By Nisthar Cassim
Global leader in enterprise cloud and industrial AI software IFS will be marking a $ 1 billion contribution to Sri Lanka by end of this year whilst promising further commitment to the country, according to its CEO Mark Moffat.
“The $ 1 billion economic value added is happening this year. This is by way of successive investments, salaries etc., over the past 27 years and that is accelerating,” Moffat told the Daily FT during an interview on the sidelines of IFS Unleashed, the biennial global conference held in Orlando and attended by 3,000 customers, partners, analysts, and journalists.
Moffat also described Sri Lanka operations as the IFS’ “engine room.”
“We fiercely protect that. I am incredibly proud of what Sri Lanka does, how it has fuelled our growth, and how we are expanding,” he added.
In June, IFS announced plans to set up a new facility providing 1,000 jobs in Colombo Port City, underscoring the company’s long-term commitment to Sri Lanka’s economic development.
Moffat in the interview in Orlando said IFS is “super proud” of Sri Lanka operations and nothing has changed in its investment plans post-election of new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Since its inception in Sri Lanka in 1997 with just 26 employees, IFS has expanded significantly. At present, IFS employs nearly 3,000 in Sri Lanka or 40% of its global workforce. Sri Lanka handles 80% of IFS’ worldwide product support and 60% of research and development capabilities are based in the country. Over the nearly three decades of its existence, IFS has created over 10,000 employment opportunities in the country, fostering a strong local IT community.
In his keynote at Unleashed 2024, Moffat revealed that IFS is significantly increasing its investment in product and research and development, a move that would benefit operations in Sri Lanka and the IT talent pool.
The global giant’s CSR arm, the IFS Foundation, invests in a series of projects in partnership with local Sri Lankan communities to alleviate poverty. These projects address five key issues: access to healthcare, clean water, sanitation facilities, education, and employment opportunities, aligned with the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
During the Unleash 2024 event, the IFS Foundation held a charity run – the proceeds of which will go to its community work in Sri Lanka.
IFS Unleashed had over 200 sessions during three days to help customers identify business cases for industrial AI and to help think about data as an asset to develop new unseen growth opportunities in businesses. The 3,000 attendees were 50% more than the previous event in Miami in 2022.
The IFS, founded in 1983, also unveiled a new and evolved vision at Unleashed 2024. “Our vision is to become the undisputed category leader in industrial software – be the number one brand – and all customers and businesses will benefit from this ambition as we drive towards it and capitalise on these new unseen opportunities for customers,” Moffat said in his keynote at Unleashed 2024, held at the Orlando World Centre Marriott.
“The next industrial revolution is being powered by industrial AI and we have IFS.ai as the solution,” Moffat said, adding: “We have created a class-leading industrial AI platform that empowers customers globally to dynamically manage their mission critical assets, workflows, people, and services in a responsible manner.”
Moffat said this is possible due to the depth of knowledge and understanding IFS has got in its six core industries – Aerospace/Defence; Construction/Engineering; Energy/Utilities and Resources; Manufacturing; Service Industries, and Telecommunications.
IFS provides Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Information Technology Service Management (ITSM), and Field Service Management (FSM).
At the Unleashed 2024 event, IFS also announced the introduction of new IFS.ai-powered features in the IFS Cloud 24R2 release, focusing on delivering maximum value to asset and service-intensive industries and elevating the user experience to drive industrial AI adoption at scale.
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