By Hiran H.Senewiratne
Seventy five per cent of the Research and Development (R&D) work of the global cloud enterprise software company, IFS, is being done in Colombo and its Sri Lanka operations are incredibly robust, IFS Chief Executive Officer Darren Roos said.
“Over the past five years, our employee base in Sri Lanka has almost tripled since 2017 to over 5000 and it will further increase by around 400 this year. We will also continue to invest in our business in Sri Lanka, Rood said in Colombo recently at a function held at the Hotel Shangri La, Colombo to celebrate IFS’ 25 years of operations in Sri Lanka.
Roos added: ‘IFS Sri Lanka is IFS ‘s most extensive R&D center outside of Sweden and supports functions across Finance, Procurement, Marketing, Global Customer Support, Cloud Operations, Consulting and IFS Labs.
‘Today IFS Sri Lanka is a powerhouse in the local ICT industry, accounting for around 40 per cent of IFS’s global staff. Over the last 25 years, the company has generated more than 5,000 employment opportunities for Sri Lankans, helping to shape the future of many industry professionals.
‘Since its beginnings in 1997, with just 26 employees in a two- roomed office in Colombo 03, IFS has made major investments in the workforce and community, becoming the second largest technology employer in the country. At present over 5000 employees are working in the Sri Lanka office, which was a great team with great talents and could compete with any country in the world.
‘The Sri Lankan team has played a critical role in providing IFS with the organizational support and agility needed to achieve its growth.
‘The team’s contribution to our success and company culture is felt throughout the organization because it supports so many of IFS’s working processes from R&D to HR, Marketing, Support and more.
‘At a time when Sri Lanka’s ICT industry is developing, IFS saw an opportunity to set up its innovation hub in the Asian region due to the country’s excellent technology talent. Sri Lanka is now an integral part of IFS’s international success, with close to 80% of global product support services and 60 per cent of the global product development of IFS being facilitated out of Colombo.
‘IFS Sri Lanka also manages the South Asia Customer Organization, which offers services and support for IFS Cloud.’
IFS Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Ranil Rajapakse, who is an original IFS Sri Lanka employee, said that 25 years ago, IFS was virtually unknown in Sri Lanka, but today people recognize it as a well-respected technology big-hitter and a force to be reckoned with in the industry.
‘IFS has also taken bold steps to improve living standards and break the poverty cycle in Sri Lanka through the IFS Foundation, having invested in a series of projects in partnership with local communities in remote and rural areas, he said.