Salim Ghauri, Chairman & CEO NetSol Technologies, is pictured in this Photograph. 

Now that we are sure that the world didn’t end in December, it is safe to say that 2012 proved to be an encouraging year for the Information Technology industry of Pakistan, as a contributing economic sector.

This assertion gains further credence when seen in the light of increased IT productivity, visibility and significance, both, domestically and globally.

But, in my opinion, the fact that there has been a mushroom growth of new IT companies throughout the country is the single most noteworthy indicator of keen entrepreneurial capitalization of local and foreign opportunities as well as the promise of a huge potential for even more growth in the future.

The journey ahead must be weighed in context of what we have experienced in the past; in that, the IT sector of Pakistan has clearly matured over previous years.

Compare this year to 2008, when Pakistan was under tremendous pressure – much like the rest of the world. One finds that the sector has reached a level of self-sustainability which grants it greater resilience towards external shocks.

Despite a snail’s pace economic growth, world over, local IT industries are in good shape today with financial investment doubling this year alone. While the rest of the developed world continues to suffer the aftershocks, Pakistan’s IT industry has grown by an impressive 30 percent over 2012.

The proof of the pudding, they say, is in the eating – and the fact that hiring seems to be a top agenda item, for a majority of IT concerns throughout Pakistan, ensures an ever-widening circle of prosperity for the country’s youth.

Let us put aside the foreign markets for a moment and concentrate on what we have here – at home. There is an increasing demand for IT services and solutions, domestically, which stems from increasing investment by businesses to implement, improve and augment their IT infrastructure.

More and more, the increase in efficiency granted to almost every sector ever touched by improvements in technology and communication has changed mindsets. With the coming of the population boom, Pakistan’s public sector, too, feels the sting of ‘sticking to the old ways’.

Delays in services mar the once smoothly running apparatus of governance and bureaucratic functioning. However, I feel that both Federal and Provincial governments have shown commitment towards building a knowledge economy on the basis of automation and connectivity.

The introduction of smart identity cards by the Federal government, with a computerized chip, enables the provision of various IT services to the general public. Another praiseworthy act is the setting up of the Arfa Karim IT Park which suggests the seriousness with which the political leadership has adopted IT as a facilitator and enabler.

It is a direct result of this atmosphere of cooperation that has resulted in IT giants such as Microsoft, Google and other big brands not just ‘expressing an interest’ but actually coming in with impressive investment plans and extending collaboration to the Pakistan government.

The readily visible convergence between the IT and Telecom sectors offers mobile based payment services which has been highlighted by the State Bank of Pakistan as having the potential to revolutionize the current and increasingly technology driven economy by reducing brick-and-mortar related overheads.

The very concept of branch-free banking attracts consumers and fuels its own growth. This has led to the necessity of implementing even faster mobile internet connectivity – a necessity that will be greatly fulfilled with the introduction of soon-to-be-launched 3G services.

The safeguard of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) is another ongoing struggle and policies are being introduced this year that will go a long way towards addressing the negative perception of Pakistan in this regard.

Social media has seen rampant growth in terms of its influence on people and opinions over the past years. This suggests that this important tool will play a crucial role in the upcoming elections in early 2013.

More and more political entities are realizing this, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf attracting youngsters through facebook, twitter, email and SMS services.

Consequently, we see a mass attendance at rallies and minute by minute coverage followed by intense debate on such forums. This rapid change in technology makes it possible for Pakistan to reach out and break barriers in the field of Information Technology rather than just focusing on service provision.

In 2012 Pakistan’s IT industry has aimed at developing value added products, varieties of solution-based software – which basically means that the IT industry remained involved in knowledge creation and creativity throughout the year.

Globally speaking, this year has seen the rise of new and varied factors which feed into the eventual overall growth of the international information technology sector.

What is needed is an aggressive strategy to secure the interest of the European Union and North American markets where economic pressures are forcing businesses to explore further long term outsourcing and collaboration options through new models and relationships.

Today, there is a certainty that if an efficient and client-centered approach is maintained then Pakistan is very well placed to benefit from these global changes. There is also the added incentive of the opportunities to replaced dated and obsolete systems, entirely, in these regions which opens up plenty of new opportunities to capitalize upon.

Among other positive developments, the passage of the 18^th amendment in the Parliament has opened new doors and avenues for the IT sector in Pakistan. With a power devolution plan favoring provinces, it is the provincial governments that are to take the lead in real grit and bones administration of the country.

Accordingly, a rapid investment in a more technology intensive infrastructure will only serve to benefit the citizens – the final inheritors of good policy making. The Punjab government, in particular, has made effective use of IT in combating the spread of Dengue in the province with the development of digital live mapping helping to identify and combat Dengue larva growth in targeted zones in record time.

