The five-day SOFTEXPO-2010 will be kicked off on Feb 10 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city. Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), the lone organization to promote the country’s booming software industry, is organizing the biggest software exposition with the theme of “Digital Bangladesh in Action”.
BASIS is expecting more than 200 exhibitors from home and abroad to participate at this mega exposition. The targeted exhibitors include multinational software vendors and ICT companies, international ICT associations, local software development companies, successful ICT projects initiated by multinational and local companies, govt. departments and agencies implementing e-Governance projects, ICT training institutes and universities among others. The number of projected visitors in BASIS SoftExpo 2010 is expected to be around 200,000 which will include CEO/MD/ CTO/CIOs from the corporate world, government decision makers, academia, business leaders, print and electronic media personnel, ICT professionals, ICT users from all over the country and abroad, students and citizens from cross sections of the society. Apart from showcasing of products and services by the exhibitors, a series of workshops and seminars will also be organized during the expo on various issues

BASIS SoftExpo- the annual mega exposition of the country’s software and Information Technology, is poised to become a major IT event of the South Asian region within a few years, organizers of the event said Saturday.

“The yearly expo has expanded its range and capacity over the decade and now attracting a number of participants from abroad regularly”, President of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) Habibullah N Karim said at a press conference in the city.

“Although, the main focus of this software exposition is the promotion of our homegrown companies to the local market, our aim is to turn it into a major regional IT event after hosting two or three more such occasions”, he added.

The remark came days before the upcoming BASIS SoftExpo 2010 which would take place in the city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Center from the next Wednesday (February 10).

.Speaking on the occasion, MA Mubin said they have given special emphasis on ‘Vision-2021′ aimed at supplementing the government’s efforts of turning Bangladesh into a digital country within the stipulated time.

Over 200 local and international companies with around five lakh visitors are expected to participate in the SOFTEXPO, he said adding that the event will create a wide scope for interaction among software providers, buyers, IT users, professionals, media, policy makers, development partners, students and the society people.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith is expected to inaugurate the event, the BASIS authority said, while Commerce Minister Faruk Khan and State Minister for Science and ICT Yeafesh Osman would also be present at the opening ceremony.

Highlighting the growth potential of software and ITES in Bangladesh, Habibullah Karim said, “The market size of the country’s software industry which is currently Tk. 10 billion is set to grow to almost Tk. 50 billion within the next three to four years”.

“At the same time, the export from software and ITES which is presently amounted to US$ 33 million, could reach US$ 500 million within five years”, he added.

This year’s SoftExpo would have special focus on attracting top level executives like chief executive officers, chief financial officers and chief technical officers from various local and multinational companies, the organizers said. The theme of the expo for this year is “Digital Bangladesh in Action”.

“IT and telecommunication industry is quintessentially integrated with each other as the mobile handsets have to use a range of software for their value added services and other applications”, said Mamun Hashmee, Additional General Manager of Grameenphone, platinum sponsor of the event.

“The market for cell phones’ value added services in Bangladesh currently amounts to Tk. 500 million, most of which is shared by the local software companies and it is poised to grow into Tk. 3 billion within five years”, he added.

M Rezaul Hasan, Chief Executive Officer of Reve System, the gold sponsor of the event and Mubin Khan, Director of BASIS also spoke on the occasion.

The price of the entry ticket for this year’s expo is Tk. 20.00. However, students will be able to enter the fair venue free of cost from 10 am to 5 pm and tickets can also be bought through mobile SMS from any Grameenphone number.

Search Software

  http://www.softexpo.com.bd/online_exhibition.php

Source Bangladesh’s software industry marked an impressive 33 percent growth in export in the last fiscal year (2008-09) that ended in June this year, as many western and European firms shifted focus on the South Asian country for low-cost IT services, sector insiders said Sunday.
They said a healthy chunk of 32.91 million U.S. dollars export earnings of the industry in the last fiscal year (July 2008- June 2009) came from computer software developmental services.

President of Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services (BASIS), Habibullah N Karim, told reporters at a press conference Sunday that the country has already become a large ground of potential human resources with bright aptitude, quality and natural ability in software development.

The BASIS, national trade association of software & IT services companies of Bangladesh, organized the press conference to announce its annual event, “Soft Expo”, which aims at bringing together multinational and local software vendors and information communication technology companies.

The 5-day exposition of the BASIS, which is to begin from Feb.

10 next year, will feature an IT job fair, seminars and match making sessions between local and foreign companies’ delegations.

BASIS director MA Mubin Khan, who also spoke on the press conference, said the theme for the BASIS Soft Expo 2010, the eighth of its kind, is “Digital Bangladesh in Action”.

