Rajendra Theagarajah appointed as Chairman of Digital Reality

• Mandated to lead board of SL’s first-ever High Density Data Centre
• At launch, it will serve as only Tier 3-certified data centre in Colombo city
• Envisages world-class data hosting services and value-added services to enterprises, SMEs and start-ups

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 highly respected banking veteran, technologist and business transformation specialist, Rajendra Theagarajah as Chairman.

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 start-ups as well as offshore hosting for large corporates across South Asia.

“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 centre 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,” 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 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 digitalisation 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 organisations and investors alike.

Digital Reality’s entire High Density Data Centre will be optimally located at Orion City IT Park in Colombo, providing a particularly valuable option for Sri Lankan enterprises seeking a convenient and cost-effective site for their primary data centres. 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 Bandaranaike International Airport.

In addition to the data centre 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 digitalisation of Sri Lanka.