Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will launch Sri Lanka’s ICT Roadmap initiative e-Sri Lanka on November 20 which incidentally will coincide with global PC giant IBM’s 40th anniversary in the country.

An initiative of the Minister of Economic Reform, Science and Technology Milinda Moragoda, the e-Sri Lanka is a five-pronged strategy which envisions the development of Sri Lanka’s ICT (Information and communication technology) sector with the objective of taking ICT to every village, citizen and business with e-Government as its mainstay.

The e-Sri Lanka Action Plan envisions the creation and development of global markets for employment generation, development of e-Government concepts with emphasis on productivity and competitiveness and enable social-cultural integration of a united nation, revolving on the axis of developing Sri Lanka’s economy, reducing poverty and improving the quality of life and opportunities for the people.

The e-Sri Lanka will look at the most critical and quickest measures to set the ICT roadmap on its way by setting up the implementation framework, the critical staffing, implementing much awaited telecommunications reforms and the enabling e-laws.  The initiative will also commission the necessary studies, technical assistance and capacity building measures, which are critical to realize its laudable objectives for our nation.  To achieve these, the government is looking at a strategic partnership with private sector associations and NGOs to create the infrastructure, establish e-Government service and brand ‘Sri Lanka Inc as hitech nation.

IBM will celebrate a milestone when it notches up 40 years of operations in Sri Lanka on November 20.

Commencing business in 1962, the company’s first customer was the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, then know as the Insurance Corporation of Ceylon.  A branch of IBM Corporation headquartered in New York IBM Sri Lanka is proud to be a part of this IT giant which has been inventive in the perception and usage of IT around the world.

Winning the highest number of patents for nine consecutive years and producing many Nobel Laureates, IBM has been an information technology leader for almost a century.  The latest technology advance ‘e-business on demand’ was recently announced in New York by IBM’s President and Chief Executive Officer Samuel J. Palmisano.  This is the next step in the ‘e-business’ initiative that IBM launched five years ago.

IBM Sri Lanka’s mission is to transfer cutting-edge information technology to Sri Lanka, which would evolve to enhance the quality of life for all Sri Lankans.

IBM regards itself as a responsible committed corporate citizen, contributing in many ways to the community and society it serves.  The company recently donated 20 Young Explorer units under its ’KidSmart’ program.  KidSmart’s goal is to enhance both numerical and verbal skills via a child-friendly personal Computer.  In a program initiated by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.