The P@SHA  ICT Awards, which are now in their 7th year, aim to provide recognition to software and service applications that have been developed in Pakistan, by providing companies an opportunity to gain local, regional and international exposure through on-going promotional activities.

Hence, it is meant to acknowledge creativity, innovation and excellence in the Pakistan Information and Communication Technologies sector.

This year judging panels will be available to judge entries in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad so as to make it convenient for more companies and individuals to apply.

Objectives of the P@SHA ICT Awards:

The objective of the P@SHA ICT Awards is to provide recognition to software and service applications that have been developed in Pakistan . It is meant to acknowledge creativity, innovation and excellence in the Pakistan Information and Communication Technologies sector. This annual Awards program also provides an opportunity and an ideal environment for companies to gain local, regional and international exposure through on-going promotional activities, and through participation at the international Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA).

The top winners of the P@SHA ICT Awards (only product categories) will be nominated for representation at the annual Asia Pacific Awards.

Benefits of the Awards Program:

* Stimulate innovation and creativity
* Provide recognition and a platform for the benchmarking of innovations in the industry
* Create an opportunity for the top winning companies to represent Pakistan at the Asia Pacific awards
* Provide participants with networking opportunities so that strategic business alliances can be formed
* Winners to be brought to the notice of venture capitalists and investors
* Create a larger pool of knowledge workers that is essential for the development of the ICT industry
* Increase the general awareness of the development in the ICT industry

The Nomination forms are available here.

Deadline for entries is August 28, 2010 so please apply NOW.

Popularity: 11% [?]

The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA) is on the lookout for a Program Coordinator. We seek someone who is passionate and excited about technology, someone who has good verbal and written communication skills, someone who knows how to use social media for advocacy and event promotion.

This could be a young man or woman who is technologically savvy but not necessarily a tech graduate. The applicant needs to be self-motivated and should have a good idea about the trends in the ICT industry locally – and preferably internationally.

P@SHA has a diverse set of member companies in multiple cities across Pakistan. Developing relationships with them and being “of service” to them will be part of the coordinator’s responsibilities. Other key responsibilities include adding on new members and ensuring that the current members’ list and corporate/government sector organizations info is up-to-date.

Experience is NOT essential so the applicant could be a fresh undergraduate or someone with very little experience. However, she/he must be totally “driven” and “action-oriented”. No job too big or too small should be her/his motto.

Send in your CV today to president@pasha.org.pk with a cover letter that is bound to grab my interest. This position is available to those who either live in Karachi or are willing to re-locate.

Popularity: 11% [?]

All I can say is WOW! When we went into the exercise of putting out a Call for Nominations for this event, we thought it would be difficult to get 15 good entries per city - not because there is not enough innovation happening in the ICT sector in Pakistan but because people are very busy and the only vehicle we used to spread the word was the Internet - emails, blog posts, Facebook, Twitter.

We received over a 100 nominations - and so many that are absolutely brilliant! A panel is going through them now and will notify by the end of the day those who have to present on Saturday and Sunday in Lahore and Karachi. Entries will be judged on the concept, the innovation, the impact, the delivery of the pitch and the commercial viability of the product or service. Judges have been lined up in both cities.

Whether you are shortlisted to present or not, you still win because we will be contacting you over the next few weeks and will help connect you with an online panel of mentors who can assist you in the areas that you have identified. Do come to the events in Karachi and Lahore and be part of the energy and the excitement.

Registration are still open - links are given below:

P@SHA LaunchPad, Lahore: Dome Room, Royal Palm, 2 p.m. – 6:00 pm, Saturday June 26, 2010 http://bit.ly/9KqXp4

P@SHA LaunchPad, Karachi: Ambassador 1 & 3, Karachi Marriott Hotel, 2 p.m. – 6:00 pm, Sunday June 27, 2010 http://bit.ly/bkeZJ

Popularity: 23% [?]

