It Industry in Pakistan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PIM undertook the preparation of this report with the conviction that Information Technology truly holds the potential to act as an enabler of economic revival and growth especially for countries like Pakistan.

We are also painfully aware that Pakistan has lagged dangerously behind other regional countries in exploiting Information Technology as a catalyst for economic revival. However we feel that the explosive growth of the Internet and the coming tidal wave of E-Commerce still provide immense possibilities for Pakistan to exploit their potential and use them for accelerating its economic revival.

We are also painfully conscious of the fact that the hyper speed of change in the Information Technology domain means that the IT year is equivalent to one month in conventional terms. This fact dictates that any meaningful action or decisions for the IT industry in Pakistan has to be implemented immediately. Pakistan and countries like Pakistan who are hoping to exploit the inherent potential of Information Technology must act immediately and decisively to restructure their domestic Information Technology industries to become effective role players within the global IT scenario. The luxury of long-winded debate and discussions and the formations of commissions, which will submit reports in months, will be counter productive to the spirit of any Information Technology initiatives.

From these workshops a powerful feeling has emerged that any meaningful IT initiative in Pakistan will necessarily have to be a partnership between the government and its agencies on one hand and the private sector on the other hand. Bold, unconventional and strategically correct decisions are needed. Effective top managers with the right mix of vision and managerial competence are needed. A huge amount of financing is needed in domestic resources and foreign exchange. Above all the will to prevail will be needed, from the government of Pakistan, to chart the right course for our Information technology initiative and then stay the course in spite of the innumerable hurdles which are sure to bedevil the path to success.

From PIM’s perspective this report provides an insider’s view of the IT industry and the problems it faces. Most importantly it also provides the insider’s view to some of the major problems facing the industry and their solutions. It is hoped that this report will help the IT decision makers in