Having had the pleasure (and honour) to be at the recent opening of Platned’s impressive new offices in Colombo, it got me thinking again about the importance of Sri Lanka in the development of so many successful IT companies.

I’ve now been involved in three such companies in the ERP industry (going back across more than 25 years) and each one has both enjoyed, and massively benefitted from, the incredible pool of skilled and committed talent that the Sri Lankan education system continues to provide.

Platned is led by four guys, all born and initially educated in Sri Lanka – before they each went abroad to develop their careers and pursue their dreams. This latest investment is about showing their personal commitment to giving something back to the community and the free education system that gave them their start – by investing more, in order that even more people can embark upon a similar road.

The new offices will help accommodate the significant expansion that Platned expects over the next few years (including a doubling of the number of staff members in Colombo), and expand the pool of people able to support our customers across the globe. But there are also further investments planned in the necessary training and the crucial collaboration with a number of academic institutions in the city. Platned are also trying to coordinate more with other IFS Partners in our market, to see if we can work better together and more efficiently develop the skills of the young people emerging from the Sri Lankan education system.

Platned (like others) have already benefited tremendously from the number of skilled young people available in Sri Lanka, but now is the time for us to really acknowledge this and give something more in return – so that this source of supply can not only be sustained but grow even further. Helping the Sri Lankan economy to develop more students and in doing so also support more companies in our market space.