Sameerah Siddiqui, Marketing & PR Manager for Northern Europe & Pakistan at Teradata Corporation, has this to say at the launching ceremony of CIO Pakistan and the Technology Pioneer Awards:
What is the importance of supporting events such as the CIO Technology Pioneer Awards and why?
Teradata has always believed in the IT talent of Pakistan. We started the Teradata IT Excellence Awards in 1997 as a part of Pakistan’s Golden Jubilee, to recognize excellence in the field of information technology.
As the industry leader, Teradata believes that there is always room for every player to play its part. Awards are a novel concept of recognizing people in IT industry at a national level who have been instrumental in introducing, promoting and implementing IT in Pakistan. To see that there are forums other than IT Excellence awards that recognize IT professionals, it is only natural to see the industry leader supporting it.
What do you expect out of the CIO brand in Pakistan? What would be the impact of this launch in promoting local IT industries?
When a publication with such a strong reputation as CIO Magazine delivers information that is well researched – it adds to the credibility of the IT sector in the country. Apart from being one of the most read Business/IT publications, CIO Magazine is seen as an information tool to decision makers all over the globe. With its inauguration in Pakistan, international organizations will now have access to viable information on Pakistan which will certainly help us promoting our IT talent abroad.
Looking at it from the media industry perspective, we feel that CIO will play an instrumental role in acquainting the local media professionals with international expertise. The publication brings immense capacity building opportunity for IT journalists in Pakistan.
CIO is being launched to promote the local market to a global audience. What role do you think that private sector companies should play in this promotion?
Pakistan is one of the choicest destinations for outsourcing and off shoring IT operations. With some existing markets becoming saturated and less economically viable – this is a great time for Pakistan to take the lead. Teradata recognized Pakistan’s IT potential in 2003 when we established a center of expertise where we sent our professional services consultants for projects in Europe and the Middle East. Expanding on this concept, the Teradata Global Consulting Center was established in 2004 and currently we have over 300 consultants on over 70 projects worldwide. Unless we take active measure to promote ourselves through established publications like CIO Magazine, Pakistan’s talent will never achieve the full recognition it so rightly deserves.
In order to improve project management techniques, companies should take active measure to attain international certifications. Teradata was the first CMM Level 5 company in Pakistan and we are currently assessed at CMMI Level III. In addition to this we have the largest concentration of PMP (Project Management Professionals) in the country and the largest concentration of Teradata Masters (an internal certification) in EMEA.
Where do you see the local sector in next few years?
Its actually very exciting times for Pakistan especially in the IT sector. With tough competition both internally as well as internationally, companies will need the power of business intelligence and analytics to make better informed decisions. All organizations will have to become more streamlined. We already see some of our customers adopt techniques that are just being introduced in the West in terms of their data warehouse usage. Now is the time for innovation.
Where do you see CIO Pakistan in the next few years?
Working in the IT industry, expecting anything less than sky as the limit is unprofessional. The possibilities are ever-increasing, the industry ever-evolving, the talent ever-grooming, and the market ever-growing. Given the right quality standard and timeliness to content, I see no reason why CIO will not make it to the pinnacle of IT journalism
Pakistan’s IT sector is increasingly progressing but the overall economy seems to be under a lot of strain. How do you think that IT sector can help to resolve this issue?
It all boils down to conserving resources and applying them to achieve quicker and better decisions. Companies will be forced to allocate their resources in a manner which gives them optimum results with the minimal effort. This is Teradata’s forte. With our Data Warehousing solutions, companies can make faster decisions based on facts rather than instincts. With information available on their fingertips they will be able to steer the organization through any strain.
Looking at a macro level, it is not about an investment or technology deficit which drains an economy. It is, the trust deficit which leads to economic strain. With Teradata as the industry leader, IT as the futurist industry, and the country with immense talent, it is only a matter of our own conviction and the economy will be thriving once again.
