IT sector in Pakistan has registered 30 per cent growth in revenue in a very short span of time whereas the fundamentals of the sector are highly strong and the recent dollar's appreciation has significantly boosted the IT sector revenues.
While talking to Business Recorder here Thursday, the Chairman, NetSol Technologies Limited and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Saleem Ghauri said the present growth pattern can be maintained and revenue can be doubled provided priorities are reviewed.
About the ongoing economic pressure, he said one immediate way to come out of economic crisis is the earliest start of automation of public sector that would double public sector's efficiency. He, however, said that the decline in stock market is due to different reasons and it has nothing to do with the strong fundamentals of IT sector. The IT sector stocks will shoot up again once the inflationary pressure on economy is away.
The growth in revenues has enabled the industry to hire high-skilled IT professionals and thus contributed to the national economy in a big way, he said. Adding that more the trained human resource the IT sector has, the more country's economy would flourish and prosperity could sustain on longer terms, he added.
Moreover, he said that the NetSol Technologies is doing miracles in the field of IT and exports of its flagship product LeaseSoft, a suite of end to end leasing and finance software solutions catering to the needs of retail and wholesale finance businesses, has touched to the level of $20 million in a short span of time.
"We are foreseeing exports of LeaseSoft will touch $100 million in the next three years," he said. According to him, leading international business houses like Mercedes Benz, Yamaha Motors, Toyota Motors, Dongfeng Nissan, UMF, BMW and FIAT group in Asia Pacific region, besides a good number of leading brands in Europe and North America are successfully using LeaseSoft.
He said that the IT industry has already realised the potential and started putting infrastructure in place to have more and more human resource in the years to come. "NetSol has recently come up with the concept of NetSol Technology Institute (NTI) and it has planned branching out all over Pakistan to ensure short courses for Pakistani youth. "We want to dispel the impression that IT belongs to the youth of elite class" he added.
According to him, the government can ensure a real economic revolution by providing IT training to youth on war footing basis on the one hand and automation of public sector organisations on the other.
"A strong leadership with a visionary approach towards IT sector is an urgent need of the hour," he said. When pointed out that senior employees' in public sector organisations are a major hurdle in automation drive, Ghauri said this is where a strong and clear-headed leadership is required.
Since majority of Pakistani youth lives away from major cities, ie in rural areas, therefore, a strong network of IT training institutes is the only way of spreading IT education in Pakistan," he said. Ghauri extended a wake-up call to the government for investment in IT training of youth, which would ensure IT Pakistan of tomorrow.
The country's exports in IT have reached to half a billion dollar and number of highly skilled human resource is very impressive in the sector but still it needs from the government to do more.
He said Pakistan, with a population of 170 million, 60 per cent of which consists of under-25 youngsters, is an ideal country where IT sector can spearhead the economy in the days to come. "Once the government realises this potential and ready to invest on technical training of Pakistan youth, IT revolution will start in the country," he said.