Vol.

3 Issue 4 July 2007

A newsletter of the Bangladesh Software and IT Services Industry

The CRISIS for Software Professionals in Bangladesh

Why an article about it?
Bangladesh is a country of almost 150 million people. Yet we
“cry” for “people”. Our software development industry is indeed
in a crisis for competent software professionals, or even proper
Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) graduates. You may
have seen many articles, papers, seminars, symposiums,
training sessions on Software Professional issues. Why yet-
another-write-up on this?

First, the crisis is not over yet. So the talks and discussions will
continue. Second, we hope to bring some new lights here (or
old lights with new shades ). Third, BASIS Newsletter Editorial
board planned this article long before.

I acknowledge the inclusion of many facts, thoughts, and ideas

from many sources in this article. Most of the good things in this
article are, thus not my contribution. But for the weak and less
thoughtful areas, I take all the blames.
Why this catch-22?
The software companies in Bangladesh are currently in need of
significant number of software professionals. We need
competent people in almost all roles & levels: Program
Manager, Product Manager, Project Manager, Technical Lead,
Quality Assurance Manager, Configuration Controller and
Release Manager, System Analyst, Software Designer /
Architect, Senior Software Engineer, Quality Assurance
Engineer, Technical Writer, Web Developer, Web Designer,
Search Engine Expert, Tester, Software Engineer, etc.
This increasing demand is mainly due to the business growth
Inside this issue
Class room at a local private university
led by some recent outsourcing jobs to our country from
abroad. The gap between demand and supply is also
increasing by the mass exodus of competent software
professionals from our local software industry to abroad for
better jobs or higher education. There are also cases of people
moving out from our software industry into other industries. The
demand of software professionals is expected to grow by at
least 50% every year in the next few years.
Despite this high demand, a large number of CSE graduates
are still unemployed. In most of the cases, these graduates are
found 'not employable' after selection process. Quite frankly,
these unfortunate graduates seriously lack the very basic
knowledge of problem solving, English language,
communication, programming and software engineering.
Almost all of these graduates are from the Private Universities
in Bangladesh and India. So they remain unemployed having a
CSE or relevant degree, even though we have serious shortage
for fresh competent graduates. This is a sad situation for both
the parties: we are looking for people, and they are looking for
jobs; yet we can not offer jobs to them!

