While many companies claim to offer digital or web solutions, there are maybe a handful that create a solution that is geared to succeed and meet its clients' ultimate goals, many even outsource the entire development process to third parties since they lack the adequate in-house development infrastructure. This is known to frequently cause a mismatch between what is promised and what is delivered... But one group is trying to bridge this gap and, in so doing, becomes a "digital" agency in the truest sense of the term.

230 Interactive co-founder Mugunthan Balakrishnan

Sri Lanka's 230 Interactive (www.230i.com), co-founded by Sanjay Mendis and Mugunthan "Mugs" Balakrishnan, both well-known fixtures in the advertising industry, has come a long way since its beginnings just a few short years ago. From humble beginnings it has created a diverse portfolio numbering in the dozens of web solutions for some of Sri Lanka's most recognised companies; including a number of John Keells hotels and this segment's Human Resource function, investment advisor Capital Alliance, auctioneer Schokman & Samerawickreme, pain medication Paracetol, local school S. Thomas' College, the domestic office of international advertising network Leo Burnett, and even managing the web presence of online marketing proponent and former Wal-Mart, Chrysler and Ford marketing strategist Julie Roehm.

230 Interactive also has a fledgling sales presence in overseas markets and earns a fair portion of its business from these. According to Mr. Mendis, even with a strict policy of not competing based on cost, the company has managed to successfully target small and mid size companies in the US and Europe and offer them a web solution which would ordinarily cost twice as much if it was developed in the client's country of origin, since 230 Interactive maintains its development and creative base in Sri Lanka; this even with its services being set at the premium price range locally.

Mr. Mendis also reiterates that what the company's offers is not just a website but rather a fully fleshed out web solution and, as such, a lot of 230 Interactive's work is related to frequently adapting or tweaking the client's online presence, often even after the product goes live. This also results in frequent decision making that utilises website analytics which includes detailed tracking of traffic relevant to clients' online presence, even going so far as to profile visitors' habits and other websites visited, etc. In fact, says Mr. Balakrishnan, "from what we launched, everything changes completely over three months to match the analytics".

230 Interactive co-founder Sanjay Mendis

Further, this methodology has led to almost 99% of the company's clients being retained over the last two years. Additionally, these relationships are further strengthened by the company's policy of only accepting three new projects a month, a circumstance which enables continued focus on ongoing work. Ultimately, and perhaps most importantly, according to Mr. Mendis; "they stay because they make money or get some other advantage from their website".

In addition, comments Mr. Balakrishnan, who is responsible for the creative and technology at 230 Interactive; the company differentiates itself from other so-called digital content providers by first focusing on the web-based architecture needed to support the solution and only then the design / creative aspect. A practice which is contrary to local industry norms which focus foremost on design and frequently lead to concepts and ideas that can not be delivered. His advice: Spend more time understanding the technology and understanding its limitations.

Asked to highlight some of the company's more innovative projects, Mr. Mendis indicates that the company plans to introduce a one-stop, comprehensive online Sri Lankan resource which will feature articles by contributors who will be later reimbursed based on traffic to their content (a tentative working model). He also identified a project for a John Keells hotel where people were asked to contribute their photographs through Flickr for use on the hotel's website which, in return, would feature photographers' credits.

Another interesting project this time for John Keells Hotels Human Resources -- collecting and storing of job applicants in an easily storable and retrievable basic enterprise-type system which would be automatically updated through the company's website, allowing quick drill down to get applicant details depending on skills needed, etc. Yet another project is the real time updated Capital Alliance website which displays investor relevant market information on its home page, this resource has most significantly led to three or four site visitors signing up for the client's newsletter periodically; some of which prove to be lucrative sales leads for the client's products.

So what does the future hold for these budding digital entrepreneurs? According to Mr. Mendis, social marketing is really going to take off locally in 2010. This is because many companies want to move away from static websites and focus more on actively engaging audiences, particularly the oft-mentioned Sri Lankan Diaspora. In addition, he indicates that "our plans are to attract overseas projects as last year the global economy wasn't doing that well and specially our client segment was tight fisted on spending online", also speculating that US, Europe and Australia could be possible areas of interest.

Meanwhile, saying that "a blessing that the Internet got was that the war ended", he notes that this was because the Internet is maybe the only way to meaningfully interact with the Diaspora. Also, plans are in place to attract "more companies who are looking for interactive solutions to build communities for their brands". He ends with realisation that Sri Lanka is still only at the "beginning of digital", and implies many more opportunities and challenges ahead.