The purpose of P@SHA LaunchPad is to create a platform where young people with great ideas, and early-stage companies with innovative products, have the opportunity to pitch their ideas in front of an expert panel who ask relevant questions, make suggestions to help develop the idea or product, assist with market identification, mentoring and possibly investment if it catches their imagination.

A good batch of entries have been submitted from both Karachi and Lahore with more coming in as we speak. Shortlisted companies will be informed on the night of the 23rd of June so do check your emails if you have submitted an entry.

For those of you who wish to attend the P@SHA LaunchPad events in Lahore on June 26th and in Karachi on June 27th, 2010, (this includes those who are participating in the events) make sure that you register early. Registration is free but we will be limiting registrations to 150 in each city.

P@SHA LaunchPad, Lahore: Dome Room, Royal Palm, 2 p.m. - 6:00 pm, Saturday June 26, 2010 http://bit.ly/9KqXp4

P@SHA LaunchPad, Karachi: Ambassador 1 & 3, Karachi Marriott Hotel, 2 p.m. - 6:00 pm, Sunday June 27, 2010 http://bit.ly/bkeZJt

Popularity: 31% [?]

Are you

• A new startup?
• Do you have a new product that you want to launch?
• Do you have an idea for a product or service that you want to pitch?

Then here is an opportunity for you.
The P@SHA LaunchPad event will be held in Lahore on Saturday 26th June 2010 and in Karachi on Sunday 27th June 2010.

The vision behind P@SHA LaunchPad is simple - find the best technology ideas and start-ups and bring them in front of the most experienced and influential professionals, entrepreneurs, marketing and financial experts.

The purpose is to create a platform where young people with great ideas, and  early-stage companies with innovative products, have the opportunity to pitch their ideas in front of people who ask relevant questions, make suggestions to help develop the idea or product, assist with market identification, mentoring and possibly investment.

Our sponsors for the P@SHA LaunchPad event are the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), Microsoft Pakistan and Sofizar Constellation. CIO Pakistan is our Online Technology Partner. Without sponsors and partners nothing is possible. So three cheers for these guys:

Experts will be brought in to provide input on Product Development, Business Models, on identifying markets and on SEO/SEM and usability. Nominees will be put in the hot seat where some of the most successful entrepreneurs and business executives will fire questions at them.

There is bound to be one idea or one product that stands out – these will be the P@SHA LaunchPad Stars and will be given a small cash award and highlighted on as many platforms as possible.

We plan to have a Demo Pit where young innovators can showcase their idea and talk to experts, potential investors and professionals in much more detail. The idea is to generate excitement and energy around ICT innovation and motivate more young people into starting their own companies and making them successful.

Last year the panel of experts brought a lot of value to the event and sparked lively discussion and debate. We are hoping that with each additional event, the group will energize further.

Nomination your startup, your product or your service idea at NOW:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFNXRVk1ZVhjenJUMnM1ZTI3dXRCd1E6MQ

The last date for nominations in June 23, 2010.

Download the P@SHA LaunchPad Flyer for all the details.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Nutshell Forum, in collaboration with Asian HRM Network, Lahore HR Forum, GEO News, Learning Minds and Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA), is hosting the 2nd Talent Management Forum on Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 0900 to 1700 hours at Marriott Hotel, Karachi.

The conference will discuss strategies and ideas to ensure a strong talent management process within your organization.

Hear from a panel of CEOs and HR practitioners and experts on the unique challenges facing organizations in 2010-11 and how best to ensure that your biggest resource is creating the strongest impact for your company.

