Information Technology in Northern Province: The Shift in Pattern

Northern Province is now known globally for its new mantra- Information Technology; which has its roots in the strategic infection started by the success of Sri Lankas export led software industry. Just a few years ago, a small group of initiators within the government and entrepreneurs outside, visioned the opportunities and started branching from export of software to IT Enabled Services. The government responded to this move by being a silent spectator, rather than imposing rules and controls. But within two years of this great initiative, even the government has come up with full support to change the environment for Information Technology (IT). While the initial phase of IT in India witnessed a very small segment of public representatives in the government and entrepreneurs managing the micro environment to get more and more Information Technology related business to India, the government will now enable a paradigm shift to "Hub to Globally Competitive value services" as against talent provider (Long Term National IT Policy), thus working as a catalyst to change the macro environment to suit this opportunity. This has transformed Information Technology Business in India from a small sector to a large and growing industry. This change in status is leading to a major shift in pattern: From 1. IT as a sector 2.Providing satisfactory services to existing increase in demand 3.Government controlling infrastructure Technology 4.IT for specialists 5.Fulfilling external demand To IT as an Industry Adding value to sustain the growth Government facilitating infrastructure and and technology IT for masses Creating internal demand

I. Information Technology Industry

Overview

The IT & ITes sector includes IT services, engineering design and R&D services, ITES (ITenabled services) or BPO and hardware. Today IT and ITES sectors lead the economic growth in terms of employment, export promotion, revenue generation and standards of living.
Introduction to the terms:

Information Technology (IT) is defined as the design, development, implementation and management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. Today, it has grown to cover most aspects of computing and technology. The largest firms globally include IBM, HP, Dell and Microsoft. The Information Technology-Enabled Services (ITES) industry provides services that are delivered over telecom or data network to a range of external business areas. Examples of such business process outsourcing (BPO) include customer service, web-content development, back office management and network consultancy etc.
Factors leading to growth in the IT/ITes sector are:

Low operating costs and tax advantage. Favorable government policies. Technically qualified personnel easily available in the country. Rapid adoption of IT technologies in major sectors as Telecom, Manufacturing and BFSI. Strong growth in export demand from new verticals and non-traditional sectors as public sector, media and utilities. Use of new and emerging technologies such as cloud computing. SEZ as growth drivers; as more of SEZs are now being set up in Tier II cities and about 43 new tier II/III cities are emerging as IT delivery locations. All these factors have given IT/ITES industry in India a strong competitive position with high market share.
Employment trends

In the Northern province IT jobs opportunities available in the following sectors as State Institute, Private Companies, BPO Companies, KPO Companies and IT Training Institute. A recent survey of the ICTA of Sri Lanka reveals that 60000 persons are employed in IT sectors of the country, in this survey indicates 79% male, 21% female. In Northern Province have around 40000 youths.

Internet trends

More recently, online retailing, cloud computing and e-commerce are leading to rapid growth in the IT industry. Online shopping is fast gaining popularity with the emergence of internet retailing and e-commerce.

Government Initiatives

Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) proposes to strengthen and extend the existing core infrastructure projects to provide more horizontal connectivity, build redundancy connectivity, undertake energy audits of State Data Centers (SDCs) etc. The core infrastructure including fibre optic based connectivity will be leveraged and additional 1000 Common Service Centres will be setup to create the right Governance and service delivery system such as e-Sri Lanka.
II. Value Addition

Most business value from IT systems is focused on the core-functions, which we will discuss in this story. Some of the aspects that most CIOs touched about were: Growth projects that focus on increasing top line revenue. These projects focus on sales and marketing with specific revenue growth goals like order size enlargement and improved response times. How IT can enable and fuel new projects that can bring cash flow into the organization faster and improve the customer experience. Efficiency drivers that deliver bottom-line savings. Target improvements in operations and create system wide efficiencies adopting lean manufacturing systems or value added technologies that can give you incremental savings in your operational costs. Typical initiatives include improving supply chain operations and procurement leverage, mitigating aggregate credit risks, reducing AR days, reducing cost of sales, and improving overall sales cycles. Compliance initiatives mitigate risk. These initiatives zero in on adhering to external mandates from government entities or other governing bodies of authority. Emblematic efforts include addressing public market regulations, supporting privacy preferences, delivering internal controls, and meeting security requirements. Strategic efforts support a companys long-term vision. Strategic efforts deliver on market differentiating strategies. Application projects focus on building customer loyalty, identifying customer value, fostering stakeholder collaboration, addressing stakeholder retention, and improving master data quality.

Call Center Operations should be need in Northern

The call center operations within any company are only as strong as its leaders. Agents may have all the training and skills necessary to deliver an effective performance; yet weak leaders or poor training can leave even the most seasoned and professional agent left with little room for improvement. Fortunately, Knowledge has developed a playbook for call center leaders. This playbook offers the seven fundamental plays from the coaching all-star playbook, designed to empower call center leaders to develop a team to drive optimal call center operations. This playbook offers fundamental plays considered to be the hallmarks of great coaching in the call center space.

