More PASHA Career Expo Images!
July 20, 2008
And some more images - in case you’re wondering, yes - it IS okay to download these! [Read more]
Photographs from PASHA’s Career Expo 2008
July 20, 2008
Congratulations to the organizers, participants and the industry! Keep checking back for more updates, videos and keep the clicks comin’! If you were at the expo or would like to share an idea or experience from there, please feel free to leave your comments here. You are welcome to download these images and use them though we’d appreciate if you could either link back or just give us credit for it. [Read more]
What Does the ICANN Announcement Mean for Pakistan?
June 27, 2008
Following the ICANN announcement that allow the implementation of new domain names online, it’s interesting to see the implications it will have on a country such Pakistan, that has a fast growing online presence. [Read more]
10,000 Call Center Seats and IT Tower in Karachi
June 19, 2008
In 1965, when cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur, Riadh and Bangkok without even any 10-storied buildings, the 25 storied Habib Bank Plaza of Karachi was a sign of brisk future of the city. But, the country’s capital was shifted from Karachi to Islamabad in 1963, letting Karachi down in development projects, with a ban on establishing new industries or erecting tall buildings. [Read more]
Salman Ansari’s Keynote at the Dawn Financial IT Conference
June 18, 2008
Here’s Salman Ansari’s Keynote at the Dawn Financial IT Conference, on th 17th of June, 2008
Manning Technology: Umair Naeem
May 12, 2008
When we talk about technology augmenting day to day life and making things easier and more convenient for people from various walks of life, the ball often falls onto technology itself for being unreliable, particularly in a country like Pakistan where state of the art facilities are rare. This can often be a very unfair statement, as it is the very facilitators of the technology who are responsible for ensuring its effectiveness in doing what it was supposed to be doing.
What often happens is that technology and facilities are in place, but the people who are supposed to be manning them and people who are supposed to maintain them end up being the unreliable ones. On a recent trip to Lahore, I had the misfortune of trying to connect to a Wireless internet network at the Karachi Airport. A few minutes of trying, and I looked for someone to help me out, but none of the airport personnel knew what was going on. I gave up, as my flight was about to board. On the way back, I found myself waiting at the Islamabad Airport, and spotted the free Wateen Internet Kiosks. There were two on one side, and two on the centre of the hall. From the two on the side, one was being used, while the other was free, so I tried to access my email from it, but lo and behold, there was no connection. Of the other two kiosks, one was off and the other was not working as well. Out of 4 possible kiosks, only one was working.
Whether Wateen is to blame, or the Airport authorities, it hardly matters. What matters is that technology should be a smooth and easy to use facility, not something that you would end up tearing your hair out over. And this is the responsibility of those who have put up the technology in question and those who are supposed to maintain it.
Let’s move to another example. Colgate Palmolive has a number for Consumer Affairs, on the back of its products (most specifically detergents), and when recently I needed some information regarding its products, I figured I’d give their consumer affairs a try. Unfortunately when I called, no one answered, and that’s been the case for the past few days. It’s truly insane when you have put out a number and you have no one manning it. Unilever’s Raabta Service is much better in this regard, even though their operators need to ensure that they have more detailed information regarding their products.
I have mentioned time and time again before about how important I feel it is to have Consumer Awareness in order for big businesses to feel continually responsible for the services that they offer. The encouraging thing is that Pakistan is moving towards that direction, but until and unless we, as consumers do not stand up for what we is our right, we shall remain static.
This week’s Rant goes out to the wonderfully original people behind the Mobilink Jazz Ad Campaigns. Did I mention how creative I think they are? Of course they must be! How else can they come up with a another Jazzy Tableau Theme with a song and dance routine with guys and girls jumping around and singing about how wonderful Jazz is? And of course, the height of creativity, having Wasim Akram join in and sing as well. It’s truly brilliant! How can it fail?! It has people singing and dancing about Jazz?!
It’s time like these that its true when people say there’s no creativity in Pakistan. I still don’t think that’s the case, but the ‘creative’ are certainly proving their point. What’s more ironic is that I thought the Mobilink ‘Join Us’ campaign was actually nice. Anyway, till next time, stay safe and Believe.