Limited seats are available on first come first served basis.
There are a host of known names who will be speaking at the event including some speakers from the tech sector - Jawwad Ahmed Farid from Alchemy Technologies, Badar Khushnood of Google and Al Karim Hassan from Etilize.
CONFERENCE BOARD:

Javed Jabbar, Global Vice President, IUCN & Former Senator & Federal Minister for Information & Media Development

Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, Coordinator General, COMSTECH & Former Federal Minister for Science & Technology & Former Chairman, HEC

Tariq Ikram, President, Textile Institute of Pakistan & Former Minister of State & Chairman, Export Promotion Bureau & Reckitt & Colman Pakistan

Ismail Mapara, Managing Director, 3M Pakistan & Business Head, 3M Middle East, North Africa & Central Europe

Humayun Bashir, Country General Manager, IBM Pakistan

Jawwad Ahmed Farid, CEO, Alchemy Technologies & Author of “Reboot”

Hasan Aziz Bilgrami, President, BankIslami Pakistan Limited & ICMAP

Mazhar Valjee, Managing Director, Areva T&D Pakistan (Formerly Alstom)

*Tauqeer Ahmed, Managing Director, Dupont Pakistan Operations

Badar Khushnood, Country Consultant, Google Inc.

Al-Karim Hassan, Director HR Global Operations, Etilize Inc., USA

Naushad H. Javaid, Director People Excellence, Telenor Pakistan

Muhammad Tahir Mushtaq, EVP Human Resources & Admin., PTCL

Shakeel S. Mapara, Director Human Resources, sanofi-aventis

Khalid Zaman Khan, Director HR, HSBC Middle East Bank Limited

Fariha K. Salahuddin, Director HR, Glaxo Smith Kline Pakistan

Wasif Waseem Ashraf, Director HR, Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited

Dr. Razi Azmat, Head of HR, Habib Bank Limited

Tahir Jawaid, General Manager HR, Engro Chemical Pakistan Limited

Wali Zahid, CEO, SkillCity UAE & C-Level Coach

Akram Durrani, Director Human Resources, Dawood Group

Syed Zulfeqar Ali, Head of HR, GEO TV

Adeel Anwar, President, Lahore HR Forum & Head of NTI, Netsol Technologies

Uzma Bashir Ghous, CEO, UBG Associates

Sohail Zindai, International Speaker, Trainer & Consultant / CLO, Learning Minds

Sidra Iqbal, Communication Strategist & TV Anchor

Jovaria Khizer, Associate & Consultant, Learning Minds

* Tentative

2nd Talent Management Forum-1

FEE & REGISTRATION:

1-5 nominees PKR 5,500 per participant
5+ nominees PKR 5,000 per participant
(includes lunch, refreshment breaks, conference kit and participation certificate)

PKR 4,900/- per participant
(Only for the members of LHRF, P@SHA, ICAP and ICMAP)

Your participation will be confirmed subject to receipt of payment.
All cheques and drafts to be made in favor of “NUTSHELL FORUM”. Refunds not allowed, however substitute may attend.
Organizers reserve the right to alter the program.

For registration, please contact:

Shahid Aziz Farooqi (0300-2704036) or
Zulfiqar A. Rahim (0333-3027242)

Email: nutshellevents@yahoo.com, nutshellforum@yahoo.com
URL: www.nutshellforum.com

Popularity: 69% [?]

The Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO), in partnership with KPMG India, launched a new report into the  future of the regional IT services industry: Asia-Oceania Vision 2020: Enabling IT Leadership through Collaboration at the ASOCIO General Assembly & ASOCIO ICT Summit in Melbourne recently.

The report provides an analysis of current and projected IT services and outsourcing markets across the Asia Pacific.

According to the Asia-Oceania Vision 20-20, the Asia Pacific region is set to become the largest regional economy in the world by 2020, rising from 35 to 43 percent of global GDP and increasing their share of world exports from 27 to 35 percent.

It is interesting to note that the report also states that ICT will be critical to this rise to dominance in the world economy. Combined, Asia Pacific economies have the opportunity to deliver 75 percent of the world’s information technology demands over the next decade.