Mostly after the world-wide economic crisis along with the

dotcom crash, and the 9/11 disaster; our over-hyped young
CSE & IT students and their parents / families got serious blows
Continued on page 2
 Editorial Board
Sarwar Alam, Chairman
T.I.M. Nurul Kabir, Editor
Ahmed Hasan
A.K.M. Fahim Mashroor
M. Shoeb Chowdhury
A. Towhid
Habibullah N Karim
Forkan Bin Quasem
Fokhruz Zaman
Rashed Kamal
M. Manzurur Rahman
From Editor’s Desk
T he software companies in Bangladesh are currently in need of
significant number of software professionals. We need
competent people in almost all roles and levels: from Software
Engineer to Project Manager. This increasing demand is mainly
due to the business growth led by some recent outsourcing jobs to
our country from abroad. The gap between demand and supply is
also increasing by the mass exodus of competent software
professionals from our local software industry to abroad for better
jobs or higher education. Despite this high demand, a large number
of CSE graduates are still unemployed. In most of the cases, these
graduates are found 'not employable' after selection process. Quite
frankly, these unfortunate graduates seriously lack the very basic
knowledge of problem solving, English language, communication,
programming and software engineering. This negative Software
HR trend should not continue. We must address the non-suitability
of the CSE graduates for the job-market first. BASIS has to provide
necessary leadership to resolve this crisis for software
professionals in our industry. These important factors are
addressed in the current issue of BASIS News & Views.
Whenever we think of using Bangla in computers the name that
immediately springs to our mind is Mustafa Jabbar. The present
ICT scenario of Bangladesh is the consequence of the contribution
of some of the pioneers who thought of the future and worked
towards making a difference. Mustafa Jabbar is one such
individual. His company, 'Ananda Computers' and the name
'Mustafa Jabbar' has become synonymous in this field. His
contribution has helped to establish the use of Bangla font, Bangla
keyboard and software and as a result IT has reached all walks of
our society. The focus of Ananda Computers has been broadly on
language and education. It has already been a trendsetter in the
initiation and implementation of Bangla and different languages in
computers. Even now under the dynamic leadership of Mustafa
Jabbar the company aims to change the education system of our
country to enable it to face the challenges of the 21st century. In this
issue we are publishing a profile of Ananda Computers Ltd.
Bangladesh Japan Information technology (BJIT) Ltd. is the first
joint venture ICT Company in Bangladesh. BJIT started its journey
in July of 2001. With the dedication and enthusiasm of a few Non
Resident Bangladeshis and Japanese entrepreneurs, and with the
help of the board of investment (BOI), this new and exciting venture
started off. The objectives behind setting up this company include
creating an efficient manpower in the ICT sector through training
and developing software that caters to the needs of the local as
well as foreign companies. In a short period BJIT has earned a
reputation for running a successful joint venture in the IT sector.
We are pleased to highlight the success story of BJIT in this issue
of BASIS News & Views.
T. I. M. Nurul Kabir
Editor, BASIS News & Views
2 BASIS News & Views
Continued from page 1
in their dreams. (We, entrepreneurs, got many serious blows
too). Although the world economy (especially the US) has been
recovering from those downturns and Software / IT is picking up
again, but our major Software HR suppliers (the parents and
family) are still not very aware of it. They still observe the
numbers of the unemployed CSE graduates in the local market
and discourage their children to take up CSE or related
Software disciplines in the universities. Also the recent boom in
the local Mobile Telecom sector encouraged most CSE
students to switch to the Telecom sector. Today in Bangladesh,
CSE or software related discipline is no more the top choice for
most bright young minds. Market is a great driver for talents.
So, the number of student intakes in the CSE and related
software disciplines has decreased drastically during recent
times. Sadly, many private universities practically closed down
their CSE departments. These private universities are also
driven by market demands. Most of the private universities are
not producing really educated people but merely holders of
graduation certificates as the main focus of these institutions is
almost entirely on profiteering not on quality of education or
their infrastructure.
How can we start solving it together?
We must bring back (or create anew, if it never existed) the
confidence of students and their families in our Software
Industry. And we must work together (the Academia, the
Industry, and the Government) to come out of the crisis. We can
not let this current negative Software HR trend to continue. If
this sad trend continues in the CSE and related software
disciplines, our Industry will continue to face reduced supply of
quality software graduates. We must address the non-
suitability of the CSE graduates for the job-market first. Our
solution to this will boost confidence in our HR suppliers, i.e. the
parents and families of the CSE graduates and students.
We, the Industry, can start developing a qualifications grid, a
salary range, and a list of required skill sets for distribution
among academic institutions. This would minimize the level of
mutual incomprehension and frustration. Currently, CSE or
related discipline graduates expect high salaries, or to be hired
quickly, whereas we, the Industry, perceive that the quality and
skills of these graduates do not meet our needs. The required
skill sets and qualifications grid would enable students and
graduates to better manage expectations, while providing
academia with an up-to-date list of required skill sets with which
