|
|
|
|
DIDXchange tagged in Inc, a
leading US magazine, as one of the Inc. 5000 Application
Partners |
|
Super Technologies Inc’s DIDXchange (www.didx.net)
announced its inclusion as one of Inc. 5000 Application
Partners. Inc. magazine and Inc.com (www.inc.com )
plans to expand the Inc. 500, Inc.’s acclaimed annual
list of America’s fastest-growing private companies,
to include 4,500 more of these dynamic businesses.John Koten, the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Mansueto
Ventures, that owns Inc. and Inc.com states, “…discover,
learn about, and draw attention to even more of the
private companies that are taking off right now. It's
the best way to see the future of business as it is
being created."
The top 500 companies on the Inc. 5,000 will still
be known as the Inc. 500 and will appear in the September
2007 issue of Inc., with profiles of each, based on
CEO interviews. The Inc. 5,000 will be listed at Inc.com
with basic information about each company including
a brief description of its business.
To be eligible for the Inc. 5,000, companies must
be US based and independent, with four full calendar
years of revenue generation. Companies must have a
full four-year sales history. Sales in 2003 must be
for full 12 months; if the company has less than 12
months of sales in 2003, it is not eligible for the
2007 Inc. 500/Inc. 5000. Companies must provide revenue
figures to qualify for consideration, via the online
qualification form accessed through www.inc5000.com
or through the DIDXchange Inc. 5000 Partner logo at
www.didx.net.
For the first time, Inc. is encouraging all independent,
US-based, privately held companies to fill out qualification
forms for the Inc. 5,000, even if they believe they
may not yet be eligible for the list. The Inc. 5,000
Project Manager, Jim Melloan, also states, “Sometimes
eligible companies are so busy growing that they miss
our application window, so we want to be able to track
them and send them reminders when they become eligible
for the list.” The deadline for submitting the qualification
form is May 15, 2007.
All companies that are placed on the Inc. 5,000 will
be invited to the 2007 Inc. 500 conference, in Chicago
at the Hilton, September 6-8, 2007.
About Inc
Inc., http://www.inc.com, the only major business
magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers
of growing private companies, delivers real solutions
for today’s innovative company builders. It provides
hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing
people, finances, sales, marketing, and technology.
Inc., a Mansueto Ventures LLC publication, inspires
and informs, with cutting-edge coverage that reflects
its readers’ energy, brashness, and imagination.
About Super Technologies
Super Technologies Inc has been a VoIP service provider
since 1999 and is an innovator of VoIP products and
services. It specializes in hosted VoIP solutions
for small and medium-sized telecom companies who wish
to start their own VoIP operation, anywhere in the
world. With agents and customers in 250+ countries,
Super Technologies continues to be a market leader,
with new and unique innovations.
Super Technologies Inc with its DIDXchange does not
claim to have a relationship with INC.com other than
as one of its Inc. 5000 Application Partners.
|
Marked deployment of DID
Management System, by Advanced VOIP, at Wisecomm-an
international joint venture working in Pakistan |
|
Advanced VoIP (Pvt) Ltd.(AVPL),
leading global telecom billing solutions provider,
has successfully deployed the DID Management System
at Wise Communication Systems (Pvt) Ltd (Wisecomm),
Pakistan. Being a leading Long Distance & International
(LDI) telecom company with presence in four continents,
Wisecomm required a reliable DID management system
that can facilitate the launch of DID service in Pakistan
and internationally.
Wisecomm has installed AVPL's DID Management System
in five telecom regions of Pakistan. After complete
testing by AVPL, Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA)
has also inspected and cleared the setup, at all five
telecom regions, for offering of DID numbers by Wisecomm.
These five regions include Islamabad, Karachi, Jhelum,
Faisalabad and Gujranwala. AVPL's DID Management System
is running smoothly on Wisecomm extensive telecommunication
network.
About Advanced VoIP
Advanced VoIP (Pvt) Ltd (AVPL) is a well-known global
billing and OSS vendor that offers core-to-edge solutions
capable enough to cater billing needs for business
models. AVPL have years of experience in providing
customer care and billing solutions (CCBS) for numerous
telecom operators in Pakistan and around the world,
including USA, Europe, South America, Asia/Asia-Pacific,
Middle East and Africa.
About Wisecomm
Wise Communication Systems (Pvt) Ltd (Wisecomm) is
a joint venture of Wise Communication Systems: France,
International Telecommunication Services (ITS): Italy,
and Global Alliance: Pakistan. Wisecomm has acquired
the license to offer Long Distance & International
(LDI) carrier services all over Pakistan. Its scope
of business includes the provisioning of nationwide
/ international calls; international traffic termination
to Pakistan from worldwide telecom carriers and other
value-added services like teleport services and VSAT
services. In addition, Wisecomm has also acquired
Local Loop for all major regions of Pakistan.
|
.
The highest healthcare
IT benchmark, CCHIT certification, awarded to CureMD
CureMD Corporation announced that the Certification
Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT)
named CureMD platform CCHIT Certified and that it
meets the CCHIT ambulatory Electronic Health Record
(EHR) criteria for 2006. There are only 45 technology
companies in the world that have achieved this highest
level by receiving the CCHIT certification, and it
is the first time that a company outside of the US
has been presented with this certification.
CureMD EHR, an innovative, purely web-based electronic
health records system, is designed from the ground
up for care delivery organizations of the internet
age. CureMD integrates clinical, administrative and
workflow processes to create a unified framework for
real-time information management and collaboration.
CCHIT is the recognized authority in the United States
for certifying EHR products – an independent, nonprofit,
public/private organization that sets the benchmark
for healthcare information technology.
As a CCHIT Certified product, CureMD EHR has been
tested and passed inspection of 100 percent of a comprehensive
set of criteria for Functionality, Interoperability
and Security. The CCHIT Certified mark - a "seal
of approval" for EHR products - provides the
first consensus-based, consistent benchmark for ambulatory
products.
