Sri Lanka’s economy is mainly dependent on agriculture and industries. In fact, there are many industries in Sri Lanka that provide services to the local market as well as the international market. Among these industries, the software industry holds a unique place in Sri Lanka. Indeed, it is a new and developing industry that contributes highly to the country’s economy.
The software industry has been a growing industry in Sri Lanka in the past few decades. Passionate and dedicated professionals drive this field. Of course, this is a reason for this industry to have an extraordinary work culture that encourages freedom and creativity. However, Sri Lanka has been establishing its position as an IT hub not only in the region but also in the global market.
Some of the leading businesses in the world have established software development operations in Sri Lanka. That is simply owing to the superior service offered by the industry together with its easy communication and cost-effective solutions. The highly skilled workforce of Sri Lankan software companies has always been able to provide the best software products necessary for the market. Hence, the development of the software industry will be able to bring more benefits to the Sri Lankan economy.
Key Sectors of the Software Industry in Sri Lanka
There are many emerging technological trends and sectors in the software industry in Sri Lanka. Some of them are as follows.
- Mobile App Development
- Stand-alone Application Development
- Augmented Reality Application Development
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions
- Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions
- AWS Cloud Solutions
- Ride Hail App Development
All these sectors contribute immensely to the growth of the software industry. So, why not? Let us get to know about these sectors in detail!
1. Mobile App Development
Nowadays, the lifestyle of the average person significantly revolves around smart devices. It is simply unbelievable if an individual does not interact with a mobile application at least once a day. Hence, there is a high demand for mobile applications in the world, as well as for mobile application development.
Simply, mobile applications take brands to the fingertips of clients and help to uplift the position of the business. The main categories of mobile applications and solutions are education, automobile, business, beauty, lifestyle, health and fitness, entertainment, and games.
There are many experienced mobile app developers serving mobile app development companies in Sri Lanka. They are capable of building mobile apps to your requirement, within your budget, and as per your timeline. Their experiences together with their creativity guarantee the best services to local and global clients. Thus, the mobile app development industry of Sri Lanka is reputed around the world as a branch that provides robust and reliable solutions.
Besides, the software industry of Sri Lanka is famous for using the most up-to-date and efficient UI/UX, especially in mobile applications. Also, most of the companies in the software industry of Sri Lanka, including LakMobile Technologies, provide transfer, update services, 24×7 support, and maintenance services, especially with regard to mobile applications. So, owing to all these reasons, the mobile app development sector stands as a major part of the software industry in Sri Lanka.
2. Stand-Alone Application Development
A stand-alone application is a software that doesn’t come bundled with other independent software features. In other words, it does not require any other software to function. Word processing software, design software, calculators, and web browsers are among some of the standalone applications.
Stand-alone applications are essential for certain business tasks, as they are a powerful business tool that solves specific problems and secure company data from third parties. Hence, the demand for stand-alone applications in the world is never any less. Owing to this reason, Sri Lanka too is working on a large number of projects related to stand-alone application development.
Sri Lankan stand-alone application development companies offer in-depth reporting capabilities and advanced functionality as required per your business needs through their solutions. Therefore, the companies in Sri Lanka, including LakMobile Technologies, are famous worldwide for the professional and quality services they offer. The way they develop stand-alone applications considering customer requirements and discovering the latest technologies make this sector more special in the software industry of Sri Lanka.
3. Augmented Reality Application Development
Augmented Reality is a discipline that includes the interactive experience of a real-world environment. In AR, real-world objects and elements are enhanced using computer perceptual information.
At present, the augmented reality market is growing fast. It has many applications in entertainment, education, medicine, engineering, and other fields. This has created many opportunities for AR app development in Sri Lanka.
AR technology enables shoppers to virtually try on clothing, houses, jewelry, makeup, cars, and furniture. In business, these solutions help to increase sales, enhanced business performances, and to give a clear picture of the target audience. It also helps to give innovative customer service.
In retail, Augmented Reality technologies are used to create virtual fitting rooms, augmented product packages, custom catalogs with 3D content, and interactive AR apps for offline stores and supermarkets. These solutions are beneficial in e-commerce as customers can experience products virtually.
The AR features are also used in the design and furniture industries as it allows customers to place 3D objects into their own environment. This leads to more sales. When it comes to marketing and advertising, merging traditional advertising with AR transforms the business’ marketing and advertising approach and makes sure that the brand reaches a wider audience.