to adjust its curriculum. Besides, we will also benefit in tailoring
our hiring pool to suit our specific needs and acquiring
adequately skilled graduates as employees. Ideally, this could
lead to more standardized curricula among all institutions and
more collaboration between them.
There should be a centralized & coordinated process to
test/assess the skills set of a fresh graduate. The graduates,
after their graduation, must have a chance to enhance their
skills, and thus reduce the gaps between Industry expectations
and their actual levels. To make the institutional approach for
assessment and skills enhancement program, a Professional
Skills Development Council (PSDC) can be established.
The PSDC initiative should be taken as a joint effort of industry
and academia. The salient features of this PSDC are:
 Academia will lead the program design and delivery.
 Best teaching resources in respective disciplines will
be assembled from different Universities to form the
common pool of resources.
 Industry will involve their professional expertise in
designing the program.
 Industry will also help in program delivery in terms of
internship, mentorship, project works, workshops,
etc.
Immediate Goals of the PSDC:
 To assess the skills of the fresh graduates in order to
identify the skills gaps of a graduate as a potential
software engineer for the job market.
 To run programs to enhance the skills of the
professionally-poor graduates.
Mid-to-Long Term Goals of the PSDC:
 To provide feedback to the Universities/Colleges
regarding the weakness of their graduates.
 To run program to enhance the skills of the CSE
teachers engaged in different Universities/Colleges.
 To provide the necessary support for strengthening
the CSE education at the University/College level.
The good news is, very recently our Academia and Industry are
coming closer to each other in Bangladesh. Better late than
never; the “good-side” of this Software HR crisis (No wonder, all
calamities in our Bangladesh unify us ). Hopefully we will be
able to jerk-off our past conflicting-egos, and work together
professionally with mutual trust, respect, and enthusiasm.
All our favorite FM channel is: WIIFM, i.e. What's In It For Me?
For the Industry: the number of employable graduates will go
up; the cost of recruitment will go down. The skills of existing
employees will be refreshed and this will lead to higher
productivity; salaries will be benchmarked. For the Academia:
employability of graduates will go up; as a result, the enrollment
of CSE programs will go up. In the mid and long term, the
curriculum and training methods will be aligned according to
industry needs; the quality of education will be benchmarked.
Upon analysis of a 2006 survey results, JOBS/IRIS
Bangladesh (sponsored by UNDP) made the following
recommendations:
Joint Recommendations:
 Formalize the Linkage between the Private Sector
and Academia
 Develop a platform to facilitate linkage
 Provide a graduate tracking mechanism.
 Establish a job cell.
 Intensify career services counseling with private-
sector involvement.
 Collaborate to ensure relevance of academic
curriculum and capacity-building of students and
faculty.
 Promote ongoing input from private sector to conduct
ICT skills gap
 Assessment / needs analysis.
 Ensure a venue for private sector-academia
curriculum collaboration.
 Work together for academic faculty development.
 Encourage student initiative and interaction with the
private sector.
 Foster “soft skills.”
 Formalize partnership to identify strategic areas and
technology to support national ICT policy and
economic growth activity.
 Promote research and development.
Recommendations for Academia:
 Create an enabling environment for applicable ICT
education.
 Extend certified stand-alone curriculum to more
varied training institutions.
Recommendations for the Private Sector:
 Encourage corporate social responsibility.
 Raise awareness through advocacy.
 Advance leadership by the IT associations in
academic-private sector collaboration.
Interestingly, we almost always knew the possible solutions of
our crisis for software professionals in Bangladesh. But we
haven't started executing those industry-wide. Individual smart
companies are adopting many creative options to fight this
crisis. But those lone heroes won't be able to change industry-
wide lost HR confidence, unless they become the InfoSys or
Wipro of Bangladesh.
As an infant industry, we need all our combined and
coordinated efforts with the Academia to create an appropriate
and sustainable impression in the minds of our sought-after
(cried-after) Human Resources.
What Next?
If we go in hibernation until the next “show thing” happens, we
are not tackling this crisis seriously. Individual companies have
been trying their best to tackle the crisis for software
professionals. Quite often they even sacrifice their hard-earned
customer projects after long sales and marketing efforts, since
they don't have competent professionals at that time. Except
few bright examples, the mutual trust, respect and collaboration
between the software development companies in our industry
are not great at all.
Frankly, we are yet to become a really mature industry with top
performing business leaders, quality management, and
predictable growth in demand and supply in Human
Resources.
As a national organization, BASIS is in a position to provide the
executive leadership to resolve this crisis for software
professionals in our industry. Long term strategic planning is
very important. But we can not wait until that big thing happens
with some international experts researching our industry
thoroughly. We can take immediate “baby steps” to start
tackling this crisis. Software Professional Skills Development
Program can be an immediate starting point with our Industry,
Academia, and Government collaboration.
By Fokhruz Zaman
Co-Founder CTO, Millennium Information Solution Ltd
BASIS News & Views 3
CASE STUDY
Japan - Bangladesh Joint Venture
BJIT: A Success Story