"This seal of certification removes a significant
barrier to wide-spread adoption of electronic health
records. ", said Mike Leavitt, Secretary U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Kamal Hashmat, CEO of
CureMD Corporation said “Physicians should feel confident
in purchasing CureMD EHR as the CCHIT Certification
has exemplified our solution’s ability to ensure patient
safety and maximize quality. Everyone on the CureMD
team has once again reinforced their ability and talent
to develop solutions which meet and exceed top industry
standards”
CCHIT's certification compliance criteria and its
design for a certification inspection process have
been thoroughly researched, taking into account the
state-of-the-art EHRs and available standards, and
comparing certification processes in other industries
and other countries. The inspection process is based
on real-life medical scenarios designed to test products
rigorously against the clinical needs of providers
and the quality and safety needs of healthcare consumers
and payers.
About CureMD Corporation
CureMD is a provider of customizable products and
services designed to personalize care delivery, enhance
quality, ensure patient safety and optimize efficiency,
with core operations and development offices in Lahore,
Pakistan and marketing offices in NY, USA. CureMD’s
flexible, technology independent application architecture
enables seamless integration with Microsoft, IBM and
Java technologies, at a fraction of the cost it would
require to integrate legacy systems.
About CCHIT
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information
Technology (CCHITSM) is an independent, nonprofit
organization that has been recognized by the federal
government as an official certification body for electronic
health record products globally. The certification
requirements are based on widely accepted industry
standards and involve the work of hundreds of expert
volunteers and input from a variety of stakeholders
throughout the health care industry
|
|
.
Multiple investment opportunities unearthed via
the Chinese IT & Telecom Delegation’s visit to Karachi-on
invitation by VectraGroup |
|
Chinese IT and Telecom
Delegation showed great enthusiasm for joining hands
with Pakistani IT Companies. VectraGroup of companies,
a leading IT group, invited this 14-member IT and
Telecom Delegation at a breakfast meeting at a leading
hotel in Karachi on 10th February, 2007, in the kind
presence of Honorable Mr. Nauman Saigal, the Advisor
to Chief Minister Sindh for IT. The delegation comprised
of people from the Ministry of Information and Industry
China and the CEOs and Directors of various private
Chinese software and hardware firms. The delegation
also possessed representatives of the China IT Park.
Other honorable members from the Sindh IT Department
also attended the meeting along with the representatives
of Pakistan Software Export Board.
The delegation discussed multiple investment opportunities
for Pakistani companies in China and mentioned how
China IT market is coming up. The exciting part of
the discussion was regarding the China IT park which
is a state-of-the-art facility designed for IT firms
from all over the world. The Chairman of the China
IT Park invited the chairman of VectraGroup to have
a branch office in China IT Park and ensured every
kind of cooperation in this regard.
This meeting turned out to be very fruitful and the
Honorable Nauman Saigol welcomed the delegation and
encouraged member delegates to invest in Pakistan
in the IT and Telecom sector, which is the fastest
growing sector in Pakistan.
|
.....
Super Technologies and DIDX.net
shot the launch of GroovyTel.com Phone Service for
MSN and Google Talk
Super Technologies, Inc., the makers of Super
Phone and DIDX.net announced the beta release of GroovyTEL.com.
GroovyTel.com offers incoming phone service for any
MSN Messenger and Google Talk Messenger user. The
service enables the users to receive a call from any
regular phone that is located anywhere in the world,
to their MSN and Google Talk Messenger service.
GroovyTel.com takes advantage of 2 key software developed
in-house by Super Technologies Inc. The DIDX.net and
the DID Number Management Solution (www.supertec.com/cfms)
powers the call routing, billing and management of
the end user.GroovyTel.com is offering 1000 free phone numbers
on first–come, first-serve basis..The regular rate
of the phone numbers is $2.99 a month, and the service
can be used anywhere in the world. The IM users will
start receiving calls from people all over the world
who are the most important to them via GroovyTel.com
service.
"Our focus on the product is to the United States
and China market. China has the largest number of
IM users in the world. This service helps the IM users
to interact with the regular phone world also,"
says the CTO, Rehan Allwahala.
About Groovytel.com
GroovyTEL.com name was a brain child of Suzanne Bowen,
CEO Super Technologies, and the service offers incoming
phone service to MSN and Google Talk users, anywhere
in the world.
About DIDX
DIDX is a global number exchange and peering marketplace
that empowers any telecom service provider with the
opportunities to buy, sell and/or exchange DID Numbers
with other service providers. DIDX software has won
4 awards in 2006, including PASHA award, TMC Product
of the Year Award, and the Best Communication Change
Maker Award Nomination.
About Super Technologies Inc
Super Technologies Inc has been a VoIP service provider
since 1999 and is an innovator of VoIP products and
services. It specializes in hosted VoIP solutions
for small and medium-sized telecom companies who wish
to start their own VoIP operation, anywhere in the
world. With agents and customers in 250+ countries,
Super Technologies continues to be a market leader,
with new and unique innovations.
|
.....
MoU signed
between CWorks, Malysia, and AZM, Pakistan, for jointly working
on CMMS |
|
Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) between AZM Computer Services (Pvt) Ltd, Pakistan
& CWorks Systems Berhad, Malaysia was signed on
17th of April, 2007 during the event of GITEX 2007
at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The signing ceremony was held in the presence of the
ambassador of Malaysia in Saudi Arabia and was jointly
attended by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation
& Pakistan Software Export Board representative.
AZM and CWorks have agreed to collaborate for the
development, marketing and implementation in Pakistan,
Malaysia, GCC & other regional countries, of Computerized
Maintenance Management Software (CMMS) and other software
products developed by AZM & CWorks.
|
.....
Expedient certification of TPS
Phoenix with Sudan National Switch
TPS Transaction Switch and an
Integrated Delivery channel, Phoenix, at Bank of Khartoum,
has been successfully certified with the National
Switch of Sudan. Bank of Khartoum ("BOK")
which is based in North Africa is one of the oldest
and largest banks of Sudan, with 49 branches and is
part of the Dubai Islamic Bank group.