Likewise, AR applications help a lot to take businesses into new dimensions. Hence, the demand for AR applications can never go down in the near future. There are many companies in Sri Lanka, including LakMobile Technologies, that provide all kinds of AR application development. So, if you wish to have one, you can surely get their help!
4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a method of programming a computer, robot, or another object to think like a smart human being. AI works with how the human brain thinks, learns, makes decisions, and works to solve certain problems. Therefore, Artificial intelligence improves computer functions that have the characteristics of human understanding such as reasoning, learning, and problem-solving.
AI applications use three types of technologies namely, Artificial Narrow Intelligence, Artificial General Intelligence, and Artificial Super Intelligence. Narrow AI is goal-oriented. It is designed to accomplish a single task such as facial recognition, speech recognition, driving a vehicle, or surfing the internet. Artificial general intelligence is the idea of a machine with general intelligence. It can learn and apply its intelligence to solve any problem. In different contexts, AGI can think, understand, and act in a manner that is indistinguishable from a human. Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) understands human intelligence and behavior. In ASI, computers become self-aware and exceed human intelligence and ability.
With regard to healthcare, artificial intelligence is used for assisted diagnosis, robotic surgery, and health monitoring. In e-commerce, AI is used in Personalised Shopping, Virtual shopping assistants and chatbots, and Fraud Detection and prevention. AI is also used in robotics and face recognition.
Likewise, Artificial Intelligence applications are common in many fields in the world, as well as in Sri Lanka. They provide great support in getting insights into user behavior and making data-driven suggestions. So, the use of AI application development would increase further in the coming years. Thus, this sector would be more prominent in the IT industry in the near future.
5. IoT Software Development
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies, for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the internet.
IoT helps people live and work smarter, by offering smart devices to automate homes and businesses. IoT helps to connect everyday objects such as kitchen appliances, baby monitors, cars, and other appliances to the internet via embedded devices. It allows seamless communication between people, processes, and things. Also, the IoT provides businesses with a real-time look into how their systems work. IoT helps companies to automate processes and reduce labor costs and it also cuts down on waste.
However, the applications of IoT won’t end here. So, owing to all these reasons, IoT is most abundant in manufacturing, transportation, and utility organizations. There are many and more appliances that benefit from this technology, and impress the world with their novelty. So, the possibilities to use IoT are simply endless, and thus, the demand for IoT applications is also growing day by day.
There are many IT companies in Sri Lanka, including LakMobile Technologies, that work on IoT applications, and thus, if you too have a requirement as such, you can get their assistance!
6. Cloud Computing Solutions
Cloud computing is the method of delivering computing services over the internet. This service offers faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. Cloud computing also helps businesses to respond more quickly to changing business conditions, develop innovation, and to manage costs. The computing services included in the system are servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence.
The facilities offered by cloud computing such as allowing the companies to rent access to anything from applications to storage from a cloud service provider instead of owning their own computing infrastructure or data centers have benefited many of the businesses and institutes in Sri Lanka. Therefore cloud computing services have a great demand in the local market.
7. Ride Hail App Development
Taxi services have been a thriving business opportunity in Sri Lanka in recent years. The quality of the service has increased since the introduction of ride-hail apps. Hence, now, there is a high demand for ride-hail app development because there are many start-ups in this industry.
On-demand car rental services are the most famous type of taxi service available in Sri Lanka. In the past, they were operated via phone communication. However, at present, car rental service apps are introduced for the convenience of clients so that they can search for nearby cars available for rent, check the car details, check the ratings of the service and the driver, and book their rides. It serves as the best tool for tourists to find rental cars as well.
Owing to these reasons, the demand for ride-hail apps is never any less. Thus, it has automatically become a key sector of the software industry in Sri Lanka, and many companies, including LakMobile Technologies, work on them.
Significant Values of the Software Industry in Sri Lanka
The software industry in Sri Lanka is a thriving industry that has a goal of reaching USD 5 billion in revenue by 2022. The significant values of the software industry have made it possible for the industry to achieve great heights in a short time period.
The software development operations in Sri Lanka have values such as innovation, cost-effective solutions, and easy communication. These significant qualities have attracted many global businesses to Sri Lanka.
Further, both the state and private sectors contribute to the industry through investments and education. This helps to fill in any skill gaps and to encourage more people to join the positions of prestigious software companies in Sri Lanka.
An appropriate policy framework to develop the software industry has to cater to the key enabling factors such as the commitment of the government, trained manpower, low-cost infrastructure, low-cost funding, incentives, simplified investment approvals, promotion of investors and exports, local demand, and legal protection for intellectual property rights. Even though these factors are not addressed at a level of 100% in the Sri Lankan context, they are achieved at a satisfactory level, and this is a reason for the well-being of the software industry in Sri Lanka.