B
angladesh Japan Information Technology (BJIT) Ltd. is
the first joint venture International ICT Company in
Bangladesh duly registered with the Board of
Investment (BOI) with Japan. Having offices in Dhaka and
Tokyo, BJIT has a Management team comprised from Finland,
Japan, India and Bangladesh. BJIT started its journey in July of
2001. With the dedication and enthusiasm of a few Non
Resident Bangladeshis, specially the company Chairman Mr.
JM Sawkat Akbar and Japanese entrepreneurs, this new and
exciting venture started off. Three objectives where behind the
formation of BJIT: to train up local people to create an efficient
manpower in the ICT sector, to develop software catering to the
needs of the local companies, as well as foreign companies and
to help in forming a good quality human resource in the ICT
sector who can be sent to Japan. Initially BJIT opened up a
school to train people in terms of language proficiency and
technical capabilities.

BJIT operates in four business areas: Software Development,

Software Testing, CAD/CAE and Technology Consulting. BJIT
is able to offer rates that are lower than its competitors in India
and China in setting up cost effective offshore teams, and here
lies the core competence of the company. At present there are
35 engineers working for BJIT in Japan and the number is
almost hundred in Bangladesh. BJIT boasts an impressive list
of clients from several countries; since 2001 BJIT is working
and performing with many world renowned companies, for
example, NOKIA, IBM, NTT Data, ACCESS Co. Ltd, JETRO in
Japan, Access GmbH in Germany, Metso in Finland, Fyntech
LLC in USA, Japan Embassy in Bangladesh and also for other
renowned international Companies in Japan, Hong Kong, USA,
Switzerland, Germany and Finland.
In 2002 BJIT sent seven software engineers in Japan to work
on-site. The quality of their hard work and efficiency created a
very positive image for Bangladesh. These engineers act as the
'bridge engineers' for BJIT in resolving the issues regarding the
language barrier. During a project, in Dhaka, a team of 7-10
personnel is set up along with a team manager who contacts
with the bridge engineer to finish the project with the highest
amount of efficiency. Although implemented in other counties,
the unique concept of 'bridge engineers' is new in our country; it
has made the completion of projects more efficient and
effective. The company plans to create 1000 software
engineers in Bangladesh and 200 bridge engineers in Japan
within a few years.
In 2002 BJIT made an exciting deal with 'Taito', world famous
Japanese Game Company, to develop four games for Nokia,
the world's number one cell phone maker. These four games
were Symbian-based mobile games for Nokia N-gage device.
Three of the games were developed in Dhaka and the other in
Japan. 'Previously BJIT did some work with the Japanese
firms but this exciting deal of making games for Nokia made the
company more prominent in the Japanese market', the chief
operating officer of the company, Ahmedul Islam, told BASIS. In
BJIT management Team
2004 BJIT opened its first office in Japan under its own name. It
may be mentioned that BJIT is a member company of Japan
Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JBCCI)
and BASIS.
In 2006 Mr. Timo Vanttinen, who has worked in a senior position
for Nokia, joined BJIT as the CEO. Mr. Vanttinen first came to
Bangladesh about four years ago to assess BJIT as a part of
Nokia Assessment Team. Although at that time the company
still had some way to go to reach today's standard, he found the
skill level and motivation of the employees and the engineers
very impressive. He finds the future of the ICT sector of our
country very promising. 'Bangladesh is going through the same
period which India had gone through 10-15 years ago', Mr.
Vanttinen told BASIS. He believes the smooth progress of this
sector will be aided if the issue of the high Internet cost, among
other things, can be resolved. The political instability, which
sometimes is a concern for the clients, can also be resolved for
the betterment of the sector. He is very optimistic about the
future of BJIT. In the not too distant future he hopes to see the
company enlisted in Japan having done its IPO with 1000
employees. 'It is not unrealistic and can be achieved if
everything goes according to plan', Mr. Vanttinen told BASIS.
Six months later, after Mr. Vanttinen's inclusion in the BJIT
team, Mr. Nobuhiro Hayashi, who has had working experience
as a top executive in IBM, joined the team of this fast improving
company. The inclusion of these two individuals is definitely an
achievement for a Bangladeshi company; their huge
experience will only benefit it. Now under their strong
leadership, the very talented and motivated employees of BJIT
are working hard to increase the goodwill of the company and
also of Bangladesh.