The certification of Phoenix with the National Switch
provides connectivity of Bank of Khartoum’s entire
ATM network with all other participating banks in
Sudan. The bank now enables the customers to withdraw
cash and perform various other value-added transactions
from any of the ATMs across Sudan, anytime and with
increased convenience. The integration with National
Switch will accelerate the growth of the bank’s business
and further enhance its customer relationship across
the country.
The recent implementation of Phoenix at Bank of Khartoum
has laid a perfect platform to launch new products
and services quickly and efficiently. The bank plans
to grow rapidly in this year, with a rollout of 70
+ ATMs in the near future. “The successful integration
of our bank with the National Switch of Sudan is a
testimony to the strong synergy between Bank of Khartoum
and TPS. We look forward to a lasting relationship
with TPS”, said Dr. Khalid Osman, Head of IT, Bank
of Khartoum.
TPS views Sudan as a market of growing importance
as part of its development strategy and this certification
is indeed a milestone for TPS as it further strengthens
its position in the Sudan market.
About TPS
TPS is a software, systems and consulting firm specializing
in e-Banking and e-Payment products, solutions and
services. For more information, please visit the website
www.tpsonline.com
|
.....
Deployment of the
Ultimus BPM Suite perked up Administrative Processes
of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)
Ultimus, the #1 provider of Business
Process Management (BPM) and workflow software and
solutions, with more than 1,600 customers worldwide,
announced that the National Database and Registration
Authority (NADRA) of Pakistan, has deployed the Ultimus
BPM Suite to automate the core administrative processes.
"The Ultimus BPM Suite has helped NADRA to ensure
document security and standardization of approval
procedures at all levels through a streamlined workflow,"
said Brig (Ret'd) Saleem Ahmad Moeen, Chairman, NADRA.
"The Ultimus BPM Suite certainly has facilitated
NADRA in making our Time Sheets, Inter Office Notes,
and Letters processes not only extremely time efficient,
but also very cost effective."
Established under the Ministry of Interior, NADRA
has automated all of the important administrative
processes, including inter-office notes, leave requisition,
travel requisition, overtime claims and approvals
and time sheets.
As the leading human-centric BPM platform, the Ultimus
BPM Suite works well with government agencies to drive
operational efficiencies and improve customer service.
This unique application suite provides organizations,
of all kinds, outstanding time and cost savings benefits,
along with a much higher degree of accuracy and control.
"With the Ultimus BPM Suite in place, we've been
able to improve the speed and accuracy of critical
processes," said Brig (Retd) Saleem Ahmad Moeen,
Chairman of the National Database and Registration
Authority. "We selected the Ultimus BPM Suite
for its ability to scale to meet our needs. Because
of this, we look forward to applying this powerful
technology to additional functions across our organization."
Ultimus provides strong BPM-based solutions for any
organization with a high degree of human-centric processes.
The company offers far greater functionality, out-of-the-box
to handle exceptions and change, than any other BPM
Suite and delivers the collaboration and usability
that workers need to get their job done in a natural
and intuitive way.
"Because government entities are very process
driven and need to be as accurate as possible, national
and local organizations around the world entrust their
mission-critical processes to our platform,"
said Rashid Khan, CEO and co-founder of Ultimus. "NADRA
is the latest in a long list of agencies to take advantage
of the Ultimus BPM Suite to optimize internal processes
and enhance customer service."
About Ultimus
Ultimus is the worldwide leader in human-centric Business
Process Management (BPM) software, providing the industry's
most complete and scalable platform for modeling,
automating, managing and optimizing business processes.
Powered by Adaptive Discovery®, the Ultimus BPM Suite
is the only BPM suite that enables automated business
processes to be deployed without completely defined
process maps. Its Microsoft-based platform is quick
to deploy and easy to administer, and its integration
capabilities provide seamless information transfer
between applications and outside organizations.
|
.....
TCS Customer Services
and Support Operations came to power with ZRG’s latest
IP Contact Center Technology
TCS, the No.1 express courier
service provider in the country has started the operations
of its modern customer services and support contact
center. The multi-media enabled contact center technology
solution has been provided to TCS by ZRG International,
nation’s market leader in open standards based CTI
technologies.
TCS was expanding its operations on a large scale
and providing diversified products and services to
retail and corporate customers. The management had
a clear vision about the upcoming challenges and the
need for providing exceptional customer services.
For that reason, the company decided to establish
a full-service contact center facility in the newly
built premises near Karachi Airport. This center would
provide information and answer to queries of new and
existing clients.
One of the key requirements of TCS was to have a fully
integrated solution that is capable of handling voice
and non-voice channels such as Email, Fax, SMS and
Chat. Another basic requirement was to have a one-window
solution that is fully supported by a single solution
provider that has expertise on the full spectrum of
contact center technology.
TCS decided to award the contract to the Intel IP-based
solution by ZRG because the proposed solution by ZRG
International offered the highest price-performance
ratio, latest technology features and complete customization
capabilities available locally. The offered solution
was backed by a proven team of ZRG professionals that
has completed successful contact center deployments
for over 25 leading brands.
The integrated IP contact center solution by ZRG,
built upon Intel Corporation’s open CTI technology
offered a completely scalable platform with features
such as dynamic controls, flexibility in integration
and customization and total documentation. The online
monitoring and reporting capabilities enable the management
to gain an insight into agent performance, customer
requirements, accessibility and service levels. This
multi-modal capability of the solution offered a highly
cost effective approach for transparently handling
and managing multiple brands, products and companies
from a single virtual contact center.
Currently, the TCS Contact Center caters to domestic,
international, sentiments and overland Express queries
from Karachi customers through the UAN number, 111-123-456;
there is a 2-phase plan to include Lahore, Islamabad
and Rawalpindi’s customers, and then extend the service
countrywide soon.
