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% [?]

It was a great moment for Pakistan at APICTA 2008 in Jakarta when PixSense, TPS and Kraysis won 3 Awards in the Media & Entertainment Category, in the Tools & Infrastructure Tools Category and in the Best Startup Category at a gala dinner event attended by the Vice President of Indonesia and the Director of Information technology.

PixSense PSP won the Award for Best in Media and Entertainment Applications and co-Founder Adnan Agboatwalla was present to accept the Award on behalf of PixSense.

TPS Pvt Limited’s IRIS won the Award for Best in Tools & Infrastructure Applications. It’s impressive diverse application wowed the judges and Shahzad Shahid was there to claim the trophy.

Kraysis knew there was competition and had worked 25 hours at a stretch to revamp their presentation and put in all the missing meat and trim off all the fat. They were chosen as the Best in the Startup Category.

There were 134 applications submitted at APICTA this year in 16 categories. These were from 11 different economies. Team Pakistan showed once again that ICT products developed in Pakistan are second to none.

Popularity: 38% [?]

Innovation highlighted at the P@SHA ICT Awards event
http://www.nuvica.pk/ictawards2008

Photos can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=612830758&ref=name#/photo_search.php?oid=5099196357&view=all

Popularity: 45% [?]

P@SHA Annual ICT Awards 2008

on October 31, 2008

Karachi Marriott Hotel, 8 pm

Now in its 4th year, the P@SHA ICT Annual Awards recognize and celebrate innovation in the Pakistan ICT industry.  This event has become a flagship event on P@SHA’s calendar. Last year two of the winners of the P@SHA ICT Awards went on to win Awards in two categories at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards event in Singapore.

Visit the Awards website for more details.

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsor

Dinner Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

Supporting Media Organisation

Popularity: 56% [?]

Secure Auditor extolled by Reviewers as ‘intuitive and offering a great amount of flexibility and auditing capabilities for a broad range of different assets and good value for the money.’ Chicago, IL. — August 8, 2008—Secure Bytes Inc., a Chicago based startup and vendor of Integrated security solutions For Auditing, Vulnerability Assessment, Penetration Testing and Unified Digital Risk Assessment, announced today that its flagship software suite Secure Auditor earns highest 5 star rating possible, in overall rating category of a Comparative Review published in SC Magazine’s August 2008 edition. Secure Auditor receives 5 out of 5 stars in Features, Performance, and Documentation, categories evaluation. It has received assessors praise in the product’s published review as “A suite comprised of several different pieces designed to audit vulnerabilities across a broad range of systems. Because of this thorough analysis of a range of systems, administrators can be sure that all the various components across the networks are secure and up to date.” The review continues, highlighting other areas in which the Secure Auditor excels:Flexibility & Performance: “This product can scan many different platforms, and we found this flexibility to add greatly to the performance value of the product” Intuitive to Use: “We found this product to be quite intuitive to install and use. Installation takes just a few minutes and is guided by an easy-to-follow setup wizard.” Management & User Interface: “Management is done through a well organized user interface, which is also quite intuitive to navigate.” Reviewers concluded the Secure Auditor assessment with the Verdict as “Versatile tool.” Summing it up as a tool that “offers a great amount of flexibility and auditing capabilities for a broad range of different assets. We find this offering to be a good value for the money.” Secure Bytes appreciates SC Magazine’s product review team for considering Secure Auditor in their recent group test for vulnerability assessment. It is a great recognition for Secure Auditor within a few months of its launch, from a trusted industry leader like SC Magazine to validate Secure Auditor’s performance and features. http://www.scmagazineus.com/Secure-Auditor-20/Review/2526/ About Secure Auditor: Secure Auditor explores the weakest link in enterprise security through in depth security assessment of CISCO Routers, Databases and Windows systems. It provides a single console from where an organization can cater, its security concerns and resolve Information Security issues proactively. It is an automated tool that provides one console for; Auditing, Vulnerability Assessment, Compliance, Password Auditing, Access Control, Configuration Management, Forensics, Enumeration, Asset Identification, and Windows Software and System Inventory. About SC Magazine: SC Magazine is one of the most prestigious information security magazines globally. It provides timely, comprehensive and in depth analyses of latest security updates. SC magazine provides a most extensive collection of product reviews with consolidated and unbiased views of industry thought leaders. It facilitates IT buyer’s decision making process to adopt the right technology for security measures in their organizations. SC Magazine Awards, SC Directory, SC Magazine Newswire and SC Magazine IT Security Executives Forums are different brands of the group. About Secure Bytes: Secure Bytes prime concern is to provide comprehensive, integrated, productive and result oriented security solutions to its clientele and minimize their security risk. We identify security risks, prioritize them according to their severity and suggest methods of mitigation. Our human asset is our biggest strength. We are team players because we believe that TEAM means “together everyone achieves more”. Secure Bytes is committed to quality, productivity and technology. We commit highest return on investment. At Secure Bytes, “We value knowledge, reward achievement, sell satisfaction and earn trust.” For more information please visit http://www.secure-bytes.com