Other values that contribute to the growth of the Sri Lankan software industry are as follows.
- Being people-centred
- Having Strong Customer Relationships
- Optimal solutions with adherence to the SDLC
- Quality Assurance (QA)
However, since Sri Lanka has a highly skilled workforce, Sri Lankan software companies are able to compete with global software companies in order to provide sophisticated software products necessary for the global market.
IT Education in Sri Lanka
IT education in Sri Lanka is growing fast. At present, IT is also a subject in the national education system, and the students who wish to continue studying further can choose it as a subject for the G.C.E. O/L and G.C.E. A/L examinations as well. Apart from that, those who wish to pursue their higher studies in IT can follow diplomas, degree programs, and postgraduate degree programs offered by the government and private sector institutes. Likewise, opportunities are available for learners who wish to reach greater heights in this subject.
Yet, still, there are many schools that do not have sufficient IT education facilities. Besides, even at present, only a few universities and institutes in Sri Lanka provide high-end IT education and training. Some local universities do not have enough links with the companies and haven’t included industry-based training in the curriculum. So, the general computer literacy of white-collar workers is low.
Owing to these reasons, we cannot mention that IT education in Sri Lanka is at a satisfactory level. Still, the IT literacy of the younger generations is anyway higher than the elder generations, and it is indeed a plus point when considering the IT literacy of the county.
Challenges Faced by the Software Industry of Sri Lanka
Well, there are many challenges that the software industry in Sri Lanka faces. Some of them are as follows.
- The prevailing political instability is a risk to the industry because the Sri Lankan software industry is mainly service oriented rather than product oriented. Therefore, a stable policy-making body is essential for the existence of the industry.
- Keeping up with the new technologies is another issue in the software industry. It is because the technology is moving at an incredible pace and APIs change regularly. So, if the industry is unable to improve knowledge and adapt to new technologies, then the growth of the industry will be inhibited.
- Another challenge faced by the software industry when working with clients is incidents of misunderstanding. Knowledge gaps and miscommunication often causes misunderstanding which prevents the successful completion of projects.
- The rise of workflow-based programming tools is also a challenge to the software industry. Although the development of workflow-based programming tools reduces effort and time, it is important that engineers keep their skills sharp despite the introduction of auxiliary tools. It is really important to have programming skills and a firm understanding of a language because the programming languages learned, determine the thinking patterns of the developer and how he approaches solving problems.
However, despite these challenges, the software industry of Sri Lanka stays strong. Yet, if these factors are considered with more attention, this industry is surely going to reach greater heights, in the years to come.
Contribution of the Software Industry to the Economy of Sri Lanka
Together with its highly skilled and talented workforce, Sri Lanka’s software industry has come a long way and come to the position where it can compete with global software companies to provide the best software products necessary for the global market. This has allowed the software industry to bring more benefits to the economy of the country.
According to the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) in Sri Lanka, there is an expectation that the country would generate USD 1.8 Billion in revenue by 2022. This target is achievable, and it makes clear the great contribution that this industry makes to the country’s economy as a whole.
The Future of the Software Industry in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has the potential to develop the software industry to become one of the major foreign income earners. In fact, in the future, e-business software solutions and web-based interactive software will be the major drivers of the software industry. Since the Sri Lankan software industry is capable of providing quality service in these fields, we can predict that these IT-enabled services will be the major driver in the IT-led services industry in Sri Lanka, in the future.
However, the country should overcome the challenges that it faces. Also, the authorities can improve IT education and facilitate local institutes with global trainers. If so, the country would be able to build a more robust and well-performing software industry in the future.
However, the Sri Lankan software industry achieved a huge rise with the digitization of businesses. This has opened doors for many software industries and startups. Also, the rapid growth of the Sri Lankan software industry has created many opportunities for newcomers. So, the future of the software industry in Sri Lanka is anyway bright, as it grows day by day.
The Bottom Line
After all, it is not a secret that the software industry of Sri Lanka is a fast-growing industry that has a brighter future. Besides, the contributions it makes to the country’s economy are indeed impressive. However, we can never forget the tiring efforts of the employees of the software industry in the country. Simply, it is them who have driven the IT industry this far. Thus, their efforts need to be appreciated. Besides, it would be better if the challenges that this industry faces get resolved very soon so that the journey of the software industry would get accelerated. However, let us expect a better future for this significant industry in Sri Lanka.
