software industry of pakistan

8/8/2019 Software Industry of Pakistan

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The It and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) marketplace ofers lucrative opportunities fordeveloping countries to join the ranks of the developed world. The scale and pace ofgrowth in this sector is faster than in any other industry, and a number of developingcountries are attempting to emulate the success enjoyed by countries such as China,Thailand and India.

The Government of Pakistan has been proactively developing the IT sector in Pakistansince the last few years. A few of the incentives offered include tax exemption till 2016,establishment of IT Parks with low rent, foreign ownership of equity invested in IT and100% repatriation(returning to the country of origin) of profit allowed to IT companies.

Pakistans IT industry has been rising steadily since the last three years. A markedincrease in software export figeres are an indication of this booming industrys potential.

STATISTICS OF THE PAKISTANI IT/ITES INDUSTRY (Source: PSEB)

Total number of IT companies registeredwith PSEB(pak software export board) 1082

Number of substantial IT companies city-wise breakup

384 Karachi276 Islamabad353 Lahore69 others

Total number of foreign IT andtelecommunication companies working inPakistan

60

Number of CMM-assessed companiesOne CMM Level 5 company, one CMMI Level5 company, three CMMI Level 3 companies

and four CMMI Level 2 companies

Total industry size US$ 2.8 billion

IT and IT-enabled services exports US$ 1.4 billion

Percent growth in exports over the last oneyear

61.18%

Number of IT graduates produced per year Approximately 20,000

Export targets for the current fiscal year2006-2007

US$ 108 million

Number of universities offering IT/CS

programs110

Number of IT professionals engaged inexport-oriented activities (softwaredevelopment/call centers etc.)

More than 15,000

Total number of IT professionals employedin Pakistan

110,000

Total IT spending in the fiscal year 2005- US$ 1.4 billion


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2006

Total space utilized in IT & SoftwareTechnology Parks

Eleven IT Parks covering an area of 750,000 sqft

A recent Bearing Point study places Pakistans global IT export revenue in the FinancialYear 2004-2005 at around US$ 400 million. The basis of the figure was the State Bank ofPakistans IT export revenue figures of just under US$ 50 million. Bearing Pointmultiplied this figure by two to account for the IT export revenue brought into thecountry, but not registered as such with the State Bank. BP further estimated that for eachdollar brought into the country, three dollars are retained by Pakistani IT companiesoverseas. The global IT revenue of Pakistani IT companies therefore added up last year toUS$ 400 million. Therefore, for official IT export figures of just under US$ 75 millionreported by the SBP for FY 2005, the actual global receipts of Pakistani IT firms shouldbe around US$ 600 million.

State Bank Reporting

Earnings

Estimated Total IT Industry

Export Revenue

Estimated Total IT

Industry Size

US$ 116m US$ 1.4b US$ 2.8b

The total IT services export from Pakistan in FY 2005 amounts to US$ 1.050 billion, orconservatively US$ 1 billion.

Pakistan offers various competitive advantages over other outsourcing destinations, suchas high quality software development, swift and easy establishment of business, lowest

cost basis and emerging and state-of-the-art telecommunication and IT infrastructure.Experts estimate an average annual growth of 33% in the sector. This will result inthetotal IT export revenue crossing US$ 10 billion in the next five years.

EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES

Animation

One of the truly emerging areas in the context of software i.e. gaming has only begun togain significance in Pakistan over the last few years. Animation is not just about makinginteresting clips using software such as Macromedia Flash and 3D Studio Max; rather, itscomplexities can involve the improvement of viewing capabilities of a website,

utilization in games where movie clips are concerned, or even in advertisements. Anumber of Pakistani IT companies are successfully and making use of animation in avariety of possible dimensions. An example of such is the advertisement campaign for7UP based on the Fido Dido character, which makes major use of animation.

In 2004, the Government of Pakistan acknowledged the animation sector as a core andprofitable component of software development, initiating a project in which 40 graduateswere selected for placement through an apprenticeship scheme in some of Pakistans


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premier animation companies. Most of these graduates went on to find permanent placesin those very firms. The project ended in the last quarter of fiscal year 2005, with some ofleading animation firms of Pakistan.

BPO

Business process outsourcing is an emerging concept that gives numerous costadvantages over the conventional in-house development. Already, many of the fortune500 companies have established their offshore development centers in Asia to reducetheir cost and sky-rocket the profit. The BPO industry is growing rapidly in Pakistan,with exports up by 45 percent in the fiscal year 2003-4 alone.

Pakistan has a large untapped labor pool of English-proficient graduates willing to workat wages 60% below their US counterparts. Furthermore, consolidated operating costs areestimated roughly 30% lower in Pakistan as compared to India or Philippines, two ofAsias major BPO contenders. The Government has provided numerous incentives and iswilling to invest heavily in the infrastructure required to jumpstart growth in the BPO

sector. Pakistan has one of the fastest growing cellular industries in the world. This,along with the fast-growing Karachi Stock Exchange, has put the country in the spotlightof corporate managers worldwide. This positive tone has been seconded by a HarvardBusiness School analysis, entitled "Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) opportunities inPakistan". The report touts 30 percent savings in costs in Pakistan as opposed to India,along with infrastructure advantages such as high-speed connectivity in all the majorcities at competitive rates.

ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is perhaps one of the toughest and most demandingsoftware solutions to provide to any client, involving the complete automation of the

customers company processes. ERP comes in two basic forms: customized ERP(software made as per the demands and needs of the client) or standard ERP (a solutionsuch as SAP that can be bought off the shelf to be implemented).

Pakistan's Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector is currently operating at adisadvantage. This is primarily because a majority of the manufacturing and planningprocesses are either not automated, or, if automated, are not being utilized to their fullestpotential. In order to close this gap, PSEB's Automation of Domestic Industry on OpenSource Systems project is underway for developing complete ERP solutions to automatethe processes and procedures for the SMEs in HR & Payroll, Finance, Inventory,Production and Sales in those sectors of the economy which have the highest exportpotential. The ERP solutions are being developed using open source software code,allowing for further enhancements to be made to the applications as per the needs of theunits.

The project has collaborated with software consulting companies with expertise indeveloping/implementing ERP solutions for the industry.


