Business

SLT-MOBITEL Launches First Ever Fully-Managed True SD WAN Services Embracing Intent Based Networking Approach for Enterprise Customers

Published

5 years ago

2021/08/1

SLT-MOBITEL, the National ICT solutions and Mobile Services Provider launched their first ever SLTMobitel SDWAN Service as a fully managed service for large and medium enterprises and government institutions. SLT-MOBITEL undertook this endeavour in keeping with their mission to support enterprises and to encourage timely transformation across the digital arena, as the country’s leading Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) service provider.

Businesses view the cloud as a key part of their strategy and innovation. The larger the business, the more users, devices, and things consume applications. As the pace of business increases, this results in a highly complex and dynamic network. The preferred method of connecting users to applications is shifting from dedicated MPLS connectivity, which is a fast data carrying technique to access data centres, and less connectivity to using the internet as a result. Branch Internet Edge connectivity becomes business critical for cloud movement. These influences create opportunities for increased exposure to cyber threats. It also means that there is an opportunity for inconsistent user experiences as application access is no longer reliant only on private networks. Complexity in adapting to changes in business needs and technical realities increases as well. This is where SLTMobitel SDWAN becomes a core component of modernization, secure application delivery and resilient business capabilities. SLTMobitel SDWAN services built on Zero trust model, which is essential for BFSI sector and large enterprise customers as underlay connectivity will be open to Private, and Public connectivity domain.

Commenting on the initiative CEO of SLT, Mr. Kiththi Perera said, “SLT-MOBITEL decided to bring this concept to fruition for the ease of our customers. Within the digital journey of enterprises across various verticals, we recognized that movement of applications to cloud was becoming a growing necessity. Being the country’s national telecommunication service provider, running an extended program connecting all the enterprises via fibre last mile, we believed it was our responsibility to address these growing demands from our customers, individuals and businesses alike. We look forward to our customers reaping the maximum benefits with the best possible network options and the digitization of the WAN network.”

The current method of using wide area network (WAN) is to connect users from a head office or branch to applications hosted on servers in data centres. The MPLS approach helps ensure reliable connectivity along with security and internet edge via head office. Today, with the ongoing technological changes making waves in the digital world, applications are fast moving into the cloud and users access these applications by way of a diverse range of devices.

Today, a much-discussed topic is alignment towards digital transformation and all enterprise verticals; from banking to retail, are looking to evolve and transform within this digital landscape with the aim of increasing their productivity, achieving less costs and revolutionizing customer experiences. When business verticals ultimately move towards a transformation, the network would require to undergo a modification in a way where it would align with the ultimate need of the business. Therefore, the infrastructure would need to work according to the business intent.

Sharing his thoughts on the launch of SLTMobitel SDWAN, Chief Enterprise and Wholesale Officer of SLT, Mr. Janaka Abeysinghe stated, “SLT- MOBITEL Enterprise has connected small and large-scale enterprises with robust MPLS for more than two decades. We have continuously built reliable and scalable networks across the island and have extended multiple submarine cables in the global arena. Partnering with Cisco, the leader in the routing landscape for more than 30 years, creates the strongest SLTMobitel SDWAN service ever to steer past current methods of connectivity and think beyond, to support Enterprises. With the introduction of SLTMobitel SDWAN by partnering with Cisco, SLT-MOBITEL currently acts as an enabler to help with the digital transformation of enterprises in Sri Lanka, and provide comprehensive next generation connectivity services. In future, we hope to expand these services to global customers as well.”

SLTMobitel SDWAN was created with a focus on providing customers with an extended range of benefits by operating WAN for various business intents. SLTMobitel SDWAN is an overlay technology running on different underlay networks with a capacity to centrally manage Edge Devices and overlay networks. This service will bring a level of effortless management, better visibility, better application experience, optimized cloud connectivity and a more secure WAN for private and public connectivity, among a host of other benefits to its users.

This is where SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise utilizes Cisco’s Intent based Networking (IBN) approach for SLTMobitel SDWAN services with the aim of building infrastructure that works in tandem with the business goals and to help businesses to address key business and technological challenges that they have been facing and still face today. Since the goal is for the network to continuously adjust network performance and help assure the desired business outcomes, SLT-MOBITEL’s strategy was to deliver an IBN across different domains. IBN would focus on helping to translate the business intent into a policy and build that policy to guarantee that marketing uses and applications, placed on a secure segment to receive the highest priority service.

The main features of SLTMobitel SDWAN powered by Cisco include visibility, security and performance. For an all-encompassing SLTMobitel SDWAN solution, enterprise customers will also benefit from growing WAN with less operational expenditure (OPEX), greater business agility and responsiveness, increased application performance across the WAN, assure business intent with advanced application visibility and control and robust edge-to-edge security and micro-segmentation. Amongst the many features that SLTMobitel SDWAN also offers, is the Cloud OnRamp for public Cloud services such as Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Services which can deliver optimal performance, user experience, and security.

SLT-MOBITEL’s main service building blocks will include consultation, design and migration. The company’s Enterprise will provide end-to-end SLTMobitel SDWAN services along with connectivity, controller, virtual and physical edges and offer a fully- managed SLTMobitel SDWAN service on top of the existing MPLS with in-house subject knowledge.

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Business

ComBank hands over fully refurbished wards at De Soysa Hospital for Women

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/4

Thilina Walpola

Pictured here are the representatives of the Bank and senior officials of the hospital at the ceremonial handing over of the refurbished ward.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon recently handed over Wards No. 03 and 04 of the De Soysa Hospital for Women, after the completion of a comprehensive renovation project launched in March this year to mark International Women’s Day.