“The key to accelerating the realisation of the growth opportunities available to individual economies and the national ICT industries in the region will be proactive collaboration,” said outgoing ASOCIO President Ashank Desai, while addressing attendees at the ASOCIO ICT Summit, adding that “ASOCIO can play a major role by enabling member economies to aggressively collaborate to achieve their 2020 vision,”

“The traditional areas of collaboration – such as trade in hardware and software – are the tip of the iceberg,” said Kumar Parakala, Head of IT Advisory at KPMG India and Chairman of the Australian Computer Society National Board.

“The real long term benefits will come from collaboration between regional technology players in a way that is not yet well developed in the marketplace – in areas such as knowledge sharing to strategic acquisitions,” he said.

This will require a new development approach and innovative thinking, facilitated by extensive and constructive use of ICT, with each economy adopting specialised roles to draw on collective opportunities that will far exceed those available in isolation. Pakistan (represented by P@SHA) is one of the 23 economies who are members of ASOCIO.

Collaboration can play a key role, helping countries in the region build on collective strengths and overcome shortcomings, to grow faster than they would expect to grow in isolation.

The Vision 2020 report identifies the specific challenges that each of the member economies must address in order to realise the benefits on offer.

Popularity: 60% [?]

The Pakistan contingent at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) 2009 in Melbourne did the industry and the country proud by presenting ICT solutions of the highest standard yet again this year. They were able to benchmark their products against 158 other products from around the Asia Pacific region. As Stephen Lau, the outgoing Chairman of APICTA, said in his speech at the Awards dinner “All 158 entries were winners because they were recognized by their countries as being the best of the best, and were therefore showcased as the most innovative solutions from the region.”

P@SHA entries have consistently outdone themselves in previous years but this year was different because the two products that stood out were in categories that have not traditionally been our strengths.

For the first time ever we took with us a Secondary School Student entry “MediConnect” and a 3D Cricket Game “Cricket Revolution” - a product of Mindstorm Studios.

Zayd Enam of MediConnect is only 17 years old. He vowed us all at the P@SHA Tech Crunch Gong Awards and the P@SHA ICT Awards in October this year. And in Melbourne at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards 2009, he totally bowled over the judges in his category with his passion, his brilliant presentation and the idea behind MediConnect. It was therefore no surprise that he won the APICTA Award in the Secondary School Student category making the whole P@SHA contingent proud.

Although the CEO of Mindstorm Studios was unable to make it to Melbourne, Farhan Masood of Solotech who went there to pitch his own Security product, volunteered to make the Cricket Revolution pitch on his behalf in the Digital Media & Entertainment category. Cricket Revolution came out a close Runner up in this category and was given the Merit Award.

Yet again Pakistan proved that innovation continues to thrive in a young but growing ICT sector despite numerous challenges. The Pakistan ICT sector continues to benchmark itself against products from the region and does extremely well.

Judges from Pakistan at the event included Zafar Khan, CEO of Sofizar and Sultan Hamdani, COO of Maison Consulting. Participants received great mentoring and presentation advice from Jawwad Farid - CEO of Alchemy Technologies, Imran Zia - CEO of Vahzay & Immediate Past Chairman of P@SHA and Adnan Agboatwalla - CoFounder of PixSense.

For details & photos, check out:

http://jehanara.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/zayd-enam-dazzles-the-regional-ict-sector/

http://jehanara.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/cricket-revolution-picks-up-runner-up-award-at-apicta/

Popularity: 56% [?]

Karachi Stock Exchange Implements the Mixit FIX Interface Offering FIX Protocol Based Messaging and Connectivity to Local and Global Financial Institutions

By implementing the  Mixit FIX ^TM Interface, the KSE provides a global connectivity standard enabling real-time transactions in an electronic, transparent, and cost efficient manner. FIX based connectivity will also facilitate high-speed market access to the international liquidity flowing into KSE.