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Gaming

Computer games are now a huge market with firms such as Electronic Arts and Capcominvesting billions of dollars into the industry, and earning similar amounts through thewidespread fame and sales of hits such as FIFA 2005, the Prince of Persia trilogies, Haloand Counter Strike etc. Game development is emerging in Pakistans IT Industry as well

with some serious work being done in the field indicating progress. One such example isCommando 4, Pakistans first ever 3D animation game. Anther such popular character isCommander Safe Guard launched for leading international chain P&G.

With the IT leaders of the country realizing the potential of the game developmentmarket, Pakistans IT industry is making more investments to develop countrys owngaming industry.

Convergence

Pakistan is fast heading towards the convergence of IT, telecom and other services, andIT & Telecom have great importance for the country. The country is responding rapidly

to the era of convergence and coming up with the appropriate policy and regulatoryframeworks to go hand in hand with the converged networks.

Technology convergence in the telecom and the IT sectors has led to service andcompany convergence. During the last decade, liberalization of the telecom sector incountries where it was a State monopoly has spawned intense competition within andacross borders. The rise of consumerism and the need to anticipate consumer demandhave been a catalyst to convergence of services. This has in turn inspired innovation incommunication technologies.

The trend is clearly evident; traditional telecom operators have started offering audio-

visual programming and Internet access. Cable TV operators are rolling out a variety oftelecom services including voice telephony. Cable modems are deployed to provide high-speed Internet access. Broadcasters are switching over to program bouquets, pay per viewand experimenting with digital transmission in more advanced countries.

Technological changes are leading towards growing demand and innovations aresignificantly modifying the structural features of the telecom industry with emergingconvergence across fixed, mobile, Information Technology (IT) and media sectors.

Web

The name Web 2.0 refers to a combination of improved communication between peoplevia social-networking technologies, improved communication between separate softwareapplications via open Web standards for describing and accessing data, and improvedWeb interfaces that mimic the real-time responsiveness of desktop applications within abrowser window.

In general, Web 2.0 refers to a supposed second generation of Internet-based services -such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies - thatemphasize online collaboration and sharing among users.


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Significant progress has been made by Pakistan in this arena as well with a number offeatured examples of web 2.0 technology utilization.

Pakistan leads the offshore in their technology expertise and experience with keeping up

with the trends. There are fewer firms working on cutting-edge Internet portals at thistime but in terms of quality and value-for-money, Pakistani firms are far ahead thanothers in the region.

Policies and related issues

For most of the 1990s, Pakistan invested heavily in information technology (IT) and anindustry began to emerge. Thousands of people there are now online, but developingquality software that sells in the international market is a different matter and one thatneeds a radical rethink.

During the initial flush of enthusiasm, IT training institutes opened across Pakistan, andthe government funded increased Internet access in villages, towns and cities. Theassumption was that Pakistan would somehow become a big software exporter, and reapa projected US$1 billion by 2000.

Today, things have changed considerably. On the plus side, there are signs that theindustry has become more sophisticated. Many entrepreneurs who formed companies inthe early 1990s believing in the mantra 'I will make it, they will buy it' have learntthe value of specialization (e.g. cybernet is not more into software development now),good marketing, and quality software development.

Software companies have developed an increasingly strategic vision, and the 'reversebrain drain' has also helped by bringing in fresh ideas, capital and contacts.

On the downside however, the industry faces serious organisational and managerialchallenges. These include a lack of human resources, venture capital and mostimportantly an inspiring, world-class success story.

The problem with policy today, as opposed to the 1990s, is that while policymakersgenerally recognize that the IT sector is going to be important to Pakistan's long-termgrowth, there is considerable ambiguity on how big that role can be. The policymakershave, therefore, failed to tackle the biggest challenges directly.

They need to decide whether their objective is to build an industry that challenges thosein some emerging countries (whether big players such as India or smaller ones such asMalaysia, the Philippines and Ukraine) or merely one that remains a user of IT. If youjust want to be a user then dont invest much on IT institutes, which is never a rightchoice for developing countries.


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If Pakistan is serious about emerging as a global IT leader (or even a second-tierfollower) it needs to take drastic policy measures.

Although the industry continues to grow at a healthy rate of 20-30 per cent, it is stuck in alow-level equilibrium: there are no imminent technological leaps, such as those that

transformed India's IT industry in the 1990s.

The roots of the problem lie at many levels from individual companies through topolicymakers in government, and the industry as a whole.

Infrastructure, investment, image

Pakistan's IT industry suffers from a lack not just of physical infrastructure, but ofcarefully distributed telecommunications capacity i.e. multiple access points and extracapacity to link with the international telecommunication network.

For instance, until recently, the country's Internet access was through a submarine cablethat was cut off twice in 2004. While this was an eye-opener for policymakers and forcedthem into launching a standby undersea cable, Pakistan's telecommunications capacityand access remain too restricted to support a fast growing industry providing constantsupport to serve the Western market.

This clearly shows the government's failure to provide a public facility that is critical tothe growth of the IT industry.

A clear, consistent and uniform investment policy is the second key element in elevatingPakistan's IT sector. Attracting investment not only boosts image, but also exposes thelocal market to foreign ideas, management practices and capital.

The government must develop policies for attracting foreign investment in IT. Providingtax-free status to the industry has clearly not worked as well as expected, primarilybecause too many other countries do the same(this is not a sustainable thing to do).Unconventional approaches are needed.

One might be to develop a package of incentives specifically designed to ease bottleneckssuch as a lack of real estate and manpower training. This might level the playing field forforeign companies looking to invest abroad.

Such a package would not have to be an outright subsidy (shouldnt miss the economicengine), but could be a scheme that recovers its value quickly through job creation andtax revenues. It should also be openly communicated and implemented fairly (which isagain a major issue wherever Govt. of Pakistan is involved), transparently andconsistently.


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The widespread perception of Pakistan as a backwater also needs to be tackled becausethis can affect the economic interactions needed to jumpstart its IT industry such as'selling' the country as an alternative to China, India or the Philippines. (As we saw in thecase of textile industry; export marketing is crucial)

Branding Pakistan is not a job for individual companies, but a collective task for theindustry as a whole, and one in which the government must become an equal partner.Doing so would require a sustained and meaningful interaction with academics, businessleaders, and policymakers in the West.

The human factor and beyond

The quality and quantity of human resources is another critical issue facing Pakistan's ITsector. Cheap labour, often seen as a strategic advantage, is in reality a major weakness(people are now moving away from IT field). Not only does Pakistan produce too fewsoftware professionals (programmers, managers, entrepreneurs) for the proper

development of an industry, but it also fails to provide the quality of training needed.