According to Mr. Khalid Dar, Head of Customer Services,
TCS, “The TCS Call Center is fully equipped with a
customized Intel based IP solution provided by market
leader ZRG International, enabling efficient customer
query handling, monitoring, escalation and resolution.
Features include call hold, call transfer; call forwarding,
3 way conferencing, speed dialing and last-number
redial to ensure optimum handing of customer calls.
The core solution is installed with a two layer redundancy
to ensure that no customer call goes unanswered.”
Mr. Ayub Butt, CEO, ZRG International said, “Increasing
customer satisfaction contributes directly towards
the profitability and growth of an enterprise. The
customer satisfaction can be increased by providing
prompt services, personalized attention, and quality
interaction to the customer. ZRG aims to help TCS
increase customer satisfaction and revenues by improving
business communication and customer contact management
functions. We have provided cost-effective, yet most
advanced IP technology for the contact center that
will help the TCS representatives carry out a managed
customer interaction through automation, integration
and complete documentation. Due to the flexibility
and reliability factors, it is not surprising that
ZRG solutions are deployed in majority of contact
centers in the country, and are in use by millions
of users that use self-service applications in addition
to the contact center agent services.”
About TCS
Twenty five years into its existence, the TCS brand
has evolved, into a formidable symbol of commitment,
speed, & reliability in the Express Courier industry
of Pakistan. TCS provides express & logistics
services to C2C, B2B and B2C, delivering over 5 million
time sensitive documents & parcels a month to
over 2000 domestic and 3500 International destinations.
With a view to enlarging its presence in the global
village TCS operates with its international offices
and consolidating hubs in Dubai (Middle East) and
London (UK), connecting worldwide.
TCS has touched many milestones in the history of
courier industry in Pakistan with its specialized
segments like, TCS Domestic & International Express,
MMS-Mail Management Solution, & Sentiments Express.
Whereas its new wing TCS Logistics comprises of Overland
Express, W&D (Warehousing and Distribution) &
Fleet Solutions. TCS has also diversified into new
business areas thus leveraging its strength in the
Express Courier industry by offering services like
Intiana, (Travel & Tours), Visatronix ( Visa Facilitators)
& Octara (Training, Events and Publications).
About ZRG International
ZRG International (ZRG) is an IT & Telecom Solutions
and System Integration company that specializes in
the area of Telephony, CTI and Contact Centers. ZRG
helps organizations increase customer satisfaction
and revenues by improving business communication and
customer contact management functions. ZRG
is the first company from Pakistan that started exporting
advanced contact center technology solutions to the
international market (Dubai, Tanzania).
ZRG provides a full range of innovative customer interaction
and contact management solutions that are flexible,
cost-effective, easily extended and customized and
can be integrated with any CRM, any ACD switch and
any database(s).
|
Ministry of Health,
Pakistan, and NetSol hit upon an outsourcing contract
The Federal Ministry
of Pakistan has awarded NetSol Technologies (NetSol),
a multinational provider of enterprise software and
IT services to the financial services industry, a
contract for an Electronic Government Capacity Building
& Office Automation Project for the Ministry of
Health. The duration and financial terms of the contract
have not been disclosed.
Under the terms of the contract, NetSol will develop,
implement, train and maintain customized enterprise
software solutions.
The primary objectives of this new e-Government project
are to: Improve the internal efficiency of the Ministry
of Health; improve access to essential information;
provide e-services to the citizens of Pakistan; and
enhance the transparency of interactions between the
public office and the citizens. To meet these objectives,
NetSol will develop automated solutions that manage
the key business and day-to-day operations of the
Ministry. In addition, NetSol will provide end user
training and technical support to ensure quick adoption
and proper usage of the new solutions.
|
Punjab Examination
Commission gave out the contract for scanning and
computerized marking answer sheets to Descon Information
Systems.
Descon Information Systems (Pvt) Ltd [DIS], one of
the leading IT service providers in Pakistan has recently
won a contract worth Rs. 22 million with Punjab Examination
Commission [PEC] for providing a turnkey solution
for scanning and computerized marking of class 5 and
class 8 examinations which will be held in May and
June 2007 respectively.
DIS has prepared a customized solution for carrying
out the above assignment. The solution uses Intelligent
Character Recognition (ICR), Optical Character Recognition
(OCR) and Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) technologies
and has deskew and cropping capabilities. The system
will provide automated marking of examination papers
for classes 5 and 8. This will help streamline the
examination process by facilitating the staff to better
perform the grading process, making it more reliable,
accurate and efficient. The computer-based grading
system will significantly cut down the time involved
in grading and will also help ensure transparency
in the examination grading process. The computerized
solution will also help in carrying out various analysis
based on response of students to each question.
The project involves scanning of estimated 14 million
answer sheets to convert them into electronic records
and computerized marking, and is expected to be completed
in a record time of just two months. The implementation
of this project will give an impetus to local job
market by providing over 150 jobs in the field of
IT.
About Descon Information System
Descon Information Systems (Pvt) Ltd [DIS], founded
in 1996, is one of the largest IT service providers
in the country with global presence in North America,
Europe, Asia and the Middle East. With a myriad of
industry verticals ranging from real estate to finance,
DIS has successfully delivered end-to-end solutions
to help leverage clients’ competitive edge in the
market. DIS provides services in software development
and document management (data entry) to its local
and overseas clients. DIS is part of the Descon group
of companies founded in 1977, which currently employs
over 16,000 professionals worldwide and has successfully
delivered upon more than 320 million man-hours to
date.
|
....
|
|
|
....
Marketing |
|
PSEB promotes the image
of the Pakistan IT industry in key markets abroad,
enables trade interaction with international parties,
and facilitates the entry of multi-national development
and support centres into Pakistan.
-
Over the
last year, PSEB has sponsored attendance of eighty six
member companies in thirteen international tradeshows
and delegations, sponsored ten domestic conferences,,
developed joint action plans with four foreign
governments or industry associations,, participated in
thirty three TV interviews, seven radio interviews,
and thirty two magazine interviews and articles, and
issued over eighty press releases. In addition, four
international promotional campaigns were run and
almost two hundred and thirty seven leads were
directly passed on to member companies in addition to
over a thousand indirect leads. Most potential
customers and investors contact PSEB member companies
directly after getting information from the PSEB
website which receives a million hits monthly with
seventy percent from overseas.
