Silicon Valley IBMers bring expertise to Sri Lanka

IBM’s Corporate Service Corps program gives IBMers the opportunity to work on community-driven and economic development projects in strategic emerging countries for a month. CSC participants apply their professional skills to collaborate with clients and deliver value on large initiatives, such as strategic planning and educational access. Two Silicon Valley IBMers recently returned from their overseas assignment, and shared their story with us.

Maria Román and Jennie Cobb were part of the first two teams engaged on CSC assignments in Sri Lanka. Maria, one of nine IBMers who made up Sri Lanka Team 1, participated on a project to execute an environmental analysis of the University of Moratuwa Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), an institution struggling to obtain regional and international recognition. Jennie was part of the ten-person Sri Lanka Team 2, and she participated in a high-level study of the government’s infrastructure needs through the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA).

What was IBM’s role on your projects?
MR: The CSE Department needed help in developing a five-year strategic plan aligned with the University’s 25-year vision. With the limited time we had in Colombo, we had to refine the statement of work to conduct a comprehensive as-is state (SWOT) assessment and a comparison of the department against five other highly-ranked Asian and international computer science departments. CSE will use the results of this analysis, which includes recommendations for strategies and actions the department can take, to create their five-year strategic plan. An important tie-in is that there are a lot of CSE graduates who fill key roles in technology and government. Helping to improve the CSE Department definitely has a concrete impact on how the talent pool is developed for the technology industry as a whole.

JC: In Sri Lanka, there is no consolidated government data center, capable of meeting today’s enterprise requirements. Government agencies must independently support and maintain their own small IT infrastructure needs, which is expensive and limits their ability to share information throughout the government. Our mission was to propose implementation strategies for a private government cloud able to support the government re-engineering initiatives. Our other challenge was to recommend sustainable funding options. The majority of the funding for the government’s IT initiatives comes from World Bank, which does not invest in multi-year infrastructure projects such as this.

What was the result of your work?
MR: After interviews, research and analysis, we identified and recommended 10 key focus areas for the CSE Department to consider pursuing over the next five years as part of the detailed strategic plan that they will develop. We identified actions in areas such as building their research capability, defining a recruitment and retention strategy, conducting a detailed review of their post-graduate programs and creating a marketing plan for the department.

JC: After consulting with key government stakeholders, we formulated and delivered a set of recommendations for their initial cloud computing environment. We identified processes and tools to mitigate their security concerns. We presented a business case for a Green data center and the benefits of using virtual desktops to reduce the total cost of ownership for their government workstations. Most importantly, we recommended a strategy for sustainable funding using a public private partnership. The other exciting outcome of our CSC experience is that it helped identify IBM as a strong services provider.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced?
MR: When you get your statement of work before you go in-country, you get overwhelmed by the scope. The initial scope was so big, there was so much that needed to be done, and you can’t really start working until you get there. The challenge was to establish rapport with the client very quickly, then collaborate and refine the scope to what would provide the biggest impact while we were there. Also, since we were the first team, there was a lot of focus on us and our projects. We were very aware of the expectations – and so another challenge was managing and meeting those expectations at the same time.

JC: The most challenging part was delivering on a large scope of work, while at the same time, becoming more knowledgeable on cloud. It was somewhat intimidating at first to know that our project impacted an entire country, but once we refined the scope of work and created a project plan, we realized it was manageable.

What did you hope to gain from this experience?
MR: Prior to leaving for Colombo, I jotted down some goals for myself for this experience. I wanted to successfully represent IBM as an ambassador, exceed our clients’ expectations, experience Sri Lanka fully and discover something new about myself while being out of my comfort zone and working on a project in an emerging market. Plus, I wanted to make a personal connection with at least one of my teammates.

JC: It was extremely important for me to be able to apply my IT and business skills on a project that could have a positive impact on society – in this case, on the citizens of Sri Lanka. I’ve also drawn a lot of motivation from being a mentor within IBM – if I could help impact one person in IBM and have an exponential impact on his organization, what would result from my work for an entire country? Personally, I also wanted to experience Sri Lanka and adapt to the culture to the fullest extent.

Did you do that?
MR: Apart from the fact that we felt we exceeded our clients’ expectations, I feel that I really made a personal connection with not just one, but all eight of my team members. We were each other’s family while we were there. I also found that I could thrive, even out of my comfort zone – that I could be self-confident even in an ambiguous situation like this. Ultimately, the experience strengthened my desire to pursue more non-profit opportunities. I have this dream to set up a non-profit in my native country, the Philippines, and this experience helped me to better appreciate my east-west duality.

JC: I realized that we all have the ability to make a positive societal impact. It was so exciting for me to put the skills I use on my day-to-day job into a situation where I could see tangible benefits. This experience gave me the opportunity to provide a strategy for the Government of Sri Lanka’s data center, and ultimately, something that would improve the lives of its citizens. It really is an incredible opportunity and an amazing program for a company to have.

JC: I experienced Sri Lanka to the fullest extent possible! I found Sri Lanka full of warm people, smiling faces, unbelievable energy, rich colors, incredible sights and history, delicious food and most importantly, amazing optimism. “Potential” is a word that resonates in my mind about nearly every experience I had in Sri Lanka.

MR: I’ve been at IBM for almost 15 years. This experience is really something that makes me more proud to be an IBMer. The whole experience was much like my 4½ -hour bus ride from Dambulla back to Colombo – unpredictable, crazy, zigzagging, crowded, hot…in an old, decaying bus…but if you kept your eyes open, you’d see the beautiful countryside and be blessed by the honest smile of the Buddhist monk sitting beside you.


Maria Roman is an Organizational Change Consultant and Growth Play Learning Lead in Cloud Computing and Jennie Cobb is a Certified IT Specialist. Read a blog post from Jennie here.

Picture captions, top to bottom:

The Galle Face Green in Colombo is alive with energy from vendors, school girls, kite flyers and other visitors each day at dusk.

IBM CSC Sri Lanka Team 1 at the IBM Dinner Event, Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo
First row, L-R: Anja Elsagir, Orla Duffy, Riddhi Sengupta, Silvia Di Girolamo, Maria Román
Second row, L-R: Felipe Piccirilo, Stefan Chrobot, Martin Mikulas, Chad Cracknell

A shopping excursion at an open market in Kandy yields a lesson in bargaining and an introduction to unfamiliar delicious tropical fruits. (Jennie Cobb, right)

IBM CSC Sri Lanka Team 1's attempt at Light Art, Galle Face Green, Colombo