Of the 5,000 or so IT professionals trained within Pakistan's various IT institutions, only1,000 or so are immediately employable. A high-quality curriculum and efficient trainersare obviously needed, yet our policymakers have so far failed to grasp this.

But while it is important for policymakers to take on these four challenges infrastructure, investment, image and human resources ensuring unrestricted growth inPakistan's IT industry could depend on a number of other policy issues.

One is the creation of a vibrant domestic IT market. Significant barriers stand in its way,

however.

Several IT leaders (according to an article in Spider magazine) complained of a lack ofgovernment contracts, the slow pace of the 'e-government' initiative and the award ofmajor contracts to large public sector organizations and foreign entities. They argue thatmajor IT clusters such as Silicon Valley in the United States and Boston Route 128would not have met with success if major contracts for US defence research had not beenawarded to the local industry.

Policymakers, on the other hand, complain with some justification of the ITindustry's 'lack of sophistication' and inability to deliver.

Other issues that require careful analysis and comprehensive policy interventions includeproviding venture capital and protecting intellectual property rights.

These policy measures, however, require reciprocation by the industry as well. Theindustry would need to commit to these goals ideally through a public-privatepartnership designed at making, and realising the benefits of, contingent commitments byboth public and private sectors.


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INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Following are some of the renowned IT associations of Pakistan.

PASHA

CSP

OPEN

TIE

ACCO

PCA

PAKISTAN SOFTWARE HOUSES ASSOCIATION (PASHA)

Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA) was formed in the last quarter of 1992by nine software houses. By 2003, PASHA had grown to over 200 members. Its mainobjective is to promote and develop the software and services industry in Pakistan and toprotect the rights of its members.

The software and services industry is growing at an enormous pace in Pakistan andPASHA, along with its members, is playing an important role in making their presencefelt, both nationally and internationally.

COMPUTER SOCIETY OF PAKISTAN (CSP)

The Computer Society of Pakistan (CSP) is the national organization of InformationTechnology professionals in the country. It was established in 1973 to promote the use ofcomputers, increase general awareness among the public and to look after theprofessional interests of the IT personnel in the country.

The Society holds lectures, seminars and technology forums which provide an excellentplatform for the interaction of professionals. It organizes annual computer exhibitions andsoftware competitions all over the country with the objective of fostering a better futurefor IT in Pakistan.

The Computer Society of Pakistan sponsors students to take part in the internationalsoftware competitions in various countries as well as organizes various programs for theyouth. The current membership of the Society is over 2000 professionals working in over350 public and private sector organizations.


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THE ORGANIZATION OF PAKISTANI ENTERPRENEUS OF NORTH AMERCIA (OPEN)

The Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs (OPEN) is a voluntary not-for-profitassociation dedicated to providing leadership opportunities for our members and

community. The organization was formed in 1998 by a group of Pakistani-Americanentrepreneurs and corporate executives and registered in the Commonwealth ofMassachusetts in the year 2000. The association's charter is to provide networkingopportunities and enhanced business opportunities for entrepreneurs and professionalswho work in high tech, finance and biotech fields in North America. OPEN meetings andevents are open to the public. OPEN has chapters in New England, Silicon Valley, NewYork, and Washington DC.

OPEN Chapters have boards comprising the most successful Pakistanis in the areas offinance, technology, telecommunications, biotech and consulting in North America.OPEN regularly organizes events pertaining to current issues in business and

entrepreneurship. In addition to OPEN'S highly successful Board of Directors, OPEN iscomprised of executive committees of seasoned entrepreneurs and professionals from amultitude of industries and professions that help plan, coordinate, and execute OPEN'smission.

THE INDUS ENTERPRENEURS (TiE)

A global not-for-profit network of entrepreneurs and professionals dedicated to theadvancement of entrepreneurship. TiE's mission is to foster entrepreneurship globallythrough mentoring, networking, and education. TiE, The Indus Entrepreneurs, alsoknown as Talent Ideas and Enterprise is a global, non-profit network dedicated to the

advancement of entrepreneurship.

Founded in 1992, in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporateexecutives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region, the organization todayhas over 10,000 members across 44 chapters in 9 countries.Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community,TiE's focus is on generating and nurturing our next generation of entrepreneurs. In orderto achieve this organization has built programs to energize and inspire its constituenciesand the flagship event being TiEcon, the largest conference for entrepreneurs worldwide.

The one constant guiding the evolution of TiE has been its philosophical framework. Ithas kept the vision and decisions of TiE's leadership true to its basic beliefs that wealthcreation and giving back to society are invaluable human endeavors, and that an open,inclusive and forward-looking organization is the right vehicle in which to reach theirobjectives.

A global not-for-profit network of entrepreneurs and professionals dedicated to theadvancement of entrepreneurship. TiE's mission is to foster entrepreneurship globallythrough mentoring, networking, and education. TiE, The Indus Entrepreneurs, also


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known as Talent Ideas and Enterprise is a global, non-profit network dedicated to theadvancement of entrepreneurship. Founded in 1992, in Silicon Valley by a group ofsuccessful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in theIndus region, the organization today has over 10,000 members across 44 chapters in 9

countries. Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to thecommunity, TiE's focus is on generating and nurturing our next generation ofentrepreneurs.

In order to achieve this organization has built programs to energize and inspire itsconstituencies and the flagship event being TiEcon, the largest conference forentrepreneurs worldwide. The one constant guiding the evolution of TiE has been itsphilosophical framework. It has kept the vision and decisions of TiE's leadership true toits basic beliefs that wealth creation and giving back to society are invaluable humanendeavors, and that an open, inclusive and forward-looking organization is the rightvehicle in which to reach their objectives.

ASSOCIATION OF CALL CENTERS & OUTSOURCSERS (ACCO)

ACCO is an organization rich in information and experience with a wealth of knowledgeand wisdom in its members. The key to the continuing success is the sharing attitudeamong its members. The industry in Pakistan is now in a growing phase and manyorganizations require advice around realizing the investment in their contact centre interms of enhanced customer service. ACCO is in a unique position to assist today'scontact center market place in their quest for improved delivery.