-
Pakistan
Software Export Board (PSEB) took the initiative of
arranging Mini events with the help of Pakistan High
Commission in UK in order to foster trade between the
UK based IT companies and Pakistani IT companies. The
Mini Events took place in London, Manchester and Leeds
from 30th, April to 4th May, 2007.PSEB sponsored
twelve leading IT companies to attend these networking
sessions and all the companies have benefited from
this initiative. The visiting IT companies from
Pakistan have qualified leads which will soon be
transformed into successful business ventures.
|
 |
|
PSEB IT
delegation with Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, High Commissioner of
Pakistan at the reception given by the Pakistan High
Commission in London, UK.
|
|
 |
|
PSEB
IT delegation with Mr. Mohammed Iqbal, Lord Mayor
of Leeds at the Asian Influence: International
trade networking event held at Leeds, Town Hall,
sponsored by Lloyds TSB Bank plc. |
|
|
-
PSEB sponsored the
attendance of eight member companies in Gitex Saudi
Arabia 2007. Following new practice a country pavilion
was set up which attracted a large number of
exhibition attendees. AZM Computer services were able
to sign an MOU with CWorks Systems Berhad Malaysia at
the spot.
|
|
|
Strategy |
|
In conjunction with stakeholders like PASHA, the
industry association, PSEB has developed a vision and
strategic roadmap to fast track IT industry growth.
-
Vice President Gartner
Consulting Tony Murphy is visiting Pakistan from 14th
to 18th May to conduct initial interviews with IT
Companies, Industry Associations, Academia and
Government officials as part of a PSEB sponsored study
of the Pakistan IT Industry.
-
An inter-ministerial
working group has been formulated to develop
mechanisms for the collection of primary data on IT
industry revenue sources.
-
A delegation of PSEB
Board members comprising of Secretary IT, MD PSEB and
CEO of LMKR visited Indian IT companies and other
establishments on the invitation of NASSCOM.
-
The exchange of views
with senior executives of Infosys, Wipro, TATA
consulting services and NASSCOM and with Indian
Government officials is expected to be instrumental in
the formulation of a strategy for collaboration with
India in IT. | |
| Office
Space Provision. |
|
PSEB plans to build IT Parks in
different cities and currently operates over 750, 000
square feet of Software Technology Parks (STP) in
eleven buildings across the country.
-
IPDF (Infrastructure
Project Development Facility), an organisation created
by the Government to standardise, monitor, and
facilitate Public Private Partnerships (PPP), has
recommended additions to the draft RFP as per
International best practice. This is being done and
the RFP should be circulated in the current month.
-
In view of PSEB’s
successful methodology for the construction of IT
Parks, the Prime Minister has directed that additional
land of thirty six acres be allotted to PSEB by CDA
adjacent to its current plot of fourteen and a half
acres in Islamabad for the construction of Phase II of
the IT Park.
| |
| .. |
|
Industry HR |
|
PSEB works with the
Higher Education Commission (HEC) to increase the influx
of quality graduates into the industry, facilitates
matching of graduates with IT companies, provides
on-going trainings and certifications to professionals,
and undertakes research to benchmark IT professionals
and graduates in the country.
-
To date,
almost six hundred and eighty IT
professionals have participated in PSEB
sponsored trainings and around three
thousand interns have been placed.
-
Following the
launch of PSEB’s apprenticeship program,
the first letter of intent for the hiring
of one hundred apprentices has been issued
to Bearing Point.
-
Thirty three
participants from eighteen member
companies attended the first PSEB
sponsored Workshop on CISSP (Certified
Information Systems Security
Professionals) in Karachi from 30th March
to 3rd April and in Islamabad from 6th to
10th April. ISC 2 (International
Information Systems Security Certifications Consortium),
the International governing body of CISSP,
will conduct the first ever CISSP
examinations in Pakistan on 11th May in
Karachi and on 12th May in Islamabad.
-
Twenty
Animation & Gaming trainees have been
placed in nine member companies.
| |
| .. |
|
Public Policy |
|
PSEB facilitates the
creation of a public policy environment including taxes,
tariffs, trade, and intellectual property protection to
enable the growth of the IT industry.
-
PTA has deferred its
meeting with PSEB and industry
representatives on VoIP legality issues
till it receives feedback on a “IP
Telephony Consultancy Paper” recently
placed on its website.
-
In response to
terms of reference and invitation for bids
for the formulation of a Data
Confidentiality Act, published by PSEB
last month, four responses have been
received. Technical evaluations are under
way.
-
PSEB has
created a new post of Director Technical who will
liaison with PTA and PTCL on issues of concern to the
IT Industry such as VoIP and telecom bandwidth quality
and cost. Mr. Shaukat Ali, an IT Industry veteran and
Telecom expert, has taken up the challenge.
| |
|
|
Industry Finance |
|
PSEB is working with stakeholders to
create a financing and funding ecosystem for the IT
industry.
-
The Prime Minister has
conceptually approved PSEB's approach for the establishment of a VC
Fund. Under the Chairmanship of PM, a meeting of
President/CEO of leading Banks and Financial
Institutions will be held to solicit funding
commitments.
-
PSEB proudly sponsored
the high level and well attended TieCon 2007 in Karachi on
11th April. Leading Venture Capitalists like Asad
Jamal of ePlanet and private equity investors like
Arif Naqvi of ABRAAJ Capital addressed an enthralled
audience of young Entrepreneurs and executives.
| |
| ... |
| Company Capability
Development |
|
PSEB sponsors quality and
information security certification of IT companies in
order to enhance their international competitiveness.