4 BASIS News & Views

Company Profile
Ananda Computers: Breaking the Boundary
The present ICT scenario of Bangladesh is the consequence of
the contribution of some of the pioneers who thought of the
future and worked towards making a difference. Mustafa
Jabbar is one such individual. His company, 'Ananda
Computers' and the name 'Mustafa Jabbar' has become
synonymous in this field. As the Chief Executive of this
company, he is working constantly to achieve new heights in
this sector.
Before Ananda Computers, apart from having several
businesses, Mr. Jabbar used to bring out a monthly magazine
called 'Nipun' in 1983. In 1987 he had the opportunity to publish
a weekly magazine by the name of 'Anandapatra'; his goal was
to publish a magazine in a cost efficient way using the latest
technology. On 16th May, 1987 the first issue of the magazine
was published using a personal computer. The modified font
(Mainul Lipi) that was used was originally created in Kolkata,
India, and brought to Bangladesh by a company called BESL.
He implemented a keyboard called 'Jabbar Keyboard' in it. At
the same time he started a company having the same name as
the magazine, which later became the 'Ananda Computers'. Mr.
Jabbar thought of this viable business because he envisioned a
prospect of creating and selling software and hardware utilizing
the benefits of using Bangla in the computers. At that time the
Company's focus was in desktop publishing; it gave total
solution by providing hardware, software and the much needed
training.
After the publication of 'Anandapatra' he was faced with some
complications. He discovered himself in a situation where he
had the machines but did not have the technology in terms of
Bangla fonts. To resolve the situation, in September of 1987,
the first Bangla font, Ananda, was released. The leading
national newspapers of that time such as Dainik Desh and
Dainik Azad, were among the first papers using this font. 'After
that the company did not have to look back', said Mr. Jabbar to
BASIS. From 1987 to 1993, in six years, all the major
newspapers and magazines were using this font.
The font that was created in 1987 had one problem in the fact
that 188 characters had to be used. To minimize the problem
and create a more user-friendly keyboard, on 16th December
1988, the famous Bijoy keyboard was released. It was like an
English language keyboard and it removed the
incomprehensible thought that by using only 55 key positions
Bangla could be typed. This keyboard was in Macintosh
platform; later in 1993 Bijoy was released in Windows format.
Mr. Jabbar continued the business of selling hardware and
software till 1997. After that he turned his full attention to the
more creative software sector. He started working with Bijoy to
adopt it to the changing operating systems and applications.
Simultaneously he started multimedia training in 30 different
multimedia schools around the country; Ananda Computers
provided them with the technical support. He also formed
schools for children where the multimedia training was
specially designed for children.
The company has been facing challenges in the form of piracy.
At the start of the new millennium the awareness against piracy
started to grow. By this time Ananda Computers started
exporting to India. Having started with zero percent market
shares, Bijoy now has almost 80% market share in the Bangla
user based community of India. Bijoy expanded its horizon
when two more languages, Asamesei and Hindi, were added.
Also in 2001 the process of introducing all the scripted
languages of the tribal communities of Bangladesh to the
computer began. He has developed Chakma and Marma
Scripts for computer.
Bijoy now has become a robust software supporting all
Operating Systems including Windows Vista. It has all the
major keyboards of Bangladesh and India. It also has a good
dictionary for Unicode. 'Now Bijoy has come to a position where
it has everything to type Bangla in a computer', said Mr Jabbar.
Another significant event in the company's history was when
printed keyboards and software were bundled together and
produced in millions. This generated great enthusiasm among
the users of Bangla keyboards, especially in abroad.
Ananda Computers' latest endeavor has been on Library
Management Software. Previously it was impossible to use
Bangla in database, but when the new developed software will
be installed, in a university by the 1st week of August, this
phenomenon will be a thing of the past. In fact, the software will
enable the user to use any language of the world
simultaneously and even in the same field. Another major field
where Ananda Computers is working is on Educational
Software; it plans to convert the text books of our education
system into multimedia software. 'The main objective is to
change the basic concept of the education system in our
country', said Mr Jabbar. He believes the computer should be
an integral part in the system. In terms of Multimedia, Ananda
Computers is working on a project which will enable the hill
tracts people to digitally learn their mother tongues. Another
project is to develop spoken Bengali software, in collaboration
with Dhaka University, which will let non Bangla speakers learn
the language efficiently.
The focus of Ananda Computers has been broadly on language
and education. It has already been a trendsetter in the initiation
and implementation of Bangla and different languages in
computers. Now under the dynamic leadership of Mustafa
Jabbar the company aims to change the education system of
our country to enable it to face the challenges of the 21st century.
BASIS News & Views 5
BASIS News
BASIS organizes seminar on
“Major Contextual Issues for
eGovernance Adoption in
Bangladesh”
Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services
(BASIS) organized a seminar on “Major Contextual Issues for
eGovernance Adoption in Bangladesh” on July 18, 2007 at
Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC),
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka.
Mr. Ahmed Imran from Australian National University made the
keynote presentation. Mr. S.M. Wahid-uz-Zaman, Secretary,
Ministry of Science and Information & Communication Technology,
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was the
Chief Guest in the seminar. Mr. Rafiqul Islam Rowly, the Acting
President of BASIS, presided over the session. Mr. Ahmed Imran,
who is conducting research on eGovernance issues as a part of
PhD studies at the Australian National University, spoke about the
background and problems of eGovernance adoption in
Bangladesh. He informed that successful adoption of ICT in an
LDC such as Bangladesh would bring significant benefits in
improving the economy and has the protential to solve many of the
deep-rooted problems like corruption, transparency and
governance in the public sector administration. The major barriers
in eGovernance adoption and implementation that came out from
his research are Lack of Knowledge, Attitude and Mindset, Political
Will and Leader, Lack of Planning and Strategy, Infrastructure,
Bureacratic Business Process, Lack of Experts and Professionals,
Socio-Economic Condition, Law and Rules, Citizen Demand and
Lack of ICT Championship and Models.
The present administrative system in Government agencies and
offices are paper based and follows the legacy practices installed
during the British period. It is believed that the British had
intentionally made administrative procedures lengthy and
