xTra
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- Feb 4, 2011
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Interview with Amin Hashwani:
TN: What's the present state of IT sector in Pakistan?
Amin Hashwani: The IT sector in Pakistan is dynamic, innovative and is still growing at around 25 percent annually.
TN: How is the IT consumption moving in terms of sales of personal computers, internet penetration or software absorption?
AH: The IT consumption in banking, pharmaceuticals, insurance, telecoms, education and healthcare is strong but internet penetration is about 20 million against 100 million telecoms users.
TN: How well entrenched is the multinational corporations' presence in Pakistan?
AH: All major IT multinationals are present in Pakistan for the past few decades -- IBM, Oracle, Cisco, Microsoft, Terradata, Intel and HP are the well settled players, with Google being the latest addition, which happened last year.
TN: What's the level of IT absorption in the government? Has e-governance taken shape in Pakistan?
AH: IT absorption level in Pakistan's government bodies is fairly high. Major arms of government like the country's Federal Board of Revenue, State Bank of Pakistan, Securities Exchanges Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Board of Investments are all live online. The different ministries are also online but they are not still using the online model as effectively as the other organisations.
TN: How well are Pakistan's women participating in the country's IT advancement?
AH: Women account for about 15 percent of Pakistan's IT force. However, they are making a significant contribution. Pakistan's IT association is headed by a woman. A large number of project managers are women. Many user experience and quality assurance managers are also women.
TN: Is there something for Pakistan to gain from India's capability and long experience in IT?
AH: Absolutely! Although, most Pakistani companies are in the products space as opposed to services business and in many cases a hybrid model, there is much to learn from Indian IT in terms of scaling, in terms of branding and in terms of fund raising.
The IT sector globally transcends borders and nations in connecting people, businesses and societies. To bring together IT companies from India and Pakistan under the Aman ki Asha initiative to explore economic and social opportunities for the benefit of both people should be a priority. There are some world class IT companies in Pakistan that are willing to explore business possibilities with their Indian counterparts.
TN: What's the present state of IT sector in Pakistan?
Amin Hashwani: The IT sector in Pakistan is dynamic, innovative and is still growing at around 25 percent annually.
TN: How is the IT consumption moving in terms of sales of personal computers, internet penetration or software absorption?
AH: The IT consumption in banking, pharmaceuticals, insurance, telecoms, education and healthcare is strong but internet penetration is about 20 million against 100 million telecoms users.
TN: How well entrenched is the multinational corporations' presence in Pakistan?
AH: All major IT multinationals are present in Pakistan for the past few decades -- IBM, Oracle, Cisco, Microsoft, Terradata, Intel and HP are the well settled players, with Google being the latest addition, which happened last year.
TN: What's the level of IT absorption in the government? Has e-governance taken shape in Pakistan?
AH: IT absorption level in Pakistan's government bodies is fairly high. Major arms of government like the country's Federal Board of Revenue, State Bank of Pakistan, Securities Exchanges Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Board of Investments are all live online. The different ministries are also online but they are not still using the online model as effectively as the other organisations.
TN: How well are Pakistan's women participating in the country's IT advancement?
AH: Women account for about 15 percent of Pakistan's IT force. However, they are making a significant contribution. Pakistan's IT association is headed by a woman. A large number of project managers are women. Many user experience and quality assurance managers are also women.
TN: Is there something for Pakistan to gain from India's capability and long experience in IT?
AH: Absolutely! Although, most Pakistani companies are in the products space as opposed to services business and in many cases a hybrid model, there is much to learn from Indian IT in terms of scaling, in terms of branding and in terms of fund raising.
The IT sector globally transcends borders and nations in connecting people, businesses and societies. To bring together IT companies from India and Pakistan under the Aman ki Asha initiative to explore economic and social opportunities for the benefit of both people should be a priority. There are some world class IT companies in Pakistan that are willing to explore business possibilities with their Indian counterparts.