The KSE adopts the FIX (Financial Information Exchange) Protocol by implementing the Mixit FIX ^TM Interface. FIX is the industry-driven messaging standard that is changing the face of the global financial services sector. A significant portion of global liquidity is transacted over FIX based connectivity and the major stock exchanges and investment banks use FIX for electronic trading, as do the world’s largest mutual funds and money managers and thousands of smaller investment firms.

“The KSE has selected Mixit products for their robustness and maturity gained in the U.S. markets. This will standardize our offering enabling global reach hence providing mutual benefits to our members and their international trading partners,” said Adnan Afridi, MD, KSE.

“The Highly Available Mixit platforms include  Mixit FIX ^TM and Mixit iFIX ^TM (automated FIX testing/certification) and provide the infrastructure and tools required to maintain a resilient, continuously available production environment. Members of the KSE can significantly increase performance and accuracy,” says Abdullah Jan, Head of IT, KSE.

“We are pleased to be partnering with the KSE to deliver full FIX capabilities to their members and international partners,” says Yusuf Jan, Partner & EVP, Mixit Inc.

“Powered by Mixit’s advanced FIX based technology, the KSE will be able to attract local, regional and global liquidity. This technology will enable KSE members to seamlessly interact with their automated trading platform and offer Direct Market Access (DMA) capabilities to international trading partners,” says Walter V. Fitzgerald, President & CEO, Mixit Inc.

Popularity: 56% [?]

It was an amazing celebration of the innovation and growth of the Pakistan IT and IT Enabled Services industry. 550 people got together at the Karachi Sheraton Hotel to recognize winners in 20 different categories at the P@SHA ICT Awards. There was a vibrance, a sense of community and accomplishment and a resolve to move ahead together.

The Chairman of P@SHA Imran Zia was there as was the President Jehan Ara and most of the members of the Central Executive Committee. The sponsors and judges were there too as were a large number of people from the Corporate sector.

The winners of the P@SHA ICT Awards 2009 were:

Digital Media & Entertainment
Winner: Mindstorm Studios
Product: Cricket Revolution

Security Applications
Winner: Solo Smart Inc
Product: Solo Tech

Communications Applications
Winner: Computer Research Pvt Ltd
Product: Settle All

Runner Up: Confiz Solutions
Product: Simobo

E-Inclusion & E-Community
Winner: Next Generation Innovations
Product: Wannaknow

Runner Up: PakTranslations.com

E-Government Applications
Winner: Outreach Digital
Product: Cantonment Board Automation

Industrial Applications
Winner: Sofcom Pvt Ltd
Product: Spectrum TQMS

Runner Up – Inbox Business Technologies
Product: Customer Relationship Management

Research & Development
Winner: nexGIN RC
Product: Keystrokes & Behaviour based User ID
Runner Up: nexGIN RC
Product: Remote Patient Monitoring System

E-Logistics Applications
Winner: Lumensoft
Product: Candela RMS v.6

Service Innovation
Winner: Siemens Pakistan
Product: Value IT

Runner Up: The Readers Club

E-health Applications
Winner: iTack Solutions
Product: i-Care

Tools & Infrastructure
Winner: Palmchip
Product: G-Minutes

Operational Excellence
Winner: Ovex Technologies

Tourism & Hospitality Applications

Runner Up: eTeam
Product: Khaopeyo.com

Brand Development
Winner: Webiz – HamariWeb

Runner Up – TRG Tech

Best CIO – Public Sector
NADRA – Usman Mobin

Best CIO – Private Sector
Indus Hospital – Shakeel Akhter

Best IT Industry Support
Winner: CIPE Pakistan

Best IT Industry Promotion
Winner: CIO Pakistan

Student Tertiary Award/Sofizar Constellation Award
Winner: Junaid Ansari
University: NED University of Engineering & Technology
Product: PakistanMaps

Secondary School Category Award
Winner: Zayd Enam
School: Karachi Grammar School
Product: MediConnect

Popularity: 81% [?]