JICA and BASIS Organizes
Meeting on Pilot Project
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and BASIS has
organized a meeting on July 8, 2007 at the BASIS Conference
Room to discuss and inform about the formulation of a pilot project
which will involve selected BASIS member companies for
capability enhancement in software export.
6 BASIS News & Views
bureaucratic since they did not trust the local people. Adopting
eGovernance can increase the efficiency of Government offices
by redesigning and streamlining administrative procedures. Mr.
Imran suggested that a holistic approach should be used to
implement eGovernance by identifying the problems and their
interrelations.
Mr. Wahid-uz-Zaman in his speech mentioned that eGovernance
has become a widely talked about issue in recent times which, if
implemented properly, will not only make Government offices
more efficient but also benefit the whole nation. It can play a
positive role in poverty alleviation and realization Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). Mr. Rafiqul Islam Rowly mentioned
that eGovernance is not just computer hardware and portals which
is often a public perception in this country. The Governance part of
eGovernance should be emphasized and management issues
should be addressed while implementing eGovernance since it is
not a translation of the existing process rather a transition of the
system. A lively question and answer session was held after the
keynote address where the participants shared their opinions and
pertinent issues in connection with eGovernance adoption in
Bangladesh were discussed. About 100 participants, officials from
BASIS member companies, Government and donor agencies, IT
professionals, students and journalists attended the seminar.
Earlier JICA has conducted a study on “Potential Sub-sector
Growth for Export Diversification in Bangladesh” through
assistance from Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). A six member
JICA team primarily made a groundwork selection of 6 sub-sectors
which are Food Processing, Jute Products, Pharmaceutical
Products, Computer Software, Light Engineering (metalworking
and machining) and Electric & Electronic Products, with an
objective of picking up 2 most potential sub-sectors out of these 6
for the study. After threadbare discussions with all stakeholders
involved in the 6 sub-sectors Computer Software was finally
selected as a most potential sub-sector for the study.
The objectives of the pilot project are to enhance export
competitiveness of Computer Software Products in the
international markets in particular and diversification of Bangladesh
export in general, which will be attained through the
implementation of specific Action and Master Plans. The pilot
project will involve a certain number of companies of the Computer
Software sector as the first beneficiaries. An MoU was signed
during the meeting between Unico International Corporation, the
consulting company appointed by JICA, and BASIS regarding the
cooperation.
BASIS NEWS
BASIS Organizes Seminar on Outsourcing Opportunities in UK
BASIS organized a seminar on “Outsourcing Opportunity in UK
for Software and IT Services” on July 4, 2007 at 4.00 P.M at the
Green View Auditorium (1st Floor) of Bangladesh China
Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC), Sher- e- Bangla
Nagar, Dhaka.
Mr. Tony Brown, International Trade Adviser of UK Trade &
Investment Department and Greater Manchester Chamber of
International Trade Center presented the key note speech in
the seminar. Mr. Faridul Hasan, Director General, Export
Promotion Bureau (EPB) was the Chief Guest while Mr. Kevin
Ringham, Director of UK Trade & Investment, British High
Commission in Bangladesh attended the seminar as a Special
Guest.
The seminar was organized as a part of the implementation of
The Bangladesh Information Technology Management
Programme (BITMAP), a project of BASIS funded by the Asia
Invest Programme of European Union. Partners of the
programme are Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises
(DFSME), Denmark, Greater Manchester Chamber of
Commerce, UK and T&E, Finland.
In his keynote speech, Mr. Tony Brown informed that within the
European Union UK has 79% of the IT Outsourcing market
which presents a huge opportunity for countries like
Bangladesh to provide outsourcing services. Moreover the
market size is growing at a high rate; total EU market growth
MEMBER NEWS
IBCS-PRIMAX Introduces Best
Employee Award
IBCS-PRIMAX
S o f t w a r e
(Bangladesh)
L t d . h a s
introduced “Best
E m p l o y e e
Award” in the
year of 2007.
T h e B e s t
Employee Award
recognizes outstanding service in the field of employment by an
individual through his/her excellence and diligent, dependable
and trustworthy performance of assigned duties. To evaluate
performance of employees, a letter of recommendation from
client and immediate line manager is required. Afterwards the
winner is nominated by a selection board. Mr. Abir Das,
Programmer was selected to be the best employee of the year
2006 and was awarded a plaque, certificate with honor and
cash money for his outstanding performance in Grameen
Phone Data Warehouse Support. IBCS-Primax believes that
this initiative is a great encouragement for all employees to
keep their moral high.
during 2007 was 67% compared to the previous one year
period. Utilizing the advantages Bangladesh has in pricing over
outsourcing giant India and English language skills of ICT
professionals compared to other Asian competitors, the country
can achieve large scale successful in creating an ICT
outsourcing destination.
The seminar was attended by officials from BASIS member
companies and trainees of BITMAP training programs among
others.
IB Corporation Conducts
Training for Dhaka University
IB Corporation and Department of Accounting and information
Systems (A & IS), University of Dhaka, organized a simple
ceremony on July 12, 2007 to give away certificates among the
participants of “Computerized Accounting Professional
Program (CAPP)”. Professor Jagadish Chandra Sukla Das,
Chairman of the Department of A & IS gave away the
certificates. Professor Santi Narayan Ghosh, Md. Nazim Uddin
Bhuiyan, Associate Professor of the same department, Tapan
Kumar Paul, Director & Project In-charge of Best Business
Bond Ltd. (3BL), Uttam Kumar Paul, CEO of IB Corporation
were also present in the occasion.
As part of the event Mr. Shovan Barai, Software Programmer of
3BL, presented their 'Troyee-Human Resource Management'
software to show how this software can be helpful in managing
HR in real life activities.It may be mentioned here that CAPP is
a Case-Study-Based, Instructor-Led training program
designed through “Troyee” that would open up easy and
effective ways of entering into the world of Computerized
Business Management and IB has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the Department of A & IS,
University of Dhaka to conduct CAPP for their students and
teachers.
BASIS News & Views 7
 INDICATORS
IT Employment Trends
During July 2006 to June 2007 a total of 1830 IT related jobs
were advertised in newspapers and major internet job sites.
This is about 5% more than the 1751 jobs advertised during
the previous one year period (July 05 June 06).
Software Export Continues to Grow
During the first ten months of 2006-07 financial year
software export amounted to US$ 22.62 million, which is
21% higher than export during the same period in previous
financial year (2005-06).