1.

Deliver True Coaching

Providing the call center operations team with some tips for moving forward is not coaching. Targeted training for frontline supervisors to help facilitate great coaching is key for success in all call center operations. A Knowlagent study found that 80 percent of executives do not believe supervisors have the right skills for coaching. Proper training starts from the top down. 2. Make the Coaching Targeted It can be a challenge for supervisors within the call center operations environment to keep up with the performance of all team members and individualize coaching plans. When KPIs are linked, coaching instances can be targeted to performance trends to identify problems and opportunities for enhanced performance. 3. Coaching Should be Frequent It is easy to spend too much coaching time on those who are performing at the lowest levels. Time has to be made for both agents and coaches to interact on performance problems and opportunities for enhancement. Call center operations will benefit from frequent coaching of all agents with fairly equal distribution of time. 4. Coaching Should be Actionable When coaching is not actionable, it is really just advice. Call center operations improve when coaching is actionable. To accomplish this, supervisors should break the call down into key steps; identify the step where the agent is struggling; and identify the behaviors that are needed to execute the step effectively. 5. Coaching Should be Consistent When coaching happens on an ad hoc basis, agents performing at similar levels will receive very different levels and types of coaching. Call center operations will improve when standards are created and built into the coaching process. When coaching goes unmeasured, call center operations overall suffer. A measurement system should be embedded into the overall training process so that leaders know who and what is getting coached and how it links to performance. 6. Coaching Must be Measurable When coaching goes unmeasured, call center operations overall suffer. A measurement system should be embedded into the overall training process so that leaders know who and what is getting coached and how it links to performance. 7. Individual Accountability Should be Required Mechanisms for increasing performance should be present for effective call center operations. When this is not in place, agents can quickly become dissatisfied with their prospects for advancement. Through creating a partnership for overall improvement and performance all call center operations will benefit.

III. Facilitating Infrastructure and Technology

The Information Infrastructure Program handles all activities that envision giving citizens affordable access to information, modern communication and electronic services at any time, from anywhere, enabling them to be a part of the global community. A question that is often asked is how an ICT Infrastructure programme contributes to a countrys development objectives? The answer has been seen empirically in many developing countries where the following indicators are directly related to growth: 1. Connectivity availability of a delivery channel for information and ICT services 2. Accessibility availability of connected access devices 3. Content availability of timely, relevant and localised applications, information and services.
Bandwidth requirements

Operation Bandwidth has other recommendations to add value to ITES. Some of the most important ones include: Interconnectivity between networks of different service providers Drastic Reduction in tariffs to encourage more value addition. Steep volume discounts to help companies take more bandwidth and provide better customer service. IT enabled services cos be permitted to directly negotiate capapcity requirements with fibre optic companies Web based call centers
Legal framework for IT

Further to make e things happen, a combination of government regulation, industry self regulation and consumer education is essential. For this it is essential that the National advisory commitee works out (a) Industry code of practice (b) E-commerce code for personal information protection (c) Parents advisory group for protecting children intrests
Infrastructure and the states

incentives, infrastructure facilities, coupled with adequate pool of skilled manpower.

IV Information Technology for Masses

The Information Society Index, prepared by the World Times and the International Data Corporation, gives one way of measuring a countrys preparedness, across four types of infrastructure. a) Information: Creating the capacity to send and receive information by telephone, television, radio and fax. b) Computer : Extending access to computers in schools, workplaces and homes, building networks and using software. c) Internet : Expanding the internet in schools, workplaces and homes and enabling

d) Social

electronic commerce. : Buildinmg peoples capacity to use information through education, freedom of the press and civil liberty.

V Creating Internal Demand

It is my contention that to understand fully the relationship between domestic demand and the ability to export, one needs to expand ones time horizon to very long period and consider the changing nature of domestic demand itself in a growth setting. Thus introducing or expanding of better substitute to domestic market for IT

VI Recommendations

While a lot of steps have been taken towards a stronger infrastructure and reduced cost base, some focussed efforts need to be done in the following directions.
1.PSTN connectivity 2. Income Tax Exemption 3.Global Parity in Telecom Infrastructure 4. Inter-connectivity of International Call Centers/IT Enabled Services 5. Reduction in tariffs for International connectivity 6. Interconnectivity across multiple networks 7. 7x24 support of DoT links 8. Reduce Delays in Provisioning of International Bandwidth 9. Scarcity of International bandwidth on Fibre 10. Build Supply Base of best knowledge workers 11. Grameen Data Processing Centres 12. Creating the Ideal regulatory environment 13. IT Policy to encourage women entrepreneurs and employment