Key Problems Faced by Pakistani IT Secto

Pakistan,s IT sector has been serving the country in a range of areas. It,s not only contributing to national exchequer in the shape of foreign exchange (from outsourcing business) but also generating employment opportunities. As per Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), Pakistan,s share of global IT sales is $2.8 billion, out of which $1.6 billion accounts for the country,s exports of software and IT enabled services. The credit of this goes to over 1500 registered IT companies and millions of freelancers that are serving the national economy in multiple domains. The IT industry can play a major role in bolstering the economy of Pakistan as demonstrated by countries like India, Philippines and Singapore. One of the key competitive advantages of IT sector is that it does not require heavy machinery, or sophisticated infrastructure. It only needs talented human resource. Statistics indicate that over 2 hundred thousand professionals are employed in the IT sector with number of freelancers crossing 2.5 million benchmark. Despite this much pool of talent and number of companies; Pakistan has a very negligible share of global IT industry. Reports indicate that we,ve just 1 percent of the global IT industry, which (according to Gartner) was worth $407 billion in 2013. Key Problems However, there is another side of the story too; not every firm/individual is able to use his full potential to work. There are a range of problems they are facing and if met, their share/contribution to the national economy can grow fast. This article analyzes the key problems that the sector is facing and how those can be addressed with little care by various stakeholders. Government,s Insufficient Support: States always patronize private sector or at least help them sustain and grow with financial support, infrastructure and legal cover. In Pakistan, if we compare the government,s support for other industries and IT; the situation is not encouraging. State happily supports Textile for its value in the national economy but isn,t willing to provide those incentives to IT sector. Though Punjab IT board is doing very good job in some areas but this can be improved. In addition, the federal government needs to introduce a dedicated national IT policy and allocate budget for IT centers, institutions, and bodies across the country. In this regards, the immediate attention should be paid to the following: Easy financing facilities for IT entrepreneurs Special energy plants for IT cities/hubs Registration of companies Allocation of budgets for industry bodies and institutions Representation of Pakistan in global industry/trade shows The Education System and HR Side: Globally, the education system supports industries by providing qualified human resources. In India, around 200,000 IT graduates are hired every year and academia is supporting the need of industry. In Pakistan, some institutes are performing beyond expectations and providing high quality human resources to the industry. However, majority of the educational institutes are not providing the required human resources. The course, subjects and information inculcated is outdated and does not encourage creative thinking (the most important in IT). In addition, the communication skills of average IT graduate are also a question mark. As IT sector heavily relies on the outsourcing, it has to deal with foreign clients. This makes written and verbal English an essential requirement of any IT job. Similarly, there is a significant need to increase the number of IT universities, as the current employment in IT is far below that of other countries in the race. Promoting IT education and developing infrastructure in the rural areas can have a significant effect on the GDP as well as poverty alleviation. The educational institutes need to: Build strong network with industry and its representative bodies Revise its syllabus in light with industry feedback and requirement Introduce soft-skills workshops Adopt case-study teaching method Promote internship programs and make it compulsory for a degree The Managerial Side: Though the entire corporate culture in the country is subject to discussion with regards to values, patterns, practices and vision but I,ll keep focus on some key problems in management of local IT companies. Other than big names, they don,t have any concept of Human Resource Management or Training and Development. This lack of will on the part of organization leads to stagnation. On the top, the company,s all decisions are made in a dictatorial way without seeking real-time feedback on strategic issues of the organization. Employee,s ideas/feedback are taken mostly when the company is designing a product or launching a new campaign. A slight change in these practices can lead to massive success. Introduce a culture of delegation and open feedback Hire professional HR people not just payroll administrators Delegate authority with accountability Encourage creativity via workshops, games and ice breaking sessions Encourage invectives and performance based bonuses. Industry and Its Representative Bodies: One of the biggest issues that our IT sector is facing is lobbying and unhealthy politics on various levels. The industry representatives need to get out of personal gains exercise and work jointly for the sake of industry and national economy. Different bodies need to work together and bargain with the government, investors, and foreign clients. In this regards, I can think of the following as good steps. Conduct regular networking events. PASHA,s award show is an excellent example of how industry should promote healthy competition. They should promote similar trends on provincial and zonal level too. There should be a degree awarding institute of the industry itself that could issue certifications in different fields. Just like banking, promotion of staff should be linked to certification, experience and qualification. Industry should arrange different trade shows, participate in networking events, and try attracting investment from abroad. Raise industry issues with the government in the right way. I do believe they,re doing that but the collective voice is always more powerful than individual. General Issues: In addition to the points raised above, there are some general problems that everyone in the industry is facing. One such issue is absence of PayPal from Pakistan. PayPal is probably the most popular online payment solution that,s used by companies round the globe. Unfortunately, the very service is not available in Pakistan and local professionals have to rely on expensive or non-popular alternatives. There are some companies that pay only via PayPal ruling out prospect of a Pakistani professional to grab the deal. The banking sector,s approach to process and manage international payment is another issue that keeps realizing its presence. Finally, Pakistan was the last country in SAARC region to go for next generation spectrum auction. Our 3G auction should,ve been done by 2008-09. This delay of around 5 years led to loss of billions of dollars to national economy and IT sector in particular. It,s good to see that adoption of 3G has crossed 10 million subscriber base in less than a year and I hope this growth will lead to development and standard of l living will improve further.