ACCO provides valued services, at both individual and

organization level, encouraging the promotion of best practice and professional standards.ACCO is established as a pivot for building new memberships with other professionalbodies, government departments, overseas organizations and other agencies who have aninterest in the successful development of contact centers, organizing the said conferenceis a link to this commitment

PAKISTAN COMPUTER ASSOCIATION (PCA)

Pakistan Computer Association (PCA) was established in December 2000 as an

autonomous, non political, non partisan, non-profitable and serviceoriented organization. The Computer Association has been formed withthe involvement of professionals, specialists, manufacturers, institutions and the relatedorganization of Computer and Information Technology within the country.


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Local Scene:

PRODUCTS

For the local market, where the software houses begin from , major products that is indemand is mostly financial programs for banks and other financial institutions followedby range of other applications for the production and manufacturing industry, the powerand energy, communication, human resources, quality control, general accounting, pointof sales, education and skills development leasing as well as other finance relatedmatters, there are other specialized software for pharmaceutical, textile, cement,insurance and transport industries for both local and international market.

MAJOR PLAYERS

Most of the software houses, though established in the 80s, came to limelight after theformation of Pakistan Software Export Board and prospective exporters were asked toregister.

During the first year of the board less than a hundred companies registered with the boardwhile the number increased to 116 in 1996 and about 200 last year.

Likewise, the Pakistan Software Houses Association which started with less than fivemembers in the first year of its formation has more than 150 members by the end of lastyear , 18 out of which are presently working on various international contracts.

Among the players, Systems Private Limited is regarded as the first software house to beestablished in the country. Established in Lahore in 1977, by a group of professionals ledby Aezaz Hussain, the former president of PASHA.

The company is regarded as the market leader in the country at present, its majorspecialty has been the ability to deliver complete turnkey and customized computersolutions ranging from project conception, system study and design.

Sidat Hyder Morshed Associate Private Limited represents the worldwwide organisation,Arthur Anderson in Pakistan and the relationship has enable the local company to tap itsprincipal's resources in over 72 countries.

The company has been in computer related and financial as well as managementconsultancy since 1986, and has designed and developed various customised softwareand products both for local and foreign clients.

Some of its services and clients include the World Bank, the development of accountingsystems, general ledger and procedures for Sandoz, Merck Sharp & Dohme, OrixLeasing, Oxford University Press, design and development of a foreign exchange


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application system for a LAB-based PC for the International Finance Investment andCommerce Bank, designing and development of Windows-based client server MISapplication for the training region of the International Telecommunication Union forPTC.

Established in 1983, Noble Computer Services offers full-scale system and developmentof solutions and specialises in customised software development on AS/400, NT,Windows platform, NCS software products, implementation services as well as trainingand education services for BPCS, NCS and Microsoft products.

ACE-Advanced Information Management Services or ACE-AIMS belongs to amultidisciplinary firm of professional consulting engineers and is specialised amongother services in designing and developing software for database management.

Recently the company designed a system for maximum flexibility in human resourcemanagement.

'HR-2000' which is a locally developed, international level software for automizing theHR department is a comprehensive Human Resource Management system gearedtowards helping proactive HR managers achieve organizational goals with speed,accuracy and objectivity.

The system is based on the translation of corporate culture, policies and methodologiesfor succession planning, carreer development, performance appraisal, competencies, andthe overall tracking of each movement of employees.

ACE-AIMS is among the few companies in the sector to have so far responded to the

government's call to establish a computer education institute by establishing an educationservices department.

The company is currently operating in Saudi Arabia, USA, U.K., Iran, Malaysia,Indonesia and Nigeria.

Crescent Software Products Private Limited is a member of Crescent Group, is one of thelargest software export companies in the country, developing software and relatedservices in the domestic as well as in the international market

KPMG Peat Marwick Informationa Technology is a member firm of the worldwide

KPMG organisation with over 800 offices in 120 countries with annual turn over of oversix billion.

Paksoft, another major player in the local software market, is a joint-venture company setup by five well known software houses in the country which include Infosys, NobleComputer, Sidat Hyder Morshed Associates, Globalsoft and KPMG.


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Metrosoft, another software exporter is a subsidiary of Expert Systems Private Limitedwhich has been in the local software market since 1989.

ZRG International is one of the foreign based software houses with office here inPakistan, it opened its first foreign office in Pakistan in 1991 and offers a variety of

ready-made products to the financial institutions.

CompSoft International Private Limited is a subsidiary of Forbes Computer Technology,based in California, it provides a full line of hardware, software applications andspecialized technical services to Fortune 500 to 2000 companies.

XIBERCOM is the pioneer in introducing Web designing in Pakistan, a brainchhild ofDr. Altamash Kamal, the company is involved in a number of web related services whichinclude providing and authoring web space, customised domain names, personalisedelectronic mail addresses and communication consultations.

CroXx Linc International, a sister company of CroXx Linc Mines has been in the localsoftware market since 1993 and is incolve is software designing, consultancy,development and networking, network project management, game design and supportservice.

PSEB

Realising the importance of exports in the industry, the Export Promotion Bureaupresented a proposal to the federal government to form a board which will constituteamong its members practitioners from the software industry with main objective ofencouraging software exports from the country.

Headed by a managing director, who is a software developer, the board has as itsmembers federal secretaries of the ministries of commerce, communications, education,environment and urban affairs, finance, interior, science and technology, board ofinvestment.

The president of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA), the head of PTCL,the chairman of central board of revenue and the vice chairman of Export PromotionBureau are all members of the board.

The first task of the board was to approve a policy framework and incentives package for

the industry which include both fiscal and corporate incentives.

It is said that among the fiscal incentive recommended for the industry is the exemptionof duties, tax, surcharges and leviable octroi on all computers and related hardware,peripherals including communication hardware and software, telemetric infrastructureand software development tools to be used excusively for software exports.


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Other incentives include the exemption of corporate tax for a period of seven yearsduring the company's ten years of operations on export earnings from software relatedservices.

Financial assistance has been promised to the Software houses both in the forms of loan

through nationalized banks and other financial institutions as well as equity support fromgovernment funds for the purchase of computers, communications and the equipment.

International high speed data circuits have also been promised to the Software houses atthe rates that will be highly competitive to rates offered by other telecom companies inthe region, this is important if the rates of these software houses are to competitive in theinternational market.

And most importantly is the permission to the software houses to re-export their capitalgoods without any levies.

It is said that support from the Board has not only brought these companies together, ithas also provide an opportunity for a smaller firms in smaller cities to introducethemselves to the international market by participating in international exhibitions.

