Sri Lanka shouldfocus on software product development
Sushena Ranatunga owns and operates 3 software companies in Sri Lanka namely Creative Solutions, Four Corners Lanka and Cambio Software Engineering employing over 400 software engineers, and counts over 25 years in the industry .He recently shared his views about the importance of nurturing the talents of our future generations into positioning Sri Lanka as an innovative software development destination .
Sushena said “Sri Lanka whilst being best known as a destination providing resources to other software companies overseas is still very weak when it comes to Software Product IP rights. If you take most of the leading software companies in Sri Lanka, we are providing skilled resources to the developed world for a monthly rate. We basically have very few product owners and companies that actually own the rights to the software that they market. In my view to have a vibrant IT industryin Sri Lanka we must have the ambition and the pioneering spirit to create and own products which will have a worldwide presence .This is where the real money is.”
He outlined some of the best examples of Software Product IP Rights such as Microsoft Office or SAP where companies generated an income whenever a licence of these products are sold to a client.
Sushena further emphasised that “Software is essential to all industries today. Thus, there is an enormous market potential for theright Software Products or applications.Hence, in my opinion our younger generationsshould be encouraged to be innovators and entrepreneurs rather than simply become developers for a product owned by someone else. The best time to do this is when they have left school or completed an IT degree of their choice from a state or private university.If you take most of the successful people in the industry such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerbergand LarryPage,you will note that they have all started their ventures when they were very young. Today the world is getting smaller with the Internet. People in countries like ours get access to information just like any other person in the developed world. Therefore we must encourage our younger generation to make use of this information. Small ideas can make big changes in the IT field”.
He added “Our best brains just after a university degree are wired to immediately look for the highest paying company. Unfortunately they don’t see the big picture and realize that their cumulative income from a paying job throughout their lifetime, can be earned in just one month if they come out with anexceptionally good idea to develop a product. If you take majority of the founders of some of the largest software companies of today you will note that they have started very smallby developing a small application thathaseventually reached greater heights in attracting multinational companies. Some have even started their companies in garden tents since they had no funds to acquire office space. However all of them had the passion and the belief in their products and themselves which has lead them towards revolutionising industries business landscapes. This is what we need to evoke in our young people as well.
Sushena concluded by saying “ At Creative Solutions we are willing to assist talented youth with an innovative but marketable softwareproduct idea to start their own entities. This to us would be the best kind of CSR programme that we could initiate to enhance and unleash the full potential of our youth that will also benefit our country in the long run,” ,