Popularity: 85% [?]

It is that exciting time again - another SI session on the calendar - this time in Rawalpindi on August 2 - at the PC Marquee Hall from 3 pm - 5 pm.

Activities will begin in the Marquee Hall much earlier at 9 am with the P@SHA Career Expo, workshops, counseling activities and SIGs running all day long.

The theme for the SI session will be “Transitioning from employee to entrepreuneur”. The panel will consist of the following:

Atif Mumtaz, co-Founder, Cogilent Solutions
Faizan Buzdar, CEO, Scrybe
Adnan Shaukat, CEO, Classic Entertainment Internet Radio
Faisal Butt, Founder, Tribal Monsoon, “Enabling Artisans through Technology”
Jehan Ara, President, P@SHA

We are trying to rope in a few others including Imran Zia, the current Chairman of P@SHA. Good opportunity for aspiring and new entrepreneurs to learn from the experience of the panel and to pose any questions that they may have. These sessions, as usual, will be audience driven. See you there!

Popularity: 91% [?]

NetSol Technologies Rings the NASDAQ Closing Bell on June 24 A live Webcast of the NASDAQ Closing Bell ceremony will be available today at 3:50 pm Eastern Time on the MarketSite section of NASDAQ’s homepage at http://www.nasdaq.com/about/marketsitetowervideo.asx

Popularity: 62% [?]

P@SHA commisioned a study in the last quarter of 2007 which would serve as a State of the Industry Report for the Pakistan IT & ITES sector. The Consultants for this study, which was carried out over a 4 month period, were Technomics International - a UK based consulting firm.

After a comprehensive survey and detailed one-to-one face to face interviews as well as telephonic interviews, the results have been compiled in an Annual Review which is currently being printed. The Executive Summary of this report is being launched on the website today and is freely downloadable.

This report shows where the industry is positioned today and where it is expected to be by 2011.

The sponsors of this Study are:

Alchemy Technologies

Mixit Technologies

Systems Limited

and the print sponsor is the Center for International Private Enterprise.

The Executive Summary of this Annual Review 2007 is available at:

P@SHA Annual Review 2007

Popularity: 100% [?]

Orgoo is amongst 4 startups that is changing the face of email. According to Chris Morrison of Venture Beat, in ten years, an internet eternity, web-based email has only made token improvements, moving from Hotmail to Gmail. Meanwhile, instant messaging and social networks have rapidly developed. Fuser and Orgoo both centralize communication, whether from email, instant messaging, a social network or even mobile SMS and video, in one simple interface.

While each is different, says Morrison, they recognize the same disease, and offer the same cures. Sean Rad, co-founder of Orgoo, says that the aim is to first aggregate all communication; next, integrate the separate streams into a single work flow; and finally, organize, to increase the efficiency and usefulness of email.