By encouraging the members to participate in international shows, PSEB has focused theattention of the sector on the vast potential offered by the international market

Efforts:

In collaboration with the University Grants Commission (UGC), PSEB launched what itcalled the 'Action Learning Centers of Excellence (ALCoE) two years ago by inviting

proposals from the private sector.

The programme is a frame work which allows a private sector party to join hands withexisting universities of repute to create high quality institutions.

Following the invitation, more than 200 institutions were reported to have showed aninterest in setting up this institute which includes international giants like IBM,Microsoft, Oracle and other industrial groups like TCS, Jaffer Brothers and ShaheenFoudation.

Some of the universities which were selected for the programme at that time include the

Institute of Business Administration, IBA Karachi, Sir Syed University and Technology,Karachi, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Mehran University ofEngineering and Technology, Jamshoro.

Others include National University of Science and Technology, Rawalpindi, Universityof Engineering and Technology, Taxila and Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi.


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The program which include a one-year curriculum, which was developed by the PSEBand was approved the UGC, emphasis more on hand-on-training is yet to pick up at thespeed it was conceived.

Another objective of PSEB is to develop and execute marketing plan to help local

software houses, as the companies dealing in software are known, reach out to potentialclients abroad, at the same time PSEB will attract and facilitate foreign software firms toestablish their software development facilities in the country and facilitating internationaltrade fair participation.

The board will also plan, develop and execute the software technology park scheme toprovide office space, communications and electric power facilities to companies andfirms willing to establish in the park.

Issues of Local Market:

First and foremost among the problems facing the local industry is the level of awarenessamong the local populace, and according to experts, unless something is done in thisaspect, the gap will continue to widen due to the fact that most of the experts in the fieldat present are concentrating outside the country while the country is not producingenough substitutions.

According to one of the systems analysts in the city, all PASHA and PSEB who claimedto be struggling for the cause of IT in the country could do is to trade accusations amongeach other and not paying attention to the problems facing the nation.

It has been observed that the two always avoid sitting together and does not attend each

other's functions talk less of meetings.

By the way of subsidizing the government spends more than 200,000 dollars on eachCOMDEX exhibition that software developers from the country attended, which causesthe main tussle between the two as PASHA members accuse the other members of usingthe platform for their own self interest.

There is a need to encourage the smaller companies too to participate in the internationalexhibitions, to reach the projected figure we will certainly need more than five largecompanies that seem to dominate the scenario at present.

And most importantly, we will need more than six-monthly programmers to serve asprofessionals in the field, if we are to address the issue effectively today, by establishingproper departments in the universities, it wwill take another four years to produceprofessionals.


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Some of the Success Stories:

Company: CresSoft

www.cressoft.com

CresSoft has a splendid track record of delivering technologically challenging software &e-business solutions for fortune 500 clients and large businesses in the US. From itsearlier ventures in object technology, communications and security related products to itspresent focus in business-to-business e-commerce and web related technologies; CresSofthas been the pioneer software exporter in the country.

Project overview

Developed object oriented customer care system for local telephony that includedfunctionality for ordering, trouble ticketing, revenue management, product catalog,campaigns, inventories and workforce scheduling. Front end was based on small talk andSybase. The system is in production in Time Warner divisions.

Also developed an ordering system for dedicated telephony using small talk and Sybase.The system reduced order-processing time considerably and can be easily extendedthrough a rule-based editor to support fast evolving standard.

Company: Xavor Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd

Project overview

Xavor partnered with Cable and Wireless, a major global telecommunications business,to create a trade banking exchange for one of C&W's biggest enterprise customers. Xavorled the program and carried out development, systems integration and deployment.Powered by TIBCO, the exchange offers a comprehensive and integrated portfolio oftrade-related products and services spanning sourcing/procurement, banking and logisticsdelivered direct to their customer's desktop. The result is a scalable, highly reliable, fullymanaged trade-banking offering with 24x7 support - the first of its kind in the industry.

Company: NetSol

NetSol is a global information technology (IT) solutions and consulting servicescompany. The company offers a broad range of capabilities ranging from consulting andapplication development to systems integration and outsourcing. Their current client listincludes some blue chip corporations like DaimlerChrysler, ICI, Volvo Finance, GMACFinance and Citibank. The services offered by NetSol are delivered by our global team of
http://www.cressoft.com/http://www.cressoft.com/


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over 270 people from offices located in Pakistan, USA, and Australia.

Staring from Lahore, Pakistan in 1995, the company now is listed on NASDAQ (ticker:NTWK). The software development facility in Lahore is ISO-9001 certified and iscurrently on its way to achieve CMM Level 3 accreditation.

Project overview

NetSol has developed a complete suite of products for the lease and finance industry. Theentire suite is the first end-to-end solution, which encapsulates the core businessrequirements of any type of lease and finance company. These business critical productsare successfully implemented at DaimlerChrysler operations across Asia includingcountries like Singapore, Australia, Taiwan and Thailand. NetSol is also the preferredsoftware solution partner for DaimlerChrysler Services in Asia Pacific.

The following are the key software products that are currently being used by

DaimlerChrysler:

Dealer front-end (ePOS) - online quotes, credit application submission and monitoring

Proposal Management System (PMS) - back-end workflow and credit evaluation system

Contract Management System (CMS) - management and maintenance of lease/financecontract throughout the life cycle.

Wholesale Finance System (WFS) - complete solution for floorplan business coveringcredit limits, loan management, billing and settlement, stock auditing, dealer informationand pay-off functions.

Global Scenario


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IT Rivalry and collaboration

Giving a boost to the feel good created by the ongoing Confidence Building Measures(CBMs) between India and Pakistan, the IT firms of both the sides have also signedseveral business deals.

"Arwen Tech signed up with Hewitt India for HR skills assessment and strategy fortraining of call centre personnel. Another Karachi based company Emmaculate Solutions,signed up with IFlex Solutions of Bangalore. Compare, Delhi has gone into a jointventure with Creative Chaos, Karachi to develop 6 web portals," Azeem Premji,Chairman of India's largest IT company Wipro has shown interest in establishing adevelopment centre in Pakistan. The agreements were inked during a nine-day visit of a15-member delegation of the IT and IT Enabled Service (ITeS) companies from Pakistanto Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore on the invitation of NASSCOM (NationalAssociation of Software and Service Companies).