Software & ITES Export

Export in Million US$ Increase

July 05 – April 06 18.74 21%

July 06 – April 07 22.62

Source: EPB, Bangladesh

New Members
Following companies became BASIS members
during July 2007

R. R. Software Limited www.rrsoft.net

Source: bdjobs.com

JS E-Recruitment Limited www.jobstreet.com

Tenders Floated in the
IT Industry Total members as of July 2007 is 247

During June 2007 a total of 184 IT related tenders were

floated in our country in the Government, Public and
Private sectors. Following is an item wise list of these
tenders:

Computer Related Data Entry and Related 01

Establish of Computer Lab 01
Hardware/Accessories 114 LARG EST JOB SI TE IN BAN GLAD ES H
ICT Support/Consultancy 0
Internet 04
Networking 06
Maintenance/Servicing 02
Projector/Multimedia projector 10
Software Development 09
Software Supply 04
Training 01
UPS/IPS/Stabilizer/Converter 09
Website Development 06

Sales Computer Related 06

Expression of Internet Data Entry & Other IT Services 09

Hardware/Vendor Software 02
Total 184

Source: Alltender.com

BSRS Bhaban, 5th Floor (west), 12, Kawran Bazar C/A, Dhaka - 1215
Tel: 880 2 8151196-7, 880 2 8144708-9 Fax: 880 2 8151197
Email: secretariat@basis.org.bd shariar@basis.org.bd URL: www.basis.org.bd

8 BASIS News & Views