-
Under PSEB sponsored
programs, Pakistan now has over 110 ISO-certified IT
companies, over fifty ISO IT lead auditors, and will
have over 20 CMMi rated companies by the end of the
current year – making it a world leader in this
category. Currently there is one CMMi L5 company, one
CMM L5 company, three CMMi L3 companies, two CMMi L2
company, one ISO 27001 certified company, two SEI
Transition Partner companies and two SCAMPI
appraisers.
-
eWorx International,
an offshore development subsidiary of AAJ Technologies
USA, has achieved CMMi L2 through PSEB’s technical
assistance and financial support. Mr. Jorge Boria,
Senior Research Scientist at USA Department of Defence,
a faculty member of Carnegie Melon University and one
of only seven Global observers of SEI, was sent by SEI
to observe the appraisal conducted by Mr. Farhan Mirza
of QAI Pakistan who had been trained under a PSEB
sponsored program. Mr. Boria expressed his extreme
satisfaction with the program, and Mr. Mirza is now
eligible to conduct appraisals of all levels of CMMi
world wide.
| |
| ... |
|
Facilitation |
|
PSEB facilitates IT
companies in their interaction with various Government
agencies and also launches programs in areas of
strategic importance where the private sector is shy of
investing.
-
In the
current calendar year, visa processing has been
facilitated for over one hundred and thirty nine
individuals, foreign currency remittance NOC for
purchase of software were processed and issued to
fifty nine companies, and corporate advisory services
have been provided to numerous companies and
individuals.
-
Thirty two new
IT companies were registered with PSEB in the month of
April 2007 in addition to fourteen call centers. Fifty
five IT companies and seven call centers have renewed
their registrations.
-
Under PSEB’s
Industry automation project, the implementation of
GBMS (Global Business Management Solution), the ERP
for the ready made garments and hosiery vertical,
developed by AZM Computer services at model unit
Sajjad Knitwear has been successfully completed.
Sajjad Knitwear has now automated all its processes,
from customer order to delivery of products.
Implementation at an additional nineteen unit has
started.
-
Three hundred and twenty nine trainees attended
eight PSEB sponsored open source training workshops
across five cities in Balochistan. Migration of IDSP
(Institute for Development Studies and Practices) head
office in Quetta to open source software has been
completed.
| |
|
|
| .... |
|
|
|
.....
Vietnam ready to take
on India, China? |
|
India and China may be the
current hot favorites of global investors, but Vietnam is fast
emerging as the next Asian country to give both countries a
run for their money. It will take more time, however, before
Vietnam can be at par with the economic powerhouses, according
to a market observer.
Vietnam's expertise lies in areas that include data centers,
IT manufacturing such as chips and computers, as well as
software development. Vietnam will probably need between five
to seven years to be at par with India's standing in the
region
Vietnam grew 8.4 percent in 2005, overtaking India as Asia's
second fastest-growing economy but trailing closely behind
China's 10.2 percent. The Vietnamese tech market was also
worth approximately US$800 million last year, and is expected
to grow about 20 percent each year.
Intel, for instance, announced in February last year that it
would invest US$300 million to build a semiconductor assembly
and test facility in Ho Chi Minh City. The chipmaker expanded
this investment to US$1 billion in November that same year
when the company unveiled plans to increase the size of its
plant from 150,000 square feet to 500,000 square feet.
According to Intel, the new Vietnam facility will be the
largest single factory within the Intel assembly and test
network. Construction of the plant was expected to have
commenced in March this year and begin production in 2009. The
chip giant added that as many as 4,000 people could be
employed eventually to support the new plant.
Source: ZDNet Asia
|
Pakistan's
IT Industry Takes off |
Information
technology is the fastest-growing industry in Pakistan. Starting
from a relatively low base in 2003, the South Asian country's IT
sector has developed into a US$2 billion market.
The rapid growth of the sector is largely due to foreign IT
firms setting up operations in Pakistan in a bid to reduce costs
and raise profits. Moreover, Pakistan's efforts to establish a
reliable IT infrastructure and the attractive incentives it
offers to foreign investors have been instrumental in the
development of the local IT industry. Many foreign IT firms have
enjoyed great success in Pakistan.
Some of the areas in which the Pakistani government has provided
benefits to the IT companies include: tax exemption until 2016,
seven years' tax holiday for venture-capital funds, provision of
funds for software companies to get ISO-9000 and CMM-level
certification, 100% ownership of equity for foreign investors
and the development of low-rent IT parks, fiber-optic
connectivity, libraries and conference rooms. It is because of
these incentives that an increasing number of foreign IT
companies have chosen Pakistan for their outsourcing operations.
At present the US, Canada and Europe are the major destinations
for the export of Pakistani IT-enabled services.
The Ministry of Information Technology has set a $1 billion
export target for IT-enabled services by 2010 and has asked
China to construct IT parks in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi on
a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis.
Data from Pakistan's central bank show that the country managed
to export more than $72 million worth of software during
financial year 2005-06. Pakistan's software exports touched $72
million in fiscal year 2005-06, a record 56% increase compared
with exports of $46 million in fiscal year 2004-05.
Source:
Asia Times
|
.....
HP Invests $100 million,
Opens four new operations in Europe, Asia and USA
Hewlett-Packard
Co. (HP) has invested US $100 million in business
recovery centers over the last 12 months. The investment--three
quarters of it in Europe--has enabled it to open four
new business recovery centers, in Italy, Spain, the
Netherlands and the UK, in recent months.
In addition, the company has acquired further 14 such
centers across Europe through its October 2004 acquisition
of Synstar PLC -- a Bracknell, England, company specializing
in IT support services, for $293 million -- and its
acquisition of the Irish data recovery activities
of Schlumberger Business Continuity Services (Ireland)
Ltd in March of this year, it said.
The centers are intended to get customers' critical
IT systems back up and running within minutes of a
virus attack, natural disaster or other unforeseen
event, the company said.
The concentration of investment in Europe is no accident,
according to HP: European business managers take a
more prudent attitude to risk management than their
counterparts elsewhere, the company said.