Wards 03 and 04 handle a substantial share of the hospital’s patient load, and account for approximately 2,500 to 3,000 deliveries and 4,000 to 5,000 admissions annually. Their refurbishment was designed to significantly enhance patient care, safety and comfort, and directly benefit thousands of mothers and newborns.

Five Trustees of the Commercial Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility Trust participated in the formal handing over of the refurbished wards to the hospital authorities. They were Sharhan Muhseen, the Bank’s Chairman, Raja Senanayake, Deputy Chairman, Sanath Manatunge, Managing Director/CEO, Hasrath Munasinghe, Chief Operating Officer, and Prasanna Indrajith, Chief Financial Officer.

Established in 1879, the De Soysa Hospital for Women is the first maternity hospital in Sri Lanka and the second oldest in Asia and is credited with, among others, performing the country’s first caesarean section in 1905 and establishing one of its earliest organised operating theatres in 1907.

The Commercial Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility Trust, through which this project was implemented, has via its healthcare-related interventions supported more than 100 government hospitals with essential equipment and infrastructure, contributed to emergency medical services through the ‘Adopt an Ambulance’ initiative, and implemented targeted community health interventions such as water storage solutions for families affected by kidney disease.

Business

IIHS expands global nursing pathways

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/4

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Renuka Jayatissa and Dr. Kithsiri Edirisinghe speaking to the media

The International Institute of Health Sciences (IIHS) Multiversity is expanding its international education programmes with the aim of creating overseas employment opportunities for Sri Lankan nurses and allied health professionals while contributing to foreign exchange earnings.

Speaking to the media during a conference at IIHS Multiversity in Kerawalapitiya, Dr. Kithsiri Edirisinghe, CEO, Co-Founder and Dean of IIHS aid that the institute has established academic partnerships with overseas universities and higher education institutions, including the University of Surrey in the UK, Deakin University in Australia, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Finland, Asia e University in Malaysia and SUNY Canton in the United States.

Under its ‘Study in Sri Lanka, Graduate to the World’ model, students can complete foundational and diploma-level qualifications locally before progressing to international top-up degrees or overseas employment.

Dr Edirisinghe said the model could substantially reduce the cost of obtaining internationally recognised qualifications. It estimates that completing a four-year bachelor’s degree at the University of Surrey in the UK would cost about USD 145,700, including tuition and living expenses, compared with about USD 27,750 through the IIHS pathway in Sri Lanka.

Dr Edirisinghe said the institute’s focus on overseas deployment addressed both Sri Lanka’s economic needs and the growing global demand for healthcare workers.

“Our winning model is producing job-ready, registration-ready healthcare professionals who can seamlessly enter foreign healthcare systems,” he said.

IIHS, which began operations in 2002 as the American College of Health Sciences, established its institutional base in Welisara in 2008 and launched its purpose-built greenfield multiversity campus in 2023.

The institute said it has upgraded the qualifications of more than 5,000 government nurses, supported over 2,500 youth on international employment pathways and trained more than 1,000 allied health professionals. It has also carried out over 250 community health projects.

The institute has identified Germany and Japan among its target markets, with pathways planned for 2,000 nurses for Germany and a one-year preparation programme linked to around 4,000 healthcare positions in Japan.

Dr. Renuka Jayatissa, Vice-Chancellor and a specialist medical doctor, said demographic changes and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases were changing healthcare requirements in Sri Lanka.

Business

Sampath Bank launches Sri Lanka’s first community-powered book discovery platform at Colombo International Book Fair

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/4

Thilina Walpola

Sampath GPay customers can enjoy 25% cash back on Book Fair purchases

Sampath Bank PLC has launched Sampath Book Finder, Sri Lanka’s first community-powered book discovery platform, giving visitors to the Colombo International Book Fair a faster and more seamless way to find the books they are looking for across the fair’s 150+ stalls, while also opening up new opportunities to discover titles recommended by fellow readers.

Introduced on the opening day of the Colombo International Book Fair on 25 September, Sampath Book Finder brings together digital innovation and the collective knowledge of readers to address a familiar challenge at one of Sri Lanka’s largest literary gatherings, where the scale of the fair can make locating a particular title a time-consuming exercise. When a book proves difficult to locate, visitors can access bookfairtracker.com or scan the designated QR code and submit a request to the community, allowing readers who have already spotted the title to share its location and help others find it without having to search stall after stall.

Commenting on the initiative, Milinda Weerasinghe, Chief Marketing Officer, Sampath Bank PLC, said, “At Sampath Bank, we believe meaningful innovation begins by identifying everyday challenges and creating solutions that make a real difference. Sampath Book Finder brings this thinking to the Colombo International Book Fair by turning the collective knowledge of readers into a real-time digital solution, empowering them to find what they are looking for, discover something new and help others do the same, while making the overall experience more convenient and connected.”

The platform also turns book discovery into a shared experience, allowing visitors to recommend books they encounter by sharing the title, publisher, hall and stall number, which enables fellow readers to discover sought-after titles and recommendations while making it easier to locate them within the fair.

Sampath Bank’s longstanding association with the Colombo International Book Fair also continues in 2026, marking more than 20 years of partnership, with the Bank serving as the Official Banking Partner for this year’s fair. As part of its presence at the event, SampathCards offer 25% cashback for Sampath GPay customers on their purchases and 3 months 0% instalment plans for book purchases via Sampath credit cards, while visitors can also access banking services through the Bank’s physical presence at the fair. Customers registering to open selected Fixed Deposits at the premises will receive an additional 0.25%, adding further value and convenience for visitors.