These IT friendly policies also find an expression in the increase in the number of IT institutes that opened up in Pakistan during 2012. With 60 percent of the population of Pakistan consisting of a body of youth that is looking towards the future – IT institutes attract them in large numbers because of the level of induction and job security that no other sector in the country can match.

I look forward to a successful completion of the government’s five year term with optimism as this will inevitably reinforce an image of national competence abroad as well as contribute towards stabilizing the IT industry of Pakistan.

Transparency and accountability – both important concerns for the average Pakistani today – dictate the necessity for a fast and reliable system of services and information delivery to the masses. Pakistan is fast transforming into a knowledge based society where every sector including finance, telecom, education and governance have improved due, in large part, to an improvement of the technology base.

It is my belief that this edifice will serve to empower policy makers and ordinary citizens alike and eventually evolve into a cohesive and holistic system of general wellbeing for Pakistani society if it is allowed to mature. I see a future where a country like Pakistan stands on the brink of setting new records in IT industrial growth well past the 30 percent recorded so far.

There is no doubt that there is still much room for improvement. As things stand today, IT has still not matured to the stage of ‘big business’ in Pakistan.

There are several small entrepreneurial outfits with just a few large ones operating in the country. Without consolidation, no major IPOs have registered at the Stock Exchange leading to marginal growth on the basis of internal funding.

However, with a world of opportunities out there and the skill set we have at our disposal, we might see more companies seeking investment from the public within a very short frame of time. That is the goal we must set for ourselves in 2013.

(The writer is Chairman & CEO NetSol Technologies, former co-head of Federal Task Force on ICT, Honourary Consul of Australia for the province of Punjab, President American Business Forum and President The Indus Entrepreneurs Lahore)

Stock brokers trade in a brokerage firm in Kolkata February 16, 2009. – Reuters (File Photo)

BANGALORE: HCL Technologies, India’s fourth-largest software services provider, posted a 78 per cent jump in quarterly profit on large contract wins, beating expectations and sending its shares to their highest levels in more than 12 years.

Shares of the company, valued at about $7.9 billion, rose as much as 3.83 per cent to 606.9 rupees in early Mumbai trading, their highest since March 2000. The shares were up 1.8 per cent at 0507 GMT.

Consolidated net profit for the fiscal first quarter that ended September rose to 8.85 billion rupees ($167.9 million) from 4.97 billion rupees for the year-earlier period. Analysts were expecting profit to rise to 8 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data.

“This is a time when clients are really looking to cut costs, especially in many areas of services that are becoming commoditised. The company’s strategy is perfectly right for that,” said Hardik Shah, an analyst with K R Choksey Shares and Securities in Mumbai. Shah has an “accumulate” rating on the stock.

HCL Technologies, whose customers include Freescale Semiconductor and Finmeccanica, won 12 multi-year, multi-million dollar orders during the quarter, according to a company statement.

India’s $100 billion-a-year outsourcing industry, which gets nearly 75 per cent of its revenue from the United States and Europe, may grow exports 11-14 per cent in the current fiscal year that ends March 2013, according to the National Association of Software and Services Companies, or NASSCOM, an industry lobby.

HCL Technologies’ September-quarter sales rose 11.1 per cent from the year earlier, in dollar terms.

Infosys, the No. 2 provider, forecast it will grow only 5 per cent this year, citing continued global economic uncertainty, which it said made clients less confident about spending.

HCL did not issue a full-year forecast. Top-ranked Tata Consultancy Services will report its results on Friday.

Executives of two major Chinese technology companies, are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, before testifying before the House Intelligence Committee as lawmakers probe whether their expansion in the U.S. market poses a threat to national security. In a report to be released Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, the House Intelligence Committee is warning that China’s two leading technology firms pose a major security threat to the United States. The panel says regulators should block mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. by Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. It also advises that U.S. government systems not include equipment from the two firms, and that private U.S. companies avoid business with them. – AP Photo

WASHINGTON - American companies should avoid doing business with China’s two leading technology firms because they pose a national security threat to the United States, the House Intelligence Committee is warning in a report to be issued Monday.

The panel says US regulators should block mergers and acquisitions in this country by Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp, among the world’s leading suppliers of telecommunications gear and mobile phones.

Reflecting US concern over cyber-attacks traced to China, the report also recommends that US government computer systems not include any components from the two firms because that could pose an espionage risk.

”China has the means, opportunity, and motive to use telecommunications companies for malicious purposes,” the report says. The recommendations are the result of a yearlong probe, including a congressional hearing last month in which senior Chinese executives of both companies testified, and denied posing a security threat.