HP has also recently opened a business recovery center
in Georgia, USA, in June, and one in Singapore last
month. It expects to open another one in Anaheim,
California, this month, it said.
Source:
www.oswmag.com
|
....
|
|
INTERNATIONAL |
 | |
.............
I T N
E W S
............. |
.....
Viacom and Yahoo strike
Web advertising deal |
|
Yahoo will serve sponsored
search and contextual ads across Viacom's 33 broadband Web
sites and the deal may later be expanded to cover some 140
Viacom sites worldwide.
Yahoo has parlayed its new ad-placement platform, Panama--and
likely some ill will swirling around Google--into a multiyear
deal to serve sponsored search and contextual ads across 33
Viacom Web sites, such as those of MTV and Comedy Central.
Terms weren't disclosed. In February, Viacom sites worldwide
drew 76.6 million unique visitors 15 or older, says Internet
metrics company ComScore.
Viacom had little choice. Having recently sued Google for
copyright infringement on YouTube, Viacom couldn't very well
shake the hand it's biting. That left Microsoft and Yahoo, and
Yahoo is better established in search marketing.Before Yahoo launched its Panama ad platform in February,
companies that bid the most money for keywords received the
highest ad placement on Yahoo search results pages. But Google
proved that giving some preference to better-performing ads
resulted in higher revenue. So Yahoo built that capability--ad
quality measurement--into Panama to boost ad revenue.Shortly after Panama was launched, ComScore reported an
improved click-through rate for Yahoo ads, providing some
validation. Now with Viacom onboard, Yahoo's prospects look
even better.
Source:
www.Informationweek.com
|
| |
Google to buy “DoubleClick” for $3.1 Billion |
|
IThe
purchase would give Google valuable demographic data,
ad management technology, and advertising clients.
Google said it has reached an agreement to acquire
Internet advertising company DoubleClick for $3.1
billion in cash.
For its money, Google gets valuable demographic data,
ad management technology, and advertising clients.
It also denies Microsoft and Yahoo a potential shortcut
in the race for search advertising supremacy.
On the investor call, David Drummond, senior VP of
corporate development and chief legal officer for
Google, declined to characterize the intensity of
the bidding for DoubleClick. AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo
were reportedly interested in acquiring DoubleClick.
Drummond also said he expected that government regulators
would approve the deal. Assuming approval is granted,
the deal is expected to close before the end of the
year.
The DoubleClick acquisition announcement comes just
six months after Google paid $1.65 billion to purchase
the video-sharing Web site, YouTube.
Fast-forward to 2007 and worries about privacy violations
by advertisers have largely been supplanted by worries
about privacy violations by the government and telecom
companies.
Source:www.InformationWeek.com
|
| ....
Apple
hits the 100-million mark with iPod
Since
the iPod's introduction 5-1/2 years ago, Apple has
unveiled more than 10 models and sparked an ecosystem
of more than 4,000 accessories. The iTunes music store's
library has grown to more than 5 million songs, and
Apple claims to have sold more than 2.5 billion tracks.
Apple has sold its 100 millionth iPod and is far outpacing
its closest competitors, which have failed to make
even a dent in the portable music player's popularity.
Since its introduction in November 2001, the iPod
has spawned an ecosystem of accessories that include
cases, earphones, home stereos, and hardware for playing
the device in the car. In addition, it has driven
the success of Apple's online music store iTunes,
which sells more music over the Web than any other
store.
In announcing its achievement, Apple trotted out praise
from Grammy Award-winning artists Mary J. Blige and
John Mayer. The company even offered a quote from
bicyclist Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de
France champion who apparently can't be separated
from his iPod. "I take my running shoes and my
iPod with me everywhere," he said.
Celebrity fawning aside, the iPod's rise to dominance
has left competitors scratching their heads and regulators
in Europe threatening to rein in its monopoly. The
device accounts for more than three-quarters of the
global market for portable players.
For several years, Microsoft tried but failed to catch
the iPod with devices built by manufacturing partners
with its Windows Mobile software. Last November, Microsoft
copied Apple's strategy by launching its own device
called Zune, which also has its own music store. Zune,
however, has failed to have any impact on iPod sales,
analysts say. The SanDisk MP3 player is the closest
competitor with about 9% of the market.
Source: www.InformationWeek.com
|
|
T R E N D S
|
|
|
New
systems management and virtualization software
are contributing to a shift in the market,
analysts with IDC report.
The worldwide IT leasing and financing market,
traditionally driven by equipment leasing,
will instead see strong growth gains in the
financing of IT software and services in the
coming years.
In the report, the market research firm predicted
that the worldwide IT leasing market will
hit $100 billion in 2010 -- up from $70 billion
in 2006. The growth during that period will
calculate out to more than 8% compound annual
growth rate per year.
The equipment leasing share of that total
market is expected to drop about 20 percentage
points between 2006 and 2010, bringing software
and services leasing to a 50% market share.
Joseph Pucciarelli, program director for IDC's
Technology Financing Strategies research team
said that the changes will produce market
opportunities for several companies, including
CIT Group, GE Capital, HP Financial Services,
IBM Global Financing, Microsoft Financing,
and Oracle Financing Division.
IDC said the IT equipment leasing segment
will experience growing pressure from new
accounting treatments and increased global
competition as well as from slow, limited
increases in IT equipment spending growth.
Source: www.InformationWeek.com
|
|
.... |
|
Outsourcing Industry Undergoing Major Changes |
| Buyers
demand more value, flexibility and manageability
in BPO and ITO deals
According to a recent research conducted jointly
by Everest Research Institute and Bernstein
Research, the outsourcing industry is undergoing
major changes with buyers demanding more value,
flexibility and manageability from business
process outsourcing (BPO) and IT outsourcing
(ITO) engagements.
In an analysis of new outsourcing contract
signings and related market trends, Everest
Research Institute found that as the market
for outsourcing services continues to grow
and mature, buyers are shifting away from
large, broad-based, IT-oriented single-vendor
contracts in favor of more specialized contracts,
focused on discrete business functions such
as human resources, finance & accounting
and procurement, that are designed to deliver
more tangible results and benefits.
