Ceylinco Consolidated, introduced the Xerox Solid Ink technology to the Health Care industry in order to maintain high standards in the local health care industry.

Solid Ink technology uses solid ink cakes, which are used to print images of the internal body parts of a human body, when a gamma camera is inserted to study the patient’s illnesses. When the gamma camera is inserted to the human body, what appears on the screen is not what is printed out always using laser, bubble jet or ink jet technology.

Opposed to the other technologies, the solid ink machine uses cakes of ink, melting it on to the paper and furthermore covers it with a varnish to print the same colours what appears on the screen of the gamma camera. Further more Xerox Phaser 8560 Solid Ink Machine has features of networking, duplex and even adds on more trays to customise the paper selections.

This way one or more users can use the machine at the same time if necessary. The solid ink technology and the ink which is used are eco friendly. It generates 1/40th the waste of a typical laser device and its energy star compliant; Xerox Green World Alliance and Environmental Choice standard are the certifications received world wide. Xerox manufactures machines according to the industry and manufactures with in the standards of the industry.

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Verizon Business and Virtusa develop innovative approach to IT asset management

Verizon Business and Virtusa Corporation have teamed up to develop an innovative approach to the management of information technology (IT) assets.

Verizon Business has developed specialised software that dramatically enhances the company’s ability to manage its portfolio of IT assets in line with corporate objectives. This new software is supported by a unique scoring and analysis model developed with Virtusa Corporation. The resulting approach gives Verizon Business the ability to assess the business value of IT applications within the company’s broad portfolio.

With improved management of Verizon Business’s IT portfolio, which grew in part from numerous acquisitions and mergers, the company is able to more efficiently grow services as well as improve the customer experience.

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” said senior vice president and chief information office of Verizon Business Judy Spitz,. “By continually capturing more than 100 data-points for each asset, we are able to monitor and analyse the business value and IT efficiency dimensions across our entire application portfolio. This new level of visibility strengthens our roadmap planning for optimal investment in our strategic systems.”

The model measures IT applications in terms of their efficiency, effectiveness and revenue impact. The application scoring model supports the company’s efforts to improve its use of IT applications, hardware and software resources.

“This innovative approach will provide Verizon Business with an edge in the marketplace by enabling Dan Kielar a much higher level of informed decision-making,” said, senior vice president of Virtusa.

“This programme can enable IT organisations to intelligently rationalise and evolve their IT assets into agile platforms that result in faster time-to-market, greater efficiency and better customer service. We are pleased that our approach aligned so well with Verizon Business’ objectives.”

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iSmart Timex entrust Softlogic Trading for Total IT Solution

iSmart Timex has selected Softlogic Trading (Pvt) Ltd., to be the total IT provider supplying DELL computers, servers and tape back-up systems.

The Chief Executive Officer of iSmart Timex Moin said “this alliance forged with one of the best IT solutions companies in Sri Lanka, gives us a great deal of confidence to enhance our business presence and market growth strategies in the years to come”.

Chief Executive Officer of Softlogic Trading Roshan Rasool said “It is commendable of the iSmart Timex management to put so much of emphasis on quality before price when selecting a partner to work with them. This is truly an “acid test” for most organisations and clearly indicates to us the values they uphold to provide their customers quality service deliverance.

Timex Fergasam Group with 8000 manpower and 40 years experience in the business, entered into a strategic alliance and a joint venture early this year with iSmart Global a leading Business Process Outsource (BPO) company with 7000 manpower and 13 years experience to float “iSmart Timex (Pvt) LTD”.

iSmart Timex BPO offers a host of business solutions all related to back office outsourcing requirements/services, including Customer care, Contact centre, Financial, Insurance facilities.

It has a state-of-the-art infrastructure and superior level of expertise in areas such as Human Resource, Training and Quality Assurance that would make the company a most sought after BPOs in the country. iSmart Timex (Pvt) LTD, set a new benchmark in the industry recently when they were awarded a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for training from ICCSP (International Call Centre Skills Professional).

iSmart Timex hopes to make a positive impact in the employment sector and the economy expecting to recruit 700 people before the end of this year. They will be catering to local as well as international clients.

Their latest contract with the largest GSM Telephone operator in South Asia is a fine example. iSmart Timex will be providing all customer management related services to this giant operation that is set to launch in the near future.

Softlogic Trading (Pvt) Ltd. is the sole authorised distributor and service provider for DELL, Microsoft Gold Partner and Cisco Premier Partner.

Based on import statistics Softlogic Trading is among the Top three Information Technology companies in Sri Lanka today. The organisation structure defines to two strategic business units, the PC Business Unit and the Enterprise Business Systems Unit.