Developing IT Technocrats

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

Dubai based telecoms operator Etisalat last week announced the commercialization of AppZone to its Sri Lankan subscribers. This is a first of its kind telecoms mobile application eco-system in South Asia which allows Etisalat users to download solutions for business and pleasure through mobile phones.
The project was launched in June 2010 allowing almost 1,000 Sri Lankan software developers to write programmes where some selected applications were made available to Etisalat subscribers based on standards and technologies using Cloud Telco Application Portal.
Etisalat Sri Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Duminda Ratnayaka said that in order to substantiate the entrepreneurial angle of this project, 70% of the subscriber revenue generated from the usage of AppZone will be shared with the respective software developers.
hSennid Mobile CEO Dinesh Saparamadu believes that App Store will see the dawn of the beginning of taking the country’s software developers to a global telco application platform.
To attract young developers from local universities to develop applications to be used in mobile phones, hSenid and Etisalat is running a competition open for thel public to take part.
Asanka Gayan, a young technocrat from Peradeniya University who developed an SMS based application enabling users to access islandwide train time-route schedules said: “once the idea was in place, the execution was simple. All I had to do was gather the technical background from the online AppZone forum and follow instructions. I was motivated by the challenge of developing an application as well as the revenue incentives. I have no doubt that this experience will be a stepping stone to fulfil my ambitions.”
Commenting on the project’s entrepreneurial angle, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology’s Academic Affairs Dean Dr.Koliya Pulasinghe said: “The benefits that the student community can reap from this initiative are two fold, it creates an environment for students to try out technical and entrepreneurial skills, as well as soft skills. These are essential for future graduates.”