MillenniumIT ESP (MIT ESP) is a Sri Lankan

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

company that provides enterprise solutions with a portfolio that includes stock exchange systems, infrastructure platforms, cyber security systems,

managed services Managed services is the practice of outsourcing the responsibility for maintaining, and anticipating need for, a range of processes and functions, ostensibly for the purpose of improved operations and reduced budgetary expenditures through the ...

, automation, and cloud services. Headquartered in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, Sri Lanka, MIT ESP also offers industry-specific solutions tailored for banking and finance, telecommunications, government, manufacturing and retail, and commercial sectors.

History

Foundations and early years

The company was founded in 1996 by Tony Weerasinghe as a systems integrator and

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...

authorized reseller. MillenniumIT entered the software design field the following year when it interpreted a systems integration contract from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) as an opportunity to design and install a

straight-through processing Straight-through processing (STP) is a method used by financial companies to speed up financial transactions by processing without manual intervention. Background Straight-through processing exists in numerous areas of financial services, such as ...

system for the Exchange. The CSE system became the basis for MillenniumIT's suite of capital-markets software products. In 2000 MillenniumIT became

' regional distributor for

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

. Its capital-markets software found a number of customers around the world, and in 2001 MillenniumIT won its first major US contract and set up operations in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, MA. In 2002, the firm moved into its new corporate headquarters, the first

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

style software campus in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The company was awarded contracts in

and

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. It also continued to expand by opening a UK subsidiary and office in 2004. The following year, the company was contracted to provide an automated equity, ETF and options-trading system for the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...

(AMEX). Live trading at the American Stock Exchange commenced in 2006, even as the company received a US patent on its Business Innovation Dynamically (BID) technology. At home in Sri Lanka, MillenniumIT commenced implementation of a countrywide intranet for the national fixed-line telecoms provider, SLT, while US operations expanded with a new office in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

London Stock Exchange Group acquisition

Following a contract with

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

(part of

London Stock Exchange Group London Stock Exchange Group plc, also known as LSEG, is a global provider of financial markets data and infrastructure headquartered in London, England. It owns the London Stock Exchange (on which it is also listed), Refinitiv, LSEG Technol ...

- LSEG) for a new trading platform for equities, MillenniumIT was acquired by LSEG in 2009. The acquisition gave the company a footing in international competition, and a number of orders from around the world followed shortly.

Acquisition by Ambeon Holdings

In 2017, Millennium IT ESP was acquired by

Ambeon Holdings Ambeon Holdings PLC is a conglomerate holding company based in Sri Lanka. John Walker who established Walker Sons and Company is the founder of the company. In 1874, Walker founded Walker and Greig to supply agricultural machinery to plantations ...

, then called Lanka Century Investments (LCI), as both management and shareholding. Under the terms of the agreement, LCI will acquire a 100% stake of MillenniumIT ESP from London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) with management and shareholding control. As part of this acquisition agreement, LCI will also enter into a wider ownership plan with the employees of MillenniumIT ESP giving them an equity stake and enabling them to play a role in shaping the company’s future as owner managers. LSEG will retain full ownership of MillenniumIT Software, the trading technology and software development component of the business.

Regional offices in Singapore and Bangladesh

MillenniumIT ESP has incorporated offices and operations in Singapore and Bangladesh to expand its business into new markets and capture the global demand for enterprise technology solutions. The Singapore office serves as a hub for its international operations, particularly in the

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

region. Bangladesh serves as a location to capitalize on manufacturing enterprises in the technology area.

References

{{Reflist Software companies of Sri Lanka Financial software companies London Stock Exchange 2009 mergers and acquisitions