Orgoo aggregates communication, but with an interface that more closely resembles traditional email. And while it can access any type of email account, Orgoo adds in instant messaging accounts rather than social networks, and also has a video chat option.

Popularity: 65% [?]

InfoTech, a leading System Integrator from Pakistan, announced commencement of work on a landmark project of “Automation of Ghana Stock Exchange” on a turnkey basis.

Valued over US$ 3.0M ($1.88M for the main systems, infrastructure and training, along with supplementary systems and support) the agreement was signed in Accra (Ghana) late November 2007, whereas the project details were revealed by the Minister of Finance, Government of Ghana, in a ceremony held in Accra on 10th of January 2008, to
mark the commencement of work.

Graced by Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, the event was also chaired by
Mr., Frank Adu Jr. (Chairman of Ghana Stock Exchange & President of CAL Bank), together with Mr. Kofi Yamoah
(Managing Director of GSE), Mr. Ekow Efedzi (General Manager of GSE, and the Project Manager) and Mr. Naseer
A. Akhtar (President & CEO InfoTech-Pakistan). Others present at the occasion was Mr. S Agarwal (MD InfoTech,
Singapore) Mr. Amir Raza Khan (CTO Lahore Stock Exchange) and Dr. Salman Iqbal (CEO Softech Systems,
Pakistan). Event was largely attended by leading Investment and Brokerage firms in Ghana, and covered by all major
TV channels, Newspapers and Radio channels of Ghana.

Funded by World Bank, under the economic capacity building program for Ghana, the project is expected to bring the Exchange’s activities closer to international standards and put Ghana in a stronger position to compete as an investment destination, improve liquidity and surveillance of trading related activities as well as reduced risks associated with the market, including loss of certificates and impersonation among others. The project involves automation of Trading, Clearing, Settlement and Depository Systems, together with Infrastructure, Training and Support on a “turnkey” basis. Once in production, the system will not only considerably enhance volumes of securities
currently being traded (manually) but also improve market liquidity through new listings and public investments.

Award of the project happened as a result of an International Competitive Bidding Process which started in May 2007. While competing with OMX, Tata Consulting Services (India) and Millenium IT (Sri Lanka), InfoTech Pakistan’s roposal stood as the best.

Winning and successfully delivering this project will not only add a significant pride to Pakistani IT industry, but also set example and standards of collaboration within the industry. Solution is based on Trading System developed and run by Lahore Stock Exchange and the two nationwide systems, Clearing & Settlement and Depository systems while supporting infrastructure and technology components from IBM, Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft and CA.

Testimonials:

“Contract with InfoTech is finalized as a result of International Competitive Bidding process, involving a detailed due diligence. Features and functionality of the systems demonstrated by InfoTech is found to be the best to suit our needs. We expect InfoTech to prove their capabilities by delivering this project successfully and well within agreed time frame.”

Frank Adu jr.
Chairman, Ghana Stock Exchange

While succeeding to win this contract on technical and financial merits, InfoTech brings along a wealth of Institutional Knowledge and support to help GSE to build upon our experience and success of the Pakistani Capital Market. We shall go for extra miles in making this project a success and eventually showcasing it for the rest of African region. This will not only help Ghana to improve trading volumes and liquidity, but also open further opportunities for InfoTech.”

Naseer A. Akhtar
President & CEO, InfoTech (Pvt) Ltd.

Related links:
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=137360
http://www.ghana.gov.gh/ghana/finance_minister_advices_journalists.jsp
http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/200801/12315.asp
http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/NewsArchive/news_details.asp?menu_id=1&id=VFZSVmVrMUVVVEU9

Contacts:
Nadeem Malik , VP Strategic Business Development +92-42-111427427, +92-3008451427, nadeem.malik@infotech.com.pk
S. Agarwal, MD InfoTech Global-Singapore, +65-6276 2301, +65 9666 1106, agarwal@infotech.com.pk

Popularity: 80% [?]