THE TRANSFORMATIONAL POWERS OF OREL IT

OREL IT’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Upendra Pieris, discusses the company’s growing impact and influence on the domestic economy, global expansion, exciting tech and achieving gender parity.

What is your vision for OREL IT, and how is the company helping businesses to transform themselves post Covid-19?

OREL IT is an innovative tech company that has built a strong reputation for delivering transformative solutions here and overseas. A fully-owned subsidiary of Orient Holdings, we are one of the largest IT solutions providers in Sri Lanka and the largest IT services exporter in the country.

We employ over 4,500 people who strive for excellence in whatever they do and have a passion for innovation and making an impact, sharing a vision to facilitate the Industry 4.0 revolution in Sri Lanka.

We have a vast portfolio of clients across Europe, the US including Israel, whereas we keep expanding into the Scandinavian region, Dubai and New Zealand. A third-generation family business, we are fulfilling a founding purpose to transform the IT landscape in a meaningful and impactful way with client-centric technology solutions for over 12 industry verticals ranging from healthcare to finance, agriculture, city planning, entertainment, sports and more.

When Covid-19 broke out and companies the world over scrambled to invest in digital technology to improve internal processes and generate sales, we had AI-backed tech solutions that our clients could quickly deploy. We developed a fully-fledged e-commerce solution and an interactive AI-based telemedicine platform that became a hit overseas. Our AI and QR code-based solutions include tracking Covid patients, contact tracing, and keeping tabs on vaccine distribution. Another AI model we developed scans an area or room to identify how many people are within that area to ensure adequate social distancing.

Over the past few years, OREL IT has bagged an impressive haul of awards (Please see table). Can you discuss some of these and the ingredients behind the company’s success?

Since 2019, OREL IT has been recognized at the Presidential Export Awards for its significant contribution to the economy. In 2018, we also won The Most Outstanding Exporter Award including the top award in the Extra-Large ICT and BPO category. The following year, we bagged the coveted Presidential Award for Women Exporter of the Year.

During the pandemic, it was not only the export earnings that made a difference. Our tech solutions are helping domestic businesses unlock value and growth opportunities.

As one of the profound digital one-stop-shops in Sri Lanka, the Orel BUY app is focused on providing an unequivocal online shopping experience for both consumers and retail partners. In fact, a customer could download our app to their android device or iPhone, or even use this app over the internet. Currently serving an extensive customer base in Sri Lanka, Orel BUY has in fact become one of the most preferred e-markets in the country. Moreover, we are among a select group of non-banking companies with a digital payment platform. Called OREL Pay, it fulfils a crucial gap in the country’s digital infrastructure, seamlessly connecting businesses with their customers. OREL Pay can be linked to any bank account, payment card and allows utility bill payments and donations to registered charities. OREL Pay is blazing a trail for fintechs in this country to follow.

Winning these awards points to a shift in the economy. In the past, traditional exports like tea, coconut, rubber and apparel dominated the Presidential Export Awards. Now, OREL IT has demonstrated that a tech company can make it to the top and have a significant positive impact on the rest of the economy by creating top-notch jobs and generating foreign currency inflows to the country.

We are particularly proud of what we have achieved in terms of equal opportunities and gender equality. Female representation is 50% across the company and slightly higher in upper management, with our Chairperson Thilaka Ranjani Kodituwakku continuing to inspire and provide the visionary leadership that fuels growth. The majority of employees we successfully retain are women. That sends a clear message to young people that OREL IT is an exciting place to work and that they can be part of an organisation determined to make a real difference in this country.

OREL IT’S RECENT HAUL OF AWARDS DEMONSTRATES THE COMPANY’S GROWING IMPORTANCE TO THE ECONOMY

OREL IT has an impressive mantel of awards and accolades, underscoring its impact on the economy, contribution towards developing the tech industry and providing equal opportunities in an environment free of discrimination at the workplace. Some of these awards cover the most challenging periods in recent memory