Norway looking to outsource in ICT

By Himal Kotelawala

A Norwegian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) leader has called for stronger cooperation between Sri Lanka and Norway in the field of ICT, highlighting outsourcing as a possible solution to the Scandinavian nation’s lack of skilled IT labour.

CEO of ICT Norway (IKT Norge) Heidi Austlid speaking at a breakfast event held in Colombo last week said that Norway’s existing partnership with the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) may prove to be a pilot for further cooperation.

“After the war in 2009, the ICT industry in Sri Lanka was just over $ 200 million. Today, it’s approaching $ 1 billion, with up to 100,000 employees. That’s impressive,” said Austlid, adding that Sri Lanka is in the process of outdoing the tea industry the island nation is traditionally known for.

“Together we will develop and collaborate on startups and entrepreneurship in the ICT industry, focusing on access to capital, expertise, market access and global growth, she said.

Competence and education are an important part of this cooperation, said Austlid, especially in higher education, vocational training in ICT and teaching children to code.

“Yesterday I visited an event with 50 kids. It was impressive to see how they learned to code. When you can code you can change the world.”

Though Norway has an open economy with social stability, Austlid noted that it’s a country with a small population of just five million citizens and expensive labour. Strong competition has resulted in a push for new technology.

“We’re a world leader in infrastructure, with a strong willingness and an ability in the population to make use of new technologies. But we also have some weak points, particularly in the innovation environment and e-Government,” she said.

According to Austlid, Norway’s limited home market means Norwegian industry and businesses need to take part in the international market. “Our major ICT companies export more than 75% of their products. But the Norwegian market is an early adapter in the use of technology and in implementing new products and services in both private and public sectors,” she said.

Home to a population of advanced and demanding customers, she added, Norway can be considered an outstanding test market.

“We have the willingness to invest in technology, with a large economy and a really small population. We need competence and new ideas from abroad to grow further,” she said.

The new Norwegian Government, according to Austlid, has prioritised digitising the country, considering it a key to rapidly transforming both private and public sectors.  “It’s faster than ever. There is a strong growth in the Norwegian ICT market. We need technology that can help us produce more and at the same time reduce the pressure on natural resources,” she said. Norway is also looking at speeding up its shift to renewable energy. The country, therefore, needs technology that can help produce more with its shrinking work force, while still maintaining high quality standards. Data is also a major part of Norway’s strategy, said Austlid, particularly with regard to reaching the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The use of data, connectivity, and technology, she said, are all instrumental in, among other things, delivering universal healthcare, giving kids everywhere quality education, creating smarter cities and reducing Norway’s carbon footprint.

“In Norway our main problem is the lack of people, and our main short term problem is the lack of skilled IT people. We do not as a nation have the digital capacity to move fast enough. There is a lack of expertise and a lack of digital competence in our workforce – on the top level and in the bottom.

“Therefore, we have to increase the capacity at the universities and teach kids to code. We have to use competence outside Norway. Outsourcing is one of the answers. Done the right way, outsourcing is an essential part of the solution if we’re to succeed in making Norway one of the world’s most innovative countries,” she said.

SLASSCOM Chairman Ruwindhu Peiris also spoke at the event that was co-hosted by SLASSCOM and ICT Norway under the auspices of the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

Pieris called on Norway to further enhance its relationship with Sri Lanka, highlighting the two nations’ respective strengths and the need to build on those strengths, while also using Sri Lanka’s status as a digital hub and gateway to the growing middle income economies around it. “The IT industry in Sri Lanka has seen tremendous growth over the last 10 years, right now tracking about $ 1.2 billion of exports. This number needs to be put in context. The IT industry, about 10, 15 years ago was delivering well below $ 100 million. The growth has been exponential,” he said.

Noting that the country’s largest sources of income – namely, tea, apparel and Middle East employment – has been built on the back of women, Pieris said that a distinctive fact about the IT industry is that it democratices success. The average salary of the 100,000 employees is well within $ 1,500 to $ 2,000, he said, calling it one of the highest income generators of the country.

This creates a ripple effect, as for every IT and innovation job, three other jobs are created to enable that process, he added.

Commenting on the relationship between Sri Lanka and Norway, Pieris said that the Scandinavian country has stood by Sri Lanka when it needed it the most.

“In our darkest moments, Norway’s been a dear friend to us,” he said.”Now that you’ve been with us in the worst of times, when we’re emerging into the best of times, we need to really accelerate this,” he added.

The two countries are similar, said Pieris, in terms of size, spirit and what he called a heritage of punching above their weight. According to Pieris, there are two areas in terms of opportunities: Looking at some of the big areas of impact and coming together with the objective of collectively disrupting the value chain by combining forces – namely, Norway’s vertical expertise in industries such as fishing and oil and the unique Sri Lankan ingenuity. Though Sri Lanka doesn’t necessarily have exposure to some of those industry verticals, he said, the island nation does shine when it comes to its workforce.

“What we do have is really smart people who are ingenious in what they do. We have proven that over and over again. In the diaspora in any field, whether it’s someone pumping gas or a scientist working at NASA, we have differentiated ourselves. Our ingenuity in how we approach our work has stood out.”

“If we can combine our forces and bring together the Viking spirit and the fearlessness and that thrust of wanting to make an impact along with our warm hospitality and our ingenuity is a good opportunity for us to make some big dents in some of the world’s bigger problems,” said Pieris. Secondly, he went on to say, Sri Lanka sits in the middle of the three of the largest growing middle economies: Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, the largest growing middle income group in the world. “Fortunately for us, these countries don’t necessarily talk to each other much, but all three love Sri Lanka,” he said, tongue in cheek, adding that Sri Lanka has great free trade agreements with all three of them. “Norway is a great market. Sri Lanka is a phenomenal hub and a digital gateway in that emerging middle income bracket. My invitation is to focus on thinking big. Let’s not try and do incremental gains; let’s make some big strides,” he said.

Pix by Indraratne Balasuriya