KARACHI: Information Technology can help the ailing national economy get back on track by not only directly contributing to the inflows and job creation, but also by supporting local organisations in improving their efficiency and profitability, which will generate more revenues for the government.
Umair Azam, Founder and CEO of Integration Xperts, one of the leading technology firms in Pakistan, talking to media on Tuesday, said with the support of IT sector Pakistan not only increase its exports but also create hundreds of new jobs.
He said that the IT sector has continually contributed more to the GDP over the past 10 years, which currently stands at 1 percent, with the potential to significantly increase both GDP contribution and exports in the next few years.
Umair thinks that by utilizing technology, Pakistan's manufacturing and services sector could accomplish great things and aid in the country's return to the international stage, especially given the rupee's current exchange rate with other currencies.
"Though it is difficult for manufacturers to invest in business transformation during these challenging times, cloud-based solutions can help them only pay for the services they actually utilize for various user groups. And all of that for a little fraction of the price of purchasing an on-premises system,” he added.
He further mentioned that the money saved may be put to use in other business ventures to increase productivity.
Umair recommended that businesses look beyond the cloud and investigate IoT, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, which have the potential to fundamentally alter how business is conducted.
For instance, SenseR, a cutting-edge retail demographics solution created by IX, helps organisations better understand customer in-store behaviour using CCTV cameras to aid in sales forecasting, customer segmentation, and assessing the effect of marketing campaigns on footfall generation.
"A leading fashion retail outlet has been utilizing the solution at their 100+ stores for a number of years now and has considerably enhanced their customer experience,” he added.
He further emphasized that IT companies in Pakistan should invest in creating their intellectual property (IP), recognizing its paramount importance in today's digital landscape.
He mentioned that a crucial element will be the availability of qualified staff for the fastest growth of IT sector in Pakistan and said that the need for trained professionals has grown over the past several years.
To train and induct new blood in the IT sector Integration Xpertshas launched the "Future Leadership Program" (FLP) to hire recent local graduates and train in a variety of cloud applications for finance, enterprise resource planning, human resource management, customer relationship management, artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital commerce, and mobile application development.
He hoped that this initiative could contribute to the development of a talent pool of a few hundred highly skilled individuals over the coming years. These future leaders will be given exposure and practical experience in their respective fields.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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