99x names Sri Lanka as a top talent source for IT

From left: Odd-Sverre Ostlie - Group CEO of 99x Group Norway, Eiliv Meehle Liljevik - CEO of Seeds Consulting Norway, Hasith Yaggahavita - CEO of 99x Technology, which operates in Norway, Malaysia, Brazil, and Sri Lanka, Thiers Santos - CEO of Nextly Brazil, Carlos Coutinho Silva - CEO of Cleverti Portugal and Trygve Moe - Group CFO of 99x Group Norway. - PIC BY Kithsiri De Mel 

By Nuzla Rizkiya 
Spotlighting the growing trend of Sri Lanka’s IT talent, leadership representatives of 99x Group recently named Sri Lanka as one of its top sources for recruitment.  
The company last week hosted a high-profile round-table for local media representatives, bringing together 99x’s industry leaders from Norway, Portugal, Brazil, and Sri Lanka.  
 At the event, 99x Technology CEO Hasith Yaggahavita emphasized the depth of talent and skills available in Sri Lanka as one of the company’s primary resources in the country. 
“In terms of talent acquisition, right now we are focusing on Portugal, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. We are able to tap into the top talent among all these four countries. This top talent is what we try to offer our customers as the business model,” Yaggahavita responded when asked to rate Sri Lanka’s talent in its workforce. 
Other 99x industry leaders further reiterated their  sentiments by discussing the unique and world-class skills that Sri Lankan IT professionals can bring to the global industry. 

Strength of the IT talent 

“Sri Lanka is really strong in its IT talent and IT services. I think the talent pool, the culture and the way people work here is one of the biggest flexes. A big reason why customers choose 99x is that at least 1 percent of our top talent is sourced from countries like Sri Lanka,” 99x Norway Group CEO Odd-Sverre Ostlie commented when asked about the company’s local operations. 
The highly skilled workforce in the country which also excel in other competencies such as software development and data sciences help international IT companies to deliver innovative solutions and maintain strong relationships with global clients. 

High productivity, knowledge and the authenticity of work culture 

Another factor that has given Sri Lanka a competitive edge is its cultural adaptability, mindset and productivity of its IT workforce. 
“The knowledge, productivity and mindset among Sri Lankan developers are at a top level. Customers actually look for this kind of productivity. I think it is because Sri Lanka has great access to talent and ability to fit culturally which is really impressive,” Cleverti Portugal CEO Carlos Coutinho Silva said. 
He pointed that this cultural compatibility among local recruits facilitates the easy integration among international teams and clients which paves the way for smoother project execution at 99x. 

The geographical advantage 

Sri Lanka’s IT capacity is further facilitated by its strategic geographical location. 
“In terms of software development, the good thing about Sri Lanka and Brazil is that we are able to get really good number of developers compared to Europe. Also, Sri Lanka is located close to Central Europe, just 3.5 hours away. So, what we basically try to do is make the world a smaller place and we are capable of doing that,” Nextly Brazil CEO Thiers Santos replied when inquired about Sri Lanka’s unique resources. 
This close proximity has facilitated better coordination and communication with European clients and Western markets such as the US, allowing 99x to deliver timely and effective services. 
Overall, the 99x high-level round table made it apparent that Sri Lanka is well positioned to meet the demands of the global IT market by leveraging its existing strengths.