According to news NASSCOM and PASHA would be lobbying for the governments toallow countrywide visas for business people from IT industry as visa issue is proving tobe a major hurdle in the way of co-operation and collaboration.

These agreements have generated hopes that software and service companies in India andPakistan would work together to generate more business for the region.

Confidence Building Measures should be implemented on business front also.

If we analyze, we will find that reason behind these collaborations is China that isemerging as a major threat to both India and Pakistan in the global software industry.


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Chinese American entrepreneurs from the Bay Area are going back to their homelandwith Silicon Valley know-how, connections and capital to help build a burgeoningsoftware industry. Blessed with cheap technical talent, Chinese firms have begun toundercut the bargain-rate companies in India.

Among China's advantages:

-- Cheap labor. In China, salaries of information technology professionals are roughlyone-sixth (or even less) of those earned by their U. S. counterparts, according to anarticle. That's on a par with India, industry watchers say. But the final cost of anysoftware outsourcing project may vary, experts say, depending on tax breaks and otherincentives, the experience level of the staff and other factors.

-- Market opportunity. China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2002, itsselection to host the Olympics in 2008 and double-digit economic growth are luringmultinational corporations that need help localizing their products for the Chinese

market. Foreign investment in China reached $53.5 billion in 2003, up from $3.41 billionin 1990.

-- Domestic demand. China, too, will have domestic demand for software, as thecountry's booming home-grown companies require these services.

-- China as gateway. Chinese programmers can also serve customers from Japan andKorea, whose language, culture and geography are closer to the mainland than India.India and Pakistans outsourcing firms have struggled to access these markets.

-- Government incentives. China's government has fostered its software industry, offering

tax breaks and space in high-tech parks to startups, expanding universities and providingfunding to software vendors for international-standards certification. Shenzhen is a chiefcontender for the title held by Bangalore, India, competing with cities such as Hangzhou,Guangzhou and Shanghai.

India and Pakistan: A Comparison


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Some of the Success factors of Indian Industry:

1) The number one reason has to be the large well educated population in India.

2) The highest number of English speaking people. (one of the rare positives of Indianinvasion by British)

3) Low wages in India as compared to West. Although this factor is slowly becoming adisadvantage, it was one of the main reasons for International Software companies tooutsource IT work to India.

4) The Indian culture itself is a huge contributor. For e.g: Parents commitment tochildrens education. The importance of education is ingrained by them on their childrenat a very young age. They see good education as the only means to have better standardof living.

5) As much as Indian IT Industry has grown due to offshoring, equal amount of creditshould go to growth of domestic companies in Auto, retail, banking, telecommunication,manufacturing etc. They have equally contributed in its growth .

6) The young and dynamic working population. More than 60% of Indian people arebelow age 25 ! (study by Wipro,India)


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7) The opening up of economy starting in early nineties. The outsourcing / offshoringstarted taking roots due to the change in policies back then.

8 ) Partial privatization and growth in Telecommunication, in late nineties.Telecommunication forms an integral part of Information technology Industry.

9) The rapid growth in IT parks in India in last 10 years. Government setup SEZs(specialized economic zones), where opening of software services companies would getcertain tax subsidies. This attracted lot of companies to setup software shops.

10) The tax breaks and sops offered by Indian government for upcoming software firms.This made India one of the most attractive markets for setting up Software shop.

11) The commitment of Indians towards their work. It is a common knowledge thatpeople in Software Industry normally put more than 10 hours a day in their work. I do notsubscribe to the view that working long hours necessarily leads to higher productivity,

but I think this hard working Indians definitely plays on peoples mind.

12) Rapid growth in Infrastructure and transportation facilities that started in midnineties.

13) The entrepreneurial spirit and Innovative tilt of Indians. This may be controversial,however I think it is a factor that has made Infosys and Wipro such huge success stories !

14) The time difference is one of the reasons for growth of Indian IT Industry. Westerncountries get advantage of having a 24 hour work cycle.

15) Basic business and marketing sense even in fresh engineers is one of the key successfactor.

Why choose Pakistan? 8 REASONS

Pakistan offers various competitive advantages over other outsourcing destinations, suchas high quality software development, swift and easy establishment of business, lowestcost basis and emerging and state-of-the-art telecommunication and IT infrastructure.Experts estimate an average annual growth of 33% in the sector. This will result in thetotal IT export revenue crossing US$ 10 billion in the next five years.

Pakistan is emerging as the destination of choice for IT outsourcing in Pakistan for thefollowing reasons:

An IT workforce of 90,000 with good English language and people skills growingat a phenomenal rate of almost 20,000 a year.

A hundred ISO-certified IT companies, with over 25 undergoing CMMI rating.

A reliable digital telecommunications infrastructure with backup and reliableenergy and transport networks.


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An ambitious program of world-class IT Parks, with a rental rate of approx. US$1per sq ft /month.

A prosperous economy that offers lucrative domestic opportunities and isattracting increasing amounts of international investment.

A steadily improving risk rating and a tightening environment for intellectual

property protection. A streamlined government regulatory process of one of the most attractive

incentive programs anywhere, which includes tax exemptions, 100% foreignequity and earnings repatriation.

International leaders such as BearingPoint, NCR Teradata, Mentor Graphics andZTE have chosen to locate their development and consultancy center in Pakistan.

Government incentives:

Information Technology Parks with low rent, fiber optic connectivity, librariesand conference rooms

Provision of funds for software companies to get ISO-9000 and CMM-levelcertifications

Foreign investors allowed 100% ownership of equity in "IT/ITeS companies"

Tax exemption for IT companies till 2016

100% repatriation of profits allowed to IT companies Seven years' tax holiday for Venture Capital funds

The rate of depreciation on computer equipment is 30%

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed the opening of Internet MerchantAccounts by banks

Instant, reliable and high-speed connectivity available

Over 85% of telecommunications infrastructure is on fiber optic cables


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Internet access is available in over 1862 cities/towns across Pakistan

Pakistan is the first country in this region to establish DWDMtelecommunications infrastructure

Several cellular companies are using digital transmission (GSM and TDMA)

The cost of 2 Mbps connection has been lowered to US$ 1000/month

Redundant backup connectivity is available through PTCL for call centers.

Business Model of a Leader: The NetSoL Case

NetSol is an enterprise software products firm that develops and sells financial servicessoftware to banks, lease finance firms, leasing agencies and consumer financing firms.Information for this case study was gathered over the last 10 days at their new 270-seatdevelopment facility in Lahore, Pakistan.

