Sajjad Kirmani is the Executive Vice President (EVP) and Director Operations of NetSol Technologies. He manages the operations and strategic planning of the company across the broad spectrum of software development, IT infrastructure as well as supporting functions of human capital management, network operations and quality engineering.
Turning towards the potential for Pakistani IT firms in the international market, he stressed there is no dearth of opportunities, globally or domestically, for Pakistani IT firms. International spending on IT is on an upswing and does not seem to be letting up any time soon. Pakistan stands a great chance to tap into these opportunities because of its several strengths as an IT destination. These strengths have been recognized in several leading international publications as well.
What is required of IT entrepreneur, he stressed, is for them to be more creative and innovative in exploring niche opportunities, and establish themselves in competition with the global IT vendors. There are great prospects to win over corporations that leading Indian IT companies cannot serve now due to their rising costs and focus on larger customers. Pakistani IT firms also have the geographical advantage of being close to the growing Asia Pacific markets and can look into business in the Middle Eastern and European markets as well.
Touching upon the strategy that NetSol will employ in order to keep on growing, he said his corporation is currently focused on maintaining growth momentum. ‘We want to continue to bolster our presence in China and Asia Pacific, and at the same time explore and expand into new regional markets of the Americas, Europe and the Middle East’.
A great advantage for Pakistani IT firms is opportunities in the service sector, which they have already started to avail, considering their successful growth in services such as software export, enterprise systems, mobile applications and gaming.
Casting an eye on the ubiquitously poor security situation of the country, he underlined that the security conditions generally hinder business growth and investment, as it saps confidence in both businesses and the stakeholders involved. However IT is one industry which has been doing well despite the challenges faced in the country. This has to do with the nature of the IT business, which does not depend upon the physical and political conditions as much.
Our company has contributed business to our leading international clients in spite of these security concerns. We have never lost a single day of work and our ability to serve our clients has never suffered. He went on to say that due to the gradual growth of the industry, availability of IT talent has not been an issue. Although the quality of available resources has not been quite up to mark in the context of business requirements, companies have managed so far by providing extensive training on the job.
However, in the coming years, we are looking at a phase of rapid industry growth and the availability of quality resources suddenly seems like a big challenge for the industry. Therefore, proper training methods will have to be setup, if the industry is to grow at the pace it is growing. He also elaborated on a recent success of his company regarding the sale of an IT product to a large Indian auto firm. NetSol had to compete with several well known companies, but its track record and successful global implementation along with CMMI level 5 processes helped to tip the balance in favour of the company, he underscored.
He also pointed it out that the contract presented an excellent opportunity by opening the gates to many more opportunities and allowed the company to benefit from the mature and large IT sector in India. When asked of the implications posed by the hacking wars waged between India and Pakistan, he noted it was a global phenomenon and not solely identified with either India or Pakistan. However, he emphasised that it is important for companies to safeguard and protect their systems by investing in appropriate security solutions.
NetSol turns gaze to Asia Pacific
