Rajendra Theagarajah appointed Chairman of Digital Reality Pvt Ltd

Mandated to lead the Board of SL’s first ever High Density Data Centre

Envisages world class data hosting services and value-added services to enterprises, SMEs and startups

Set to attract regional clientele to Sri Lanka with Tier 3 certified offshore data hosting services

Data centre located at Orion City to go live early in Q2FY2021

Digital Reality (Pvt) Ltd, a joint venture between St. Anthony’s Property Developers (Pvt) Ltd. (SAPD) and Dialog Broadband Pvt Ltd, announced the appointment of respected banking veteran, technologist and business transformation specialist, Rajendra Theagarajah as Chairman, a company news release said.

Theagarajah has been charged with leading its board as Digital Reality gears up for the launch of Sri Lanka’s first and most advanced High Density Data Centre, at Orion City, and ultimately, securing mandates for data hosting services from leading corporates, SMEs, and startups as well as offshore hosting for large corporates across South Asia, it said.

“All of us at Digital Reality are proud to welcome Thea on board. During his time in the banking industry, he has spearheaded powerful technological transformations which laid the IT and operational foundation for the innovations in digital banking that are now coming online across the island. This ability to leverage technology, and deliver results while commanding the respect and admiration of the entire corporate sector will be the catalyst to a new era in Sri Lankan IT capabilities,” Digital Reality Director and CEO, Jeevan Gnanam said.

Established through a US$ 5 million investment between Dialog Broadband Pvt Ltd and SAPD, Digital Reality’s upcoming 200 rack High Density Data Centre will offer globally competitive Tier 3 class infrastructure services to support the rapidly escalating demand for computing power in an increasingly digital Sri Lankan economy. The new center is expected to go live during the second quarter of 2021.

“Sri Lanka is a nation that is blessed in many ways, but especially with IT, we are yet to scratch the surface of this nation’s true potential. The fact that we are now able to establish Tier 3 certified data hosting services that are globally competitive, and yet significantly more cost effective than countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, will yield immense opportunities.

“Our ultimate goal is to position Digital Reality to serve as the IT backbone for Sri Lankan enterprises of all sizes, as well as delivering the most reliable offshore data hosting and disaster recovery services for entities across South Asia,” incoming Digital Reality Chairman, Rajendra Theagarajah stated.

Theagarajah will be ably supported in his mission by an illustrious Board of Directors including Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Executive Officer, Supun Weerasinghe, Dialog Axiata Group Chief Technology Officer, Pradeep De Almeida, Orion City founder, technologist and serial entrepreneur, Jeevan Gnanam, and WNS Founding Director, Eric Selvadurai.

Theagarajah further noted that with major new developments such as the Colombo Port City, as well as the increasing demand for sophisticated IT infrastructure in Sri Lanka, Digital Reality would be well positioned to support the digitalization journeys of Sri Lankan corporates. Meanwhile, the island’s historically low levels of seismic activity, strong global IT connectivity through multiple submarine cables and extremely competitive cost structures would make it an ideal choice for international organizations and investors alike.

Digital Reality’s entire High Density Data Center will be optimally located at the Orion City IT Park in Colombo, providing a particularly valuable option for Sri Lankan enterprises seeking a convenient, cost-effective site for their primary data centers. This central location will enable easy access, world-class supporting infrastructure with strong capabilities to serve emerging and established economic hubs in Colombo and in the areas around the Bandaranaike International Airport.

In addition to the data center and related managed services, Digital Reality will also offer disaster recovery solutions and aims to launch a portfolio of value-added services, ultimately enabling a new breed of technologies such as AI, Machine Learning and Data analytics to help accelerate the digitalization of Sri Lanka.