A US executive of one of the companies said the firm cooperated with investigators, and defended its business record. Huawei is a ”globally trusted and respected company,” said William Plummer, vice president for external affairs. On Monday, ahead of the report’s release, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said investment by China’s telecommunications companies in the United States showed the countries have mutually beneficial relations.

”We hope the US will do more to benefit the interests of the two countries, not the opposite,” said spokesman Hong Lei at a regular briefing.

The bipartisan report is likely to become fodder for a presidential campaign in which the candidates have been competing in their readiness to clamp down on Chinese trade violations.

Republican Mitt Romney, in particular, has made it a key point to get tougher on China by designating it a currency manipulator and fighting abuses such as intellectual property theft. The committee made the draft available to reporters in advance of public release Monday, but only under the condition that they not publish stories until the broadcast Sunday of a CBS’ ”60 Minutes” report on Huawei.

In the CBS report, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., urges American companies not to do business with Huawei. The panel’s recommendations will likely hamper Huawei and ZTE’s ambitions to expand their business in America.

Their products are used in scores of countries, including in the West. Both deny being influenced by China’s communist government. ”The investigation concludes that the risks associated with Huawei’s and ZTE’s provision of equipment to U.S. critical infrastructure could undermine core U.S. national-security interests”.

The report says the committee received information from industry experts and current and former Huawei employees suggesting that Huawei, in particular, may be violating U.S. laws. It says that the committee will refer the allegations to the U.S. government for further review and possible investigation.

The report mentions allegations of immigration violations, bribery and corruption, and of a ”pattern and practice” of Huawei using pirated software in its US facilities. Huawei is a private company founded by a former Chinese military engineer, and has grown rapidly to become the world’s second largest supplier of telecommunications network gear, operating in more than 140 countries.

ZTE Corp is the world’s fourth largest mobile phone manufacturer, with 90,000 employees worldwide. While their business in selling mobile devices has grown in the US, espionage fears have limited the companies from moving into network infrastructure.

The report says the companies failed to provide responsive answers about their relationships and support by the Chinese government, and detailed information about their operations in the US. It says Huawei, in particular, failed to provide thorough information, including on its corporate structure, history, financial arrangements and management.

”The committee finds that the companies failed to provide evidence that would satisfy any fair and full investigation. Although this alone does not prove wrongdoing, it factors into the committee’s conclusions,” it says.

In Washington, Huawei executive Plummer said Friday the company cooperated in good faith with the investigation, which he said had not been objective and amounted to a ”political distraction” from cyber-security problems facing the entire industry.

All major telecommunications firms, including those in the West, develop and manufacture equipment in China and overlapping supply chains require industry-wide solutions, he added. Singling out China-based firms wouldn’t help.

Plummer complained that the volume of information sought by the committee was unreasonable, and it had demanded some proprietary business information that ”no responsible company” would provide.

MAKUHARI, Japan, Oct 2, 2012 - Homes where every device is linked up and can be controlled by smartphone were touted in Japan on Tuesday when Asia’s biggest tech fair threw open its doors.

Manufacturers said more and more items, from ovens to cars, were now able to integrate thanks to better wireless technology, offering convenience and the chance to save energy.

More than 600 companies are showcasing cutting-edge gadgetry at this year’s Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (CEATEC) in Makuhari, near Tokyo.

One of the highlights is “smart innovation” which connects home appliances, from washing machines and air conditioners to security cameras at the door – to mobile devices.

“You will soon be able to use your smartphone or tablet PC as if it is a remote control for all these appliances,” said Shuji Tomaru of Japanese mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo.

“If somebody tries to break into your house, you would immediately know because your phone will receive the information.”Residents, he said, could also use their phone to switch on the air conditioner before they return home or to turn on a washing machine.

Panasonic, which has already unveiled rice cookers and washing machines that can be controlled from a mobile phone, was Tuesday demonstrating bathroom scales and blood pressure-measuring devices connected to the Internet.

Masaki Matsukura at the company’s booth said that in ageing Japan, where grown children often live far from their parents, these devices can provide reassurance.

“They can be used when you want to check on your father’s health condition, for example,” he said. “You can see the medical data whenever he measures his blood pressure, no matter where you live.”Japanese car giant Toyota used its first appearance at CEATEC to show off its new Smart Insect car.

These small electric vehicles can recognise their driver and can be programmed only to operate if they know the person behind the wheel.

And in a move apeing the gestures that are becoming increasingly familiar as the use of tablet computers spreads, the car will do things like open its door at the wave of an arm.

“The Smart Insect is a car which can communicate with you, your home and society,” said Toyota’s Shigeki Tomoyama.

“You can tell it what you want by making gestures, and the car understands you and will adapt to your personal style.
We like to think of it as a well-trained pet or a friend who understands you very well.”

CEATEC runs until Saturday.