IFS, the global cloud enterprise software company, which is celebrating the 25th in Sri Lankan operations plans to increase their staff by around 400 in Sri Lanka this year.
Since its beginning in 1997, with just 26 employees in a two roomed office in Colombo 03, IFS has made major investments into the workforce and community, becoming the second largest technology employer in the country.
“Over the past five years, our employee base in Sri Lanka has almost tripled since 2017 to over 2,200 and we will further increase by around 400 this year. we will also continue to invest in our business in Sri Lanka.” said IFS Chief Executive Officer Darren Roos in Colombo.
Today, IFS Sri Lanka is a powerhouse in the local ICT industry, accounting for around 40% 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.”
He said that the Sri Lankan team has played a critical role in providing them with the organizational support and agility IFS needed to achieve the growth.
IFS Sri Lanka is its 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.
“The team’s contribution to our success and company culture is felt throughout the organisation 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 was 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% 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 also one of the original IFS Sri Lanka employees 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.