MANCON 2008 Leading the Way with Wateen!
March 13, 2008
The third annual world management conference, MANCON 2008 launched March 11th 2008. The 2-day event, inaugurated by Senator Nisar A. Memon, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, has been organized by the Nutshell forum and sponsored by Wateen Telecom. On the occasion, Senator Nisar A. Memon said, “Events such as MANCON are critical for the developing corporate sectors of the Asian countries and are an excellent effort for promoting a positive image of the region to the international community.” [Read more]
Sybase Solution Corporation launched
January 31, 2008
KARACHI (January 24 2008): Sybase Inc, a leading provider of enterprise infrastructure and mobile software, Wednesday has launched Sybase Solution Corporation (Pakistan) to bring Sybase’s leading mobile and business intelligence solutions to the Pakistani market. This will enhance Sybase’s strategy and focus on vertical market in this region and it will now be able to provide more support and services in Pakistan to their key customers and partners. This was stated by Shakeel Ahmed Khan, president of Sybase Solutions Corporations Pakistan.
He said “we are looking to expand our revenues and market share by working more closely with existing Sybase customers and continuing to win new business. The formation of Sybase Solution Corporation is critical for the geographical expansion to support growth in Pakistan. Stuwart Fisher Director Sales Asia Pacific Region said that “one of our goals is to increase our customer interaction with the Pakistani Business and assist them in developing Industries-Leading solution”. The launch of Sybase Solutions Corporation in Pakistan will enable the team to work closer with customers on projects and offer more support and services for all of the Sybase Products. This gives us a greater opportunity to demonstrate our ability to deliver excellence in specific markets. S A Khan said that in the future, Sybase Solutions Corporation will be able to participate in more assignments, as it will now be possible to take advantage of its position as part of an international organisation, “We can now draw upon the resources of a global organisation, expertise can be flown in to support our Pakistani team, to help us deliver the best solution to our customers”.
Naseeb gets financing for network expansion
January 31, 2008
KARACHI (January 26 2008): Naseeb Networks, a leading provider of online recruitment, social networking, classifieds and related services in Pakistan, announced on Friday that it has secured Series B financing from two pre-eminent Silicon Valley venture capital firms, ePlanet Ventures (ePlanet) and Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), says a press release. Naseeb will use the funding to accelerate its growth and leadership position in target markets by investing in sales force and marketing expansion and enhancing its product portfolio.
“We have seen strong growth in user metrics and financial receipts across our portfolio of online services,” said Monis Rahman, Founder and CEO of Naseeb Networks. “This funding round provides growth capital and domain expertise from two clear leaders in global venture capital, which will enable us to further dominate our target markets and seize emerging market opportunities.” The round was led by ePlanet with DFJ participating, pursuant to which Ayaz ul Haque, Managing Director at ePlanet and Mohanjit Jolly, Director at DFJ have joined Naseeb’s board of directors.-PR
IDL, FSC launch new laptop with advance features
January 31, 2008
RECORDER REPORT ISLAMABAD (January 25 2008): Ideal Distribution Line (IDL) and Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) on Thursday launched a new laptop with advance features. Fujitsu Siemens Computers is the leading European IT provider with a strategic focus on next-generation Mobility and Dynamic Data Centre products, services and solutions. With a platform and services portfolio of exceptional depth, our offering extends from handhelds through desktops to enterprise-class IT infrastructure solutions and service. In this connection, a ceremony was held, which was attended by the representatives of leading local and foreign computer companies. The speakers informed that the IDL and FSC have joint hands to promote FSC branded computers, laptops, Servers and storage solutions in Pakistan. The manufacturing and shipments would be from Germany, which assures quality and stability at reasonable prices. The IDL is a professional IT distribution Company in Pakistan. Incorporated in 1997 Head office in Karachi and branch offices are in Hyderabad, Lahore and Islamabad. The FSC products are now available across the country. These new computer products are highly affordable for low income groups as well besides being as much useful as the equipment’s of other brands, speakers added.