An Extraordinary Journey
The original corporate entity was established in 1997 by Patrick and Champika Claesson. The Claessons planned to migrate to Australia and sought a buyer to look after the interests of their clients and ensure the continuity of the company. The company was bought over by Sandaruwan Madduma Bandara, formerly with ANZ Grindlays Bank, and Muthukumari Madduma Bandara, a Chartered Architect, in 1999. Among the first clients of 3CS were Delysia Gunewardena, wife of the late Norman Gunewardena, former Chairman of Aitken Spence, and mother of Otara Gunewardena, Founder of Odel, and Ruchi Gunewardena, CEO of Strategic Initiatives Group. Clients like Delysia helped the young company grow by recommending our services to their contacts, and we gratefully remember their contribution to our success. Initially the company focused on equipment solutions, but as it grew, we moved into software, web solutions and online marketing.
The early years of the company were a struggle as we had to operate in a country burdened by civil conflict. In 2000 the country experienced the first recession since Independence in 1948, and these economic conditions severely hampered growth. Over time we acquired new technologies and broadened our portfolio. We began to emerge as one of the top web solutions providers in Sri Lanka. The development of the Vijitha Yapa Bookshop website in 2004, our first mainstream eCommerce site, was also an important milestone in our journey. Over a decade and many redesigned versions of the solution later, Vijitha Yapa Bookshop remains our satisfied client and the leading online bookstore in the country. It was around this time that we abbreviated the name of the company to create the trademark 3CS.
In 2008 3CS started delivering solutions to the hospitality sector in Sri Lanka by redesigning the websites of Aitken Spence Hotels, and building a reservation engine that would go on to earn hundreds of millions of rupees in online revenue. In 2009 we continued this trend by redesigning the Mount Lavinia Hotel website. Based on the runaway success of both websites, hoteliers sought us out to design their websites and provide solutions such as online booking engines and search engine optimisation. We have designed and delivered more than 80 hotel and travel websites across several countries. Due to demand from our clients in the hospitality sector, 3CS expanded its portfolio to include professional photography.
In 2010 Mount Lavinia Hotel won the Gold award for Best Corporate Website in Sri Lanka at the Bestweb competition organised by the .LK Domain Registry. 3CS won Silver as the Best Website Developer. In 2011 the Mount Lavinia Hotel website won the Best Tourism Website in Sri Lanka Award at the national Tourism Awards. In 2012 the Mount Lavinia Hotel website was again named the Best Corporate Website in Sri Lanka at Bestweb. It was also named the Best Sri Lankan website. 3CS won Gold as the Best Website Developer in Sri Lanka.
In 2010 Asia Broadcasting Corporation selected 3CS to be its web solutions partner. 3CS took over the Hiru FM, Sun FM, Gold FM, Sooriyan FM and Hiru News websites. With a complete overhaul of the design, software systems and servers, 3CS completely revamped these websites. 3CS acquired the capability to build sophisticated audio streaming solutions with this project. Hiru FM which was attracting only 150,000 visitors a month grew to reach over one million visitors a month across nearly 200 countries. In 2011 Hiru FM and Hiru News were awarded the Best e-Entertainment Website in Sri Lanka award at the national e-Swabhimani awards. The sites went on to win the Best e-Entertainment Website in South Asia award at the Manthan Awards in New Delhi. ABC later added Shaa FM and Hiru TV to its portfolio. 3CS deployed cutting-edge video streaming technology to make Hiru TV the leading TV station website in Sri Lanka. In 2013, Hiru TV won the Silver award for Best Media Website in Sri Lanka.