The organizers expect that about half a million visitors and over 200 exhibitors from home and abroad to throng the exposition.

They said the country’s software export has achieved hefty growth, as more than 400 software and IT companies are exporting their services to around 30 countries in the world, which includes the U.K., the U.S.A, Denmark and Japan.

According to the BASIS, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Commerce has set an export target of 38 million U.S. dollars for the current fiscal year 2009-10 (July 2009-June 2010).

“Bangladesh’s software industry will become a 500 million U.S.

dollars export earning sector by 2013-2014 fiscal year (July 2013- June 2014) if the current trend of robust growth continues,” the BASIS president Karim had earlier told Xinhua.

He said Bangladesh’s approximately 20 billion taka (about 285.

71 million U.S. dollars) software industry currently employs nearly 20,000 skilled and semi-skilled professionals.

Following global companies’ interest about Bangladesh’s software industry, the sector insiders said many local and foreign IT firms are investing for developing high-quality software taking advantage of low-cost work force here.

But they said poor investment is still hindering the desired growth of the sector, which is the second largest avenue of graduate employment in the country.

“We’ll welcome more foreign investment in the sector,” the BASIS president said.

Among the hundreds of export-focused companies, according to BASIS, at least 30 companies have been set up either as joint venture or as ODC (Offshore Development Center) with hundred percent foreign investment in the country in recent years.

Pakistan and Bangladesh new collabration for Software services :

Pakistani IT firms are likely to avail all possible opportunities to work with Bangladesh’s financial and public sectors seeking rapid automation of their multiple systems, President Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA), Jehan Ara said. The country IT software houses see Bangladesh as a lucrative and long-lasting market for rendering its various programming, application and consulting services in the years to come. In this regard, PASHA has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh Software and Information Services (BASIS) recently for the trade of IT related services in various fields. Some companies like TPS Pakistan, NADRA, Acrologix and others have already been engaged in providing services to various Bangladeshi private and public sector firms, it is learnt. The MoU and visits, seminars and networking opportunities will add impetus to the growing relationship between the industries of both countries, she said. source : www.dailytimes.com  

The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) along with other stakeholders is finding ways to boost software exports.

A meeting on Thursday about “fact-finding and strategy to boost the IT sector in Pakistan” organised by the Services Export Development Cell (SEDC), a newly formed division at TDAP observed that IT had tremendous scope globally for which joint efforts between the public and the private sector should be made to eliminate the gaps.

Pakistan Software Export Board Managing Director Talib Baloch said, “Pakistan can take its due market share only after eliminating the core obstacles which include lack of a proper legal and logistic framework, security issues, financing to the local companies and means to develop and retain quality human resource”.

He said the academia should be in line with the requirement and expertise needed by IT industry. In order to achieve the export target of $6 billion by 2013, he said, the country must produce half a million trained IT graduates for which curriculum development, teachers training and student orientation to the new concepts of IT is of crucial importance.

Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA) President Jehan Ara, said the IT companies suffered due to the global economic crunch. She expressed the need for a National Policy to drive IT at this point in time, to get rid of the hurdles.

Source : www.thenews.com.pk

Bangladesh is blooming the prospect to the steps to developed contry, having lots of limitation Bangladesh is naturally growing ,i say its GOD Gift. there is a proverb ” RAKey ALLAH MAREY Ke?” Limitations are boundless ,loke natural disaster,political unstability,Illierate population. Other hand propspect also boundless. ICT sector of bangladesh also showing possibility to contribute as a key sector for developed Bangladesh

Source New Nation :THE Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services is aspirant of acquiring one per cent of the $300-billion international information technology market in next five years as reported by national media. The association chief has suggested that the country should acquire ‘at least one per cent’ of the global IT market within the next five years. The BASIS standing committee is optimistic of ‘bright prospect’ of the IT sector following its rapid growth and development in the recent years and expects concerted efforts for its further expansion. More and more youths are coming to the field to acquire the latest technical knowledge and education for building their career.

To promote the sector, the BASIS last month arranged a five-day exhibition in the city demonstrating the achievement made in the IT sector. More than 90 companies from USA, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Singapore participated in it. The first such fair was held in 2002. The exhibition is designed to create awareness among people on information technology from which they can be immensely benefited by working at home even alone with the help of a computer and Internet.

Bangladesh has been connected with submarine cable network and the joining in 2005 at an estimated cost of around Tk.700 crore provides an invaluable back-up to the information superhighway link established. The then government and the BTTB both deserve praise for taking the initiative very rightly in consideration of the country’s expanding IT network as well as for catering to the ever-increasing need of internet service providers. We are already far behind in availing all these latest facilities of the most modern and sophisticated technology that can help achieve faster growth and speed in achieving development and progress for a nation.