Standardization of IT Industry Making Pakistan a Hub for Global IT Outsourcing



Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) under the auspices of the Ministry of Information Technology has achieved the target of 100 ISO-certified IT companies and 4 CMMI-rated companies in Pakistan. According to a press release issued by the PSEB, this milestone was reached under the PSEB program, 's8220;Standardization of Pakistani IT industry's8221;, which was launched in 2003 with a budget of over Rs. 200m.

The main aim of the program is to assist 100 companies in achieving ISO certification, 20 companies in achieving CMMI level 2 or above ratings, and 5 call centers in achieving COPC certification. CMMI is the framework for process maturity developed by Carnegie Melon University. It is divided into 5 levels with 5 being the highest while COPC caters for the process maturity in Call Centers. In this program, PSEB bears 80% cost of the consultancy, and audits on behalf of every company and provide technical support to the companies through world's8217;s top consultancy and audit companies. This practice has greatly improved the quality of products being developed by these companies in general, and the capacity of individuals implementing SDLC-related processes with greater maturity in particular.

About 350 new mid-management-level job opportunities have also been created within the IT industry because of this program, to primarily caters to process control-related activities.

As a result of this program, the cost of achieving ISO certification for a software company has reduced to almost 20% of the cost at the start of program due to an abundance of trained human resources available in Pakistan, and local market competition. PSEB is currently in the process of training 10 individuals from the academia and various consultancy companies as SCAMPI Appraisers (CMMI auditors). In this regard, two Pakistanis have managed to reach the third level of the training so far, which is the highest level; with one topping his batch at the second level in the USA, and the other topping his batch in Germany, and also breaking the SEI record for the second level. The cost of achieving any level of CMMI is also expected to reduce to 20% of the original cost after the training of these individuals is completed.

PSEB is currently in the process of assisting the remaining companies in implementing CMMI and COPC. The board has also decided recently to enhance the credibility of Pakistani companies pertaining information security. This objective will be achieved through BS7799, which is the de facto standard for information security worldwide. The necessary approvals have already been obtained in this regard.

Pakistan will emerge as a destination of choice for global IT outsourcing due to the credibility of these companies after this program, resulting in a greater influx of business, and the creation of new job opportunities for young IT graduates in Pakistan.





Standardization of IT Industry Making Pakistan a Hub for Global IT Outsourcing