Today is Sri Lanka proudly celebrates its 68th Independence Day. Now despite being a small nation in the middle of the Indian Ocean, we have a quite a few things we can be proud of. Our food is great. We have a united society that embraces different cultures and stands strong in the face of racism. The natural beauty we find across the island makes traveling amazing.
We also have a great tech industry in Sri Lanka. Despite being a small nation in the Indian Ocean, our tech industry has made great strides over the years. So what exactly makes our tech industry great? There’re many answers to that questions. Here’re four of the main things that answer the question of what makes our tech industry great.
1. Sri Lankan software powers the world
Dig through the many layers of code that help eBay process $2000 per second and you’ll find WSO2’s middleware powering it. From London to Italy to Singapore, MilleniumIT powers some of the world’s biggest stock exchanges. More than 600 companies in 12 countries use Microimage’s HCM to manage their HR Operations. These just a few examples of Sri Lankan companies that have helped create a powerful image of Sri Lanka’s IT industry. These are companies that produce great products that tell the world, “Hi, we are from Sri Lanka and we are better than everyone else.”
2. A strong entrepreneurship drive
Entrepreneurs and startups are a common sight in Sri Lanka’s tech industry. Every year we see countless startups with great ideas and passionate founders. If we were to tell each of their stories, we’d have enough articles for the entire year. Much credit for this entrepreneurship drive, of course, lies with all the support our tech industry gets. There’re countless sources of funding with investors and other sources being easy to find. There’s also initiatives such as NBQSA and e-Swabhimani that help startups get the recognition they need as well. Yet not all startups succeed – entrepreneurship is still a gamble. However, the ones that do succeed go on to make a huge impact on our lives and gain global recognition as well.
3. A talented set of people
Whether its artificial intelligence, robotics, big data or cloud computing, our tech industry is made up of talented people that are well versed in these topics. This is why our tech industry has so many achievements. It consists of great people. We’re not just referring to the leaders that steer this industry, but also the talented engineers and business people that power the gears of the industry. Despite large countries such as India outnumbering us 100 to 1, we put up a tough fight. And it’s quite often that we win the fight. Yet, for many years, their true potential remained locked. The recent entrepreneurship drive we mentioned above has helped unlocked this potential and is already taking our industry to the next level.
4. We have a lot of events
Large conferences, active hackathons, insightful meetups, intense competitions. It’s rare to see a month go by without at least one event happening in the tech industry. Yes, if there’s one industry in Sri Lanka that’s full of life it’s the tech industry. These events also show that it’s one of the most collaborative industries there is. Go to any of the tech events in the calendar and you’ll find a massive knowledge exchange happening. Both the speakers and attendees at any tech event in Sri Lanka will come from different companies/universities. However, this has never stopped anyone from sharing whatever knowledge they have. This collaboration and knowledge sharing is probably the greatest aspect of our tech events.
These are but a few points
These are just a few great things about our tech industry. What do you think makes our IT industry great? Let us know in the comments below.
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