Source: www.bernsteinresearch.com |
....
|
The
Rise of Service-Oriented IT and the Birth
of Infrastructure as a Service |
| The
next IT area to embrace a services orientation
may be infrastructure.
Services-oriented IT may turn out to be one
of the major breakthroughs in the IT industry,
but it won’t be an overnight success. The
majority of the IT industry continues to use
traditional business models of selling hardware,
software and services. However, these traditional
models are being expanded to embrace a services
orientation. For example:
• Software vendors: in the past sold their
products as “shrink wrapped” applications;
now using their software to deliver a service
over a network. Microsoft and SAP have made
significant moves in this area.
• Outsourcing services: typically used an
“asset arbitrage” model based on more effective
utilization of people and more efficient management
of technology; now delivering “business process
outsourcing” which is essentially a service
model for outsourcing with guaranteed delivery
of service transactions such as human resources,
accounts payable and help desk.
A similar trend is emerging in enterprise
IT organizations as they introduce service
models into their operations to increase the
value they deliver to the business. For example,
with:
• Enterprise IT applications: Application
developers that once developed “big bang”
massive applications are now deconstructing
complex business processes into a set of services
that are expressed through rapidly developed
applets that can be easily integrated into
larger enterprise solutions.
• Enterprise IT operations: In the past, enterprise
IT developed unique management systems and
processes; they are now using best practices
frameworks such as the Information Technology
Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and service
level agreements based on performance metrics.
The Birth of IT Infrastructure as a
Service
The next IT area which could embrace a services
orientation is infrastructure. IT infrastructure
can be divided into three elements:
• Equipment: includes enterprise servers,
storage, network, security devices
• Facilities: that house, protect and power
the equipment including data centers, power
and cooling systems, backup generators and
security systems
• Management systems: to monitor performance
of the infrastructure both onsite and remotely
and to make changes as necessary
There has been tremendous innovation over
the last 30 years in the individual elements
of equipment, facilities and management systems.
The problem is that integration between the
elements has been limited as the form factor
for computing has remained mostly static.
When you need to run an application, you buy
a server. If you want to store large data
bases, you buy disk drives. To access applications
and data, you need the internet or a private
network. For facilities, you either build
your own data center or rent space from a colocation provider. Management software is
typically provided with individual elements,
but it is hard to get a view across elements.
|
|
Source:
CIO |
S T U
D I E S
.... |
|
.....
Worldwide IT Leasing and Financing Market Expected to Exceed
$100 Billion by 2010, IDC
IDC revealed preliminary market sizing and forecast results
for the worldwide IT leasing and financing market,
encompassing leasing or financing IT equipment, software, and
IT-related services. This market exceeded $70 billion
worldwide in 2006, and will pass the $100 billion mark by
2010, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more
than 8%.
Key market drivers include:
• The industry's mainstay product, equipment leasing, will
come under increasing pressure from expected changes in
accounting treatment, heightened global competition, and
limited increases in IT equipment spending growth.
• The changing market for IT equipment leasing will be
overshadowed by strong growth in financing of both IT software
and services. In 2006, equipment leasing accounted for
approximately 70% of the worldwide leasing and financing
volume. By 2010, IDC predicts that this share will drop by
about twenty percentage points, while software and services
financing will comprise approximately 50% of the worldwide
market.
|
| Study
Says, Cost is Biggest Concern of WAN Outsourcing
Low
lifetime cost is a major factor in making their next
outsourcing decision, say respondents
Concerns about cost are at the forefront of IT executives'
minds when evaluating Wide Area Network services outsourcing,
a market research firm has found in a survey.
ICM Research, which conducted the survey for Vanco,
a UK-based Virtual Network Operator, contacted about
300 IT executives on their Wide Area Network services
needs.
Of those respondents, 74 percent already outsource
part or all of their WAN service needs. ICM says that's
up from 71 percent in 2005. According to the report,
76 percent of executives said low lifetime cost is
a major factor in making their next outsourcing decision.
That's up more than 25 percent from last year when
only 48 percent said cost was one of the major factors
influencing outsourcing decisions.
And the biggest problem for those that outsource is
difficulty in quickly pinpointing network problems
when they occur. The report says that 60 percent of
respondents point to this as their biggest problem.
That's up from 46 percent in 2005.
Other problems named include network restoration in
the event of a problem and ongoing billing problems.
A full 56 percent pointed to WAN restoration and 46
percent to billing issues. Other factors that influence
IT executives include geographic coverage, service
capabilities, and network reliability. Of these factors,
31 percent said worldwide coverage is key in making
decisions about outsourcing services, while 25 percent
and 23 percent of respondents cited service capabilities
and network reliability, respectively.
Source:
www.networkworld.com
|
|
|
|
PC Market Returns to Double-Digit Growth
on Strong Results in Europe and Asia/Pacific
Worldwide PC shipments grew by
10.9% in the first quarter of 2007 (1Q07), according to IDC's
Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. Year-on-year growth improved
from the fourth quarter in all regions with Europe and
Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) showing the biggest
improvements versus forecasts. Japan recovered from a
double-digit decline in the fourth quarter, but was the only
region with declining volume as the United States moved back
into growth mode. Portable PC adoption remained the primary
driver with a strong consumer component.
Worldwide PC shipment growth of 10.9% was up from the
single-digit growth experienced over the previous three
quarters and was ahead of forecast growth of 8.5%. The rise in
growth primarily reflects the strength of Portable and
Consumer demand, rather than stronger commercial growth. The
availability of Vista probably moved some volume from 4Q06 to
1Q07, although IDC believes that peak growth in 2004 and 2005
had more to do with slower growth at the end of 2006 than
users waiting for the new operating system – particularly as
vendors such as HP, Acer, Toshiba, and Apple saw strong retail
and Portable PC growth through the end of the year.
Source: www.idc.com
| | |
