National ICT R&D Fund has planned to finance a comprehensive survey study of Pakistan Information Technology (IT) and Enable Services (ITES) industry aimed at collecting database of all operating companies of all sizes including key economic indicators, business volume and turnover, their technical and human resources, and rudimentary information.
The proposed survey study “Annual State of the IT and ITES Industry” is an effort towards an essential issue of the IT and ITES industry that lacks authentic and credible data necessary for evaluating the performance of the industry and devising policies for necessary initiatives to move industry forward.
Pakistan’s IT & ITES Industry is on the track of growth as number of large, medium and small scales companies are being setup with handsome investments along with working and human capital, however the unified policies and collective targets are missing to flourish industry and its players in one direction rather than haphazard business activities.
Presently, a lot of innovation is taking place in the local IT industry but with a large number of companies operating below the radar. Their needs and requirements are not known. Identifying them and bringing them into the fold is extremely important if Pakistan is to create clusters and enable further growth.
This survey study will not only be important headway towards streamlining industry and its players, but it will also identify the problems and issues of the industry players by and large.
The proposed study would allow the industry to have data available for policy making and analysis and would help in identifying trends and in embarking on strategic initiatives that would help the industry and the country at large.
Through this exercise, National ICT R&D Fund also intends to provide an evidence-based, rather than gut-feel based approach to the policy recommendations derived from the study enabling the sector stakeholders to focus on the areas of strength and growth in the sector.
The key objectives of the proposed Annual State of the IT and ITES Industry report are:
- To assess the current state of IT & ITES industry in Pakistan through systematic data collection and analysis of its performance.
- Key data to be collected would include revenue (overall, domestic, and export, by sector and destination), size of companies, verticals, employment (number, export-oriented, skill, tools, and platforms), output mix (services, products), growth-rates, cost base etc.
- To assess performance of the industry over time in an attempt at stocktaking and in determining the health and future direction of the industry.
- National ICTR&D Fund will be outsourced the proposed study to private companies with the task to accomplish the project by the start of next year.
