(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Anslem Perera, chief executive officer of Business Process Outsourcing Services (BPOS), has been working in Oman for over four decades. In an interview with Muscat Daily, Perera said Blockchain technology is emerging as a business opportunity in Oman and the sultanate has a positive outlook to embrace this new technological revolution.
You had worked in the banking sector for over three decades. What really prompted you to enter into IT business after spending so many years in banking?
After my retirement from HSBC, where I worked for thirty three years in various senior positions, I was exploring new business opportunities in Oman, Sri Lanka and Canada. Having worked and lived in Oman for over thirty years, together with the social capital that I built over these years, Oman became my obvious choice. I realised that moving forward the technology would play a pivotal role in the future business growth in all verticals.
I was not an IT professional, but had confidence in my abilities to make use of opportunities in IT domain. During my long years with HSBC, I was a strategic member of the management team at HSBC Oman, which was responsible for developing the bank from its manual systems in the seventies to become the best automated bank in Oman.
Can you elaborate on when did BPOS start operations in Oman and who are the key stakeholders?
BPOS Global started operations in August 2008. Dr Ahmed al Rawas, the former CEO of Omantel, holds 40 per cent shares and is the chairman of the company. I hold 30 per cent shares and my wife Frances Perera holds ten per cent and is the general manager of the company. The remaining 20 per cent stake is held by Aitken Spence Plc, Sri Lanka, a company listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Aitken Spence is a blue-chip conglomerate with a strong presence in the Maldives, India, Oman and South Africa.
I represent Aitken Spence Plc in Oman and in the wider MENA region. In February 2008, I introduced Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings Plc, to the sultanate, to manage five hotels. Currently they manage three of these hotels and fully own one of them, 'Al Falaj Hotel' under the newly formed company Aitken Spence Resorts Middle East.
Which are the key business areas BPOS is operating in?
BPOS Global has three main verticals: IT services with specialisation in cybersecurity, event management and agency representation. Agency representation is a unique operation under which we bring companies with domain expertise to execute projects in Oman. So far, we have brought experts from Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Bahrain, UAE and Europe, which gives us a competitive edge.
In the event management segment, we have been conducting very successful events since 2010. Our latest event was Blockchain Oman 2018, which was organised earlier this month at Sheraton Oman Hotel. This event was held under the patronage of H E Abdullah Salim al Salmi, executive president of the Capital Market Authority and in association with the State General Reserve Fund, Information Technology Authority, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sultan Qaboos University, Blockchain Club Oman and Blockchain Solutions and Services Co.
We are also strong in IT services particularly in providing cybersecurity to our clients. We currently work with Eguardian, a Sri Lanka-based company, with presence in the US and Singapore in providing cybersecurity services to all business verticals. As I said though I am not an IT expert, with over four decades of management experience I am able to identify needs, feel the pulse of the market and how to cater to the requirements. This knowledge helps us to manage projects very effectively and at competitive pricing. Therefore, with our team of external partners with the correct domain expertise, supported by our in-house competent team, we deliver the services to our clients, resulting in a win-win situation.
What are your plans to drive the growth of the company in future?
We see Blockchain technology is emerging as a business opportunity in Oman. This is the new technological revolution that everybody whether in the government or private sector is talking about. According to the information available to us, Oman has a positive outlook to embrace this technology. This means all the government entities together with the big players such as banks and financial services industry, oil and gas companies, insurers, logistics firms, healthcare and other industries will definitely move into this technology in time. The biggest advantage of having this technology is that the investment could be recovered in a short period of time.
Further, the government's plan to introduce value-added tax (VAT) in 2019, will also boost the demand for IT services in the system integration. VAT will be applicable to all businesses whether they be a large group or a SME. This will create business opportunities for companies like ours in providing systems.
But Oman, being a country with limited hydrocarbon reserves, is very prone to volatility in oil prices that could disrupt government spending particularly on adoption and implementation of new technology. How do you see this challenge?
I have been working and living in Oman for over four decades and have experienced the economic cycles many times. As such though it poses a challenge, it is not a concern. As it is, Oman has a strategy to diversify the economy based on the five pillars: Tourism, fisheries, logistics, manufacturing and mining, mitigating the risk of the over dependence on limited hydrocarbon reserves. The sultanate is currently undergoing a transition to a knowledge-based economy as outlined in its Vision 2020. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are at the core of this transformation, serving as the key enabler of the economic diversification.
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