By Nouman Lodhi
We – Pakistanis – develop software, but we don’t sell it; because we develop these software for Americans and Europeans who ultimately sell them at considerably higher prices.
How wonderful it could get if we develop software and sell them ourselves to earn all the margins and profits to ultimately bring back the entire revenue to our homeland.
Generally Asian countries are considered to be the outsourcing hotspots by IT industry leaders around the world. That is why most companies in Asia are famous for providing IT services to the small, medium and large enterprises mostly located in affluent European countries and in the US.
The companies abroad take huge benefit from the low-cost software made by their outsourcing partners and by selling these software to an unimaginably large internet market.
As a thumbs rule the foreign companies indulge in outsourcing to reduce their costs of doing business and consequently to increase their profits. The IT resource-pool is abundant in India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries in the Asian continent. Adept at communicating in English makes things easier for the professionals providing IT and IT-enabled services as English has dominated the world of internet.
However, there is this firm called Sorcim, run by the ‘softopreneurs’ from Pakistan who decided to go on a different route, i.e. product way.
Earlier, known as an IT service provider, today, Sorcim is product-based and explores the dynamics of online market. The software made by the company called RegInOut falls into the system utilities category and helps to boost slow working computers and fix common PC errors such as Windows Registry errors.
The decision to sell product by itself rather than making a product for foreign businesses was a transition in the company’s life. Such transitions are healthy for the businesses and today the IT companies from Pakistan shall try to either penetrate into global online markets or create opportunities in the domestic market.
Sorcim Technologies of Pakistan shares a similar story. However, as business always remains in motion, the company now has successfully become a software vendor. It also plans to launch software products belonging to different categories. RegInOut (reginout.com) has taught great lessons to the company and now they are rapidly learning how to market product with credibility even if you don’t live in the Western part of world.
Before starting to sell RegInOut, Sorcim had made various software and utilities which are still being sold by the American and European web entrepreneurs.
You point is pretty valid. However, in most cases, many small developers don’t have the budget to market their products. Awareness factor also plays a crucial part. Our people trust products with a foreign label rather than local. It’s good to see people realizing the significance of local production but there is still a long way to go. I hope these guys make a name for themselves and not end up partnering with a foreign company….
Individuals or small firms can’t do this… Governmental support is required.
What kind of Pakistani Company is this they dont have payment option in Pakistani Rupees in check out.
and wat even makes u think that corporates will buy something from a Pakistani Owned company??????? A product that is locally developed??
Telecom sector is a major giant, talk abt Ufone, PTCL, Warid, Wateen etc….. Banks such a Al-Baraka, Islamic, Alfalah all headed by ARABs….do u think those Arab Management will buy something created from Pakistan?? or Pakistanizz???
They are blind followers of American n so called CHITEE CHAMREEE……for them everything made by them even if its shit…..its like a GOLD n GEM…..
so small companies might buy something locally but not the big giants……. they love to throw money like anything…….
Not totally true … Arab companies do pay Pakistanis, there are software comapnies who have contracts and are working in Kuwait/ KSA … an example is Xavor and NetSol.
I think this might change once Google Play allows Pakistani developers to sell paid apps. It would certainly be an incentive for me to sell apps.
Teach our country that mobile app and web development sy agay jahan aur bhi hein. To bring about a change, we must create desire of change.
why?
sounds great..
Good step in the right direction.