ISLAMABAD: Jazz’s Chief Business Officer, Syed Ali Naseer believes Pakistan’s current ICT policies focus primarily on connectivity and not on more advanced and value adding cloud and data services, including cyber security.
“We are in a world that sits on data, and there is critical, sensitive Pakistani information that should stay within our borders. For that to happen, we need top-class, foolproof cloud infrastructure in the country. In this regard, the draft cloud policy seems encouraging and the industry has given its input. We look forward to our suggestions being incorporated in the final document,” he added.
Ali was a panelist at the Board of Investment (BoI)’s Technology Roundtable along with Telenor Pakistan CEO Irfan Wahab, PTCL Group CEO and President Hatem Bamatraf and CEO Nayatel Wahaj Siraj.
The session was moderated by SAP Global’s Country Managing Director Saquib Ahmad.
Building further on his opening remarks, Ali mentioned that cloud computing has displaced decades of on-premise, centralised corporate data centers, and while that is a welcome development from the environmental and cost angles, it does mean that data crosses international borders, at will, with no checks and filters.
“To ensure Pakistan is not left behind in the race to adopt cloud technologies, we recently launched our own data center facility, Jazz Digital Park. The US$8mn facility is the country’s largest Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Rated-3 certified data center in terms of white space and power capacity. This represents a milestone for the country’s ICT industry as we expect it to simplify digital infrastructure challenges that local businesses face,” he mentioned.
“When it comes to Pakistan’s digital ambitions, laying digital infrastructure is imperative, and private sector is playing a critical in this. We have the desire and the ability to power the digital economy, including setting up local cloud infrastructure for both public and private entities,” Ali added.
On the role of the telecom sector in improving the ease of doing business, Ali mentioned: “Increased connectivity and 4G penetration have made things possible which previously were unheard of. The country’s freelance economy is one of the largest in the world. Our startup ecosystem is going through an exciting growth spurt. This has been possible because the country has a digital connectivity infrastructure developed by the Telecoms sector.”
Ali mentioned that despite the progress made by cellular mobile operators to increase broadband penetration to support a robust and inclusive digital ecosystem, policy makers have imposed heavy taxes on this sector and its users, “Within six months of a major tax relief announcement, the withholding taxes on cellular services have increased by five percent. The predictability element is missing from our policies, which impacts our ability to progress. We need to work together and implement action items facilitating Pakistan’s economic growth.”
“Abdul Razzaq Dawood has made a valid point when he said that the basic underlying pillar of a national security policy is the national economic policy. As a collective, we need to spur economic growth, be it digital technologies, telecommunications, commerce, IT, or banking,” he added.
For that to happen, Ali believes that stakeholders need to collaborate and use innovative practices to foster economic growth.
Simultaneously, decision makers need to develop a course of action enabling for predictable policies that support broader digital agendas including the adoption of next-generation technologies.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022