Challenges to Sri Lankan ICT industry due to Covid-19 pandemic situation are quite similar to what is being experienced in many other industries too. Among them, possibility of collapsing markets and therefore the risk of uncertainty for survival and sustain in business (at least to secure revenues sufficient to cover the overheads)has become the most commonly visible challenge.
Sri Lanka is now facing a great risk of shrinking revenues for ICT Sector companies due to the depression in the export markets.
This was mainly due to order cancellations, suspension of on-going projects, inability collect due payments, inability to travel to provide on-site services, etc. as well as diminishing opportunities in the local market (what ICT companies used to enjoy).
Given the situation, it can also be well assumed that Sri Lanka may experience an exorbitant balance of payment deficit in excess of USD 1-2 Billion in the coming year, and therefore stringent import and travel restrictions are likely to be imposed by the Government.
With good infrastructure readiness in the country, majority of IT workforce can remotely work from homes in case of a disaster.
For example some organizations have well established BCP (Business Continuity Plan) implemented and backed by ISO-27001 certified business processes.
While it would take a huge investment to hire own staff, foreign companies could register a business and setup your own office in Sri Lanka, there are plenty of IT offshoring companies where they build & host bespoke remote IT teams .
This reduces the cost & time of starting up own remote team by multi-folds as foreign companies need to only pay a monthly fee for the talents you require, official sources said.
Sri Lanka, the island of ingenuity, has been celebrated for the innovation, creativity, and problem-solving capabilities for centuries.
From providing intricate engineering solutions to building expansive tanks and lofty stupas to innovating scalable solutions, Sri Lankan had been at the forefront in providing simple solutions to big questions.
Today, the inbuilt ingenuity of Sri Lankans are expressed through our cutting edge innovations in the ICT sector and Sri Lankan ICT metal is behind the innovations that power international stock markets, telecommunication and transportation systems in Europe and the UK.
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