'Bank in a Box'

NetSol has extended its market reach into nine countries. China and the U.K. are thenewest locations. Their newest product is a "bank in a box" suite called inBanking that isbeing launched in a phased manner. It is built with Microsoft's .NET technology and isdesigned to provide all software and transaction management tools needed to operatesingle and multi-location banks.

NetSol's original product suite is LeaseSoft, a client-server software system built with thePowerBuilder, LeaseSoft is used by vehicle-leasing companies and wholesale lenders inthat industry. Its baseline clients are Daimler Chrysler's lease-financing subsidiaries inEast Asia. In Australia, NetSol's software is used to manage more than 1 billionAustralian dollars in assets.

Three Business Models To Choose From

One of the distinguishing characteristics of any software firm is the choice of businessmodels.The three business models that software firms can choose from are:

Software Product Firms. Software product firms earn at least 60 to 80 percent (dependingon which definition you prefer) of their revenues from developing software, licensing itfor sale and receiving maintenance fees for updating that software. Seventy-five percent

of NetSol's revenue comes from product development and from customizing its ownsoftware products for users.

Services Firms. Services firms provide customization, installation, integration andmaintenance of other firms' products, along with consulting and other services. Theymight also develop customized software applications. Under the service firm businessmodel, such customized software is owned by the clients. Twenty-five percent ofNetSol's revenues come from customized development work where clients own the


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software outright. This is a small percentage by industry standards, since most softwarecompanies are service firms. Service firms might experience dramatic revenuefluctuations. Revenue per employee and profit per employee are usually lower at servicefirms than at successful software product firms.

Hybrid Firms. Hybrid firms develop products and perform some services work. Thismodel is attractive because it enables hybrid firms to leverage their core technologies todistinguish themselves from their competitors. Almost all software product firmseventually provide some services and drift towards the hybrid business model.

Business Models Compared

The attraction of the business model used by software product firms stems from the factthat software is often easy and cheap to reproduce, once it has initially been developed.Profitability from each employee can be very high once sales begin to take off. The riskis that an economic downturn or other factors outside of the control of a product firm will

cause clients to suddenly stop purchasing software.

Software firms that are in the best position are often those that produce their ownsoftware and have a solid base of clients willing to provide it with a recurring revenuestream from maintenance fees, updates, customization and other services.

Unless there are extreme price pressures within a product field, enterprise softwareproduct firms (those selling business software) can often charge high prices for eachlicense. With NetSol's products, for example, software prices of US$1 million or moreper client are their target.

By producing multiple copies of the same software product at little more than it costs toproduce a single copy, software product firms can gain an economy of scale that enablesthem to increase revenues without substantially increasing their costs, thereby becomingvery profitable within a short period of time. Service firms, in comparison, find it harderto scale up rapidly because their revenues are based on the amount of personnel resourcesutilized to implement each service contract.

Economies of scale are harder for service firms to achieve. The profit margin for eachdollar of revenue received by services firms is much lower than the gross profit marginfor product firms. In 2002, for example, PeopleSoft reportedly spent only 10 percent ofits software revenues on developing and distributing that software.

Maintenance Fees

Recurring revenues are available to product firms from maintenance fees. The terms ofmaintenance fees differ, but they often allow customers access to newly developedfeatures and patches for bugs.


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Maintenance fees are largely profit, once the product is stable. A feature developed forone client (and paid for by that client) can be made available to all customers who pay themaintenance fee for that product.

Since not everyone in the installed base might want or need a new feature, version

controls and feature switches might be needed to enable users to opt in or out of newfeatures. The ability of users to set parameters regarding new features is also important inthe implementation of maintenance agreements. This is often the case when the installedbase spans different countries and where different business processes are used from onelocation or client to the next.

Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, maintenance fees of 10 to 15 percent were common.Maintenance fees today usually range from 15 to 22 percent of the original purchaseprice. PeopleSoft was charging 20 percent until January, when its new owner, Oracle,raised it to 22 percent to match the rate that Oracle charges for its own products. SomePeopleSoft customers were considering going off maintenance contracts after that fee

hike.

NetSol's sales contracts authorize it to charge up to 22 percent, but it is currently charging18 percent. Over the life of each product sold, NetSol will earn more revenue frommaintenance fees than revenues received from the initial product sale.

Software Licenses

In common with other software product firms, there are four price components toNetSol's license agreements:

Core software product.

Customization.

Implementation, which includes migration of data from legacy systems.

Support and maintenance fees.

Market Strategies

Once a software firm has chosen a business model that involves the development of asoftware product, it needs to decide whether to build products for mass markets or niche


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markets. In the enterprise software field, the safest strategy is generally to target a nichemarket first.

NetSol initially targeted the front end of automobile leasing software, where leaseapplications are completed and sent for approval by a finance company. Then it moved

up that vertical until it had built up a complete suite of complementary products. Masteryof one market vertical served as a jumping off point for NetSol to enter the bankingindustry using the same verticalization strategy.

Piracy Issues

According to a Business Software Alliance study of global trends in software piracy, in2005 the worldwide rate of personal computer software piracy stood at 35 percent, aonepercentage point decrease on the 2003 global rate. The rate of software piracy in eachcountry was calculated by subtracting the units of legitimate packaged software paid forduring the year from total units of packaged software put to use during that year. The

resulting number was then divided by total units of packaged software to produce apercentage rate. In 2003, 2004 and 2005 the highest rates of software piracy wererecorded in Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Ukraine and China. In these countriesbetween 85 and 93 percent of the software put to use each year was thought to be pirated.Other countries with high rates of software piracy in 2005 included Pakistan (86%),Kazakhstan (85%), Russia (83%), and Venezuela (82%). Countries with low piracy ratesin 2005 included the United States (21%), New Zealand (23%), the UK (27%), Japan(28%), Australia (31%) and Canada (33%). The highest estimated monetary losses (in$US) due to software piracy in 2005 were experienced by the United States ($6,895million), China ($3,884million) and France ($3,191 million). Globally, it is estimated that$34,297 million was lost due to software piracy in 2005, up from $32,711 million in 2004

and $28,794 million in 2003.


