IT sector booming in Pakistan’
KARACHI (April 10 2007): The Information Technology sector in Pakistan is growing at an incredible 50 percent per annum, and the Networked Readiness Index rankings published in the Global Information Technology Report are often misleading, especially when reported in the context of developing countries.
Ashraf Kapadia, President of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA) said on Monday.
“The IT sector in Pakistan is growing at a rate far faster than ever before, at a phenomenal 50 percent a year.” This is supported by the figures published by the State Bank of Pakistan for remittances made by IT firms during the last 3 years.
The sector comprises of more than 900 IT & ITeS companies operating in Pakistan, of which more than 125 are either ISO certified or CMMI appraised.
The IT industry in Pakistan is estimated to be $2 billion per year with almost $1 billion of it being export related. The industry employs a workforce of over 90,000 professionals, which is also growing exponentially.
Many PASHA member companies have developed and are exporting world class products, which are acknowledged leaders in their domain.
In terms of IT awareness, most private schools are well equipped with IT facilities and the government has also provided computer labs and staff to 1,100 government schools. Large private sector organisations are using state-of-the-art IT solutions as IT usage in the business sector in Pakistan has proliferated and even small establishments today are using IT for competitive advantage.
Use of IT in the public sector has also grown significantly and the IT spend by the government has registered a healthy growth. Citizen services like online Income Tax filings, computerised national ID card, electronic gateway to Pakistan Customs, database on poverty alleviation at Pakistan Baitul Mal, have a made a remarkable difference and passed the benefit of IT enabled services to all strata of society, Kabadia claimed.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:4/10/2007
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