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_The Global Picture


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Piracy in PakistanThere are a few legal copies of Windows floating around in the market

which have come in with laptops and branded computers, but itsillegal to buy them according to the Microsoft license. Somewhere in

the End-User License Agreement legalese it says you may not sell orrent your copy of Windows. While a Californian court ruled you can sell

purchased software no matter what the License says, I doubt that

applies outside California. Most geek lawyers in America/Europe thinkthat most EULAs cannot hold up in court, but this theory hasnt been

tested yet. It makes sense though, as current EULAs basically makeyou sign away your first child and just about everything else too.

So when its impossible to buy a legal copy, what is a computer user in

this country to do? Regardless of the extreme price differential, there


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are people in this country who want to own a licensed legal copy of thesoftware they use. This is mostly due to a common misconception that

the original version will somehow run better than the pirated version.In the case of small business, they dont want to go through the hassle

of fighting with the local Microsoft dogs about pirated software, so

they want to acquire legal versions.

The problems of windows licenses are quite interesting. Many people in

this country have second-hand machines which have been disposed of

in the west. Most of these machines come with Windows alreadyinstalled, along with a sticker of the original product key. They

sometimes even have the cubicle number and the company they werein. So when the machine running a pirated version of a operating

system already has a license, the piracy issue is no longer so clear cut.We have tons of licenses sitting there in the form of old computers

rotting away in containers and dumps. Most of them should still be

valid, as the operating system along with the computer was thrownaway. Shoot, some of these computers havent even been formatted,

and all sorts of interesting information can be pulled out from them.Legally, its an interesting issue. Maybe an enterprising shopkeeper

can buy a thousand of these pcs, and claim to have acquired valid

licenses for Windows 98 (which most of these old pcs have). Werecycle a whole lot of junk from the West, why not software also?

Microsoft can claim that these licenses have expired, and cannot betransferred, again this would have to go though the courts. By the

time a decision is reached in the Pakistani courts, this entire decision

will be moot as by then (after a decade or so) we will all be runningLinux.

Sadly, no computer shop in Pakistan seems to comprehend that there

is such a thing as free software which they can sell with impunity. Onthe other hand, I doubt that the Microsoft and the BSA representatives

understand either. They are completely capable of hauling up someoneon charges of selling pirated versions of RedHat Linux and

OpenOffice! Currently up-to-date Linux distros are harder to find thanjust about anything else in the world. And no, its almost impossible to

download ISOs over a modem connection which keeps disconnecting

coupled with electricity which fluctuates and dies every so often.Broadband is slowly creeping into the country, so it would be nice if

one of the broadband companies could mirror one of the linux ftpservers.

Microsoft Windows and Office together are available for 40 dollars in

Thailand. However, the Pakistan government shows no sign or


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realization that they can bargain with Microsoft. So sooner or later,things are going to come to a head. Nobody here is going to buy

software for a hundred dollars a pop here.

As Pakistan cracks down on software piracy, free software is going to

become more and more important. Excepting the larger corporationsand multinationals, every single computer in Pakistan runs piratedsoftware. It will be interesting to see whether people will end up

buying software, or switching to free alternatives. Even if the

government starts jailing people, my guess is that about 2-4 percentof home users will pay western prices for software. There are ongoing

efforts to convert to Linux by the government. While techies/geeks areswitching, the normal user is going to avoid it like the plague. See

LinuxPakistan.net for more about Linux usage in Pakistan.

How to Reduce Software PiracyLowering piracy around the world will take work and investment but itis work and investment that can pay off for the countries involved. As IDChas shown, a strong local software industry can be an incredibleeconomic engine.In order to unlock the vast new jobs, business opportunities, revenues andeconomic growth that the IT sector can produce, tangible steps need to betaken to protect intellectual property and reduce software piracy.

The key to stemming piracy comes from education and proactive,government-led efforts.Five Concrete Steps for Reducing Software Piracy Implement the WIPO Copyright TreatyIn 1996, in direct response to the growing threat of Internet piracy, the

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted newcopyright treaties to enable better and more effective enforcementagainst digital and online piracy. An estimated one billion people aroundthe globe will have Internet access by the end of this year increasingthe power and potential of software but also opening new doors for piratesto distribute their wares. In order to ensure protection of copyrightedworks in the digital age, countries need to updatenational copyright laws to implement the obligations of the WIPOcopyright treaties. Among other things, these measures make sure that
http://www.linuxpakistan.net/http://www.linuxpakistan.net/


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copyrighted software cannot be pirated by ensuring that protected worksare not made available online without the authors permission, and thatcopy protection tools are not hacked or circumvented.Many countries have already taken steps to improve and enforce theirlaws. However, there is still more progress that can be made. Create Strong and Workable Enforcement Mechanisms as

Required by TRIPSStrong copyright laws are essential, but meaningless without effectivemechanisms to enforce them. Governments must fulfill their obligationsunder the World Trade Organizations (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) by adopting and implementinglaws that meet international norms for IP rights protectionand enforcement. Step Up Enforcement With Dedicated Resources

Too often, software thieves are not treated as seriously as othercriminals, and the punishment is too insignificant to be an effectivedeterrent. Countries can elevate their enforcement of intellectualproperty by:

a) creating specialized intellectual property enforcement units at thenational and local levels, and providing dedicated resources toinvestigate and prosecute intellectual property theft,b) increasing cross-border mutual cooperation among police and otherenforcement agencies to improve coordination among law enforcementin various countries, andc) supporting training of law enforcement and judiciary officials andproviding better technical assistance to ensure that the people on thefront lines of piracy enforcement are equipped with the tools they needto deal with the changing nature of intellectual property theft. Increase Public Education and AwarenessReducing software piracy often requires a fundamental shift in the

publics attitude toward software piracy. Public education is a criticalcomponent of any successful effort. Governments can increase publicawareness of the importance of respecting creative works by informingthe public about the consequences of disobeying the law, expressingtheir intent to strictly enforce those laws and encouraging the use oflegitimate software. Some of the most successful efforts stem fromcomprehensive public education campaigns launched jointly bygovernment and industry. Lead by ExampleBecause governments are the largest users of software in the world, one of themost effective mechanisms for public persuasion stems from governmentsthemselves sending a strong and clear message that the government will not

tolerate piracy, and is actively managing its own software assets. This can beachieved by implementing software management policies to set an example theprivate sector should follow. For a government to demonstrate its commitmentto enforcing intellectual property protections in the private sector, it mustdemonstrate that it is willing to do so in the public sector as well.

software industry of pakistan

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