NDC Tech received the TLC ‘commitment to learning award’ at Temenos Community Forum (TCF) 2018. Left to right: Max Chuard (CFO/ COO Temenos), Ammara Masood (President/CEO NDC Tech), Behram K. Ahmed(Chairman NDC Tech) & Dale Thomas (Director Temenos Learning Community) Earlier last month, we at NDC TECH, were gratified to learn we received first-place recognition for our commitment to learning at the Temenos Annual Award Ceremony in Dublin, Ireland. This is a very prestigious ranking which recognizes organizations that employ exemplary workforce development strategies to deliver significant business results that directly benefit their services to customers. Ms. Ammara Masood stated: “I am very proud of this recognition. Being number 1 means NDC TECH is the best globally at developing our people and that is quite a compliment. More importantly, this reflects our recognition that investing in our people and tooling them with the right skillsets is paramount to our success in the marketplace NDC Tech has been able to transform the learning experience for our employees through Temenos Learning Community Portal creating a digitally enabled learning and development environment that empowers our people and enables them to build highly relevant skills and meaningful careers and brings the best of themselves to our clients. We are delivering it all in an experience-centric culture that puts our main asset—our nearly 130+ people in 13 countries—at the core of everything we do”. Must Read: UD Trucks launches the new Quester in Pakistan Mr. Dale Thomas, Director TLC stated: ‘We have enjoyed a very fruitful relationship with NDC over many years. They are a partner who truly understands the need to develop and certify their teams on the latest Temenos products and technologies. We are delighted that they have become the leading partner in embracing and leveraging the Temenos Learning Community.’ Temenos Learning Community (TLC) is a cloud-based online access to Temenos training and certification. It is the only platform that creates Temenos certified experts. Following the launch’s massive success, TLC award was created to recognize partners who have shown true commitment to training. Although NDC Tech has been engaged with Temenos trainings and certifications since the year 2007. It became the first member to join the official Temenos Learning Community since its launch in 2017 and has signed 100+ NDC Tech employees to pursue training and gain accreditation.
Game development experts converge on Pakistan’s first Game Summit by Gamebird
Game development experts converge on Pakistan’s first Game Summit by Gamebird. Pakistan’s second most populous city and the country’s cultural center, Lahore, was the go-to place for game developing experts and enthusiasts from Google, Telenor, and the best of Pakistani talent in the industry. The event was Pakistan’s first Game Summit hosted by ‘Gamebird’, Telenor’s new platform that connects game developers to boost the gaming ecosystem in Pakistan. Pakistan has a vibrant gaming app developing ecosystem and this Game Summit was aimed at helping developers learn the latest tips and best practices about how to take their app business to the next level. The one-day, invitation-only event gave developers a chance to come together with Google, Telenor industry experts, and fellow app developers to ask questions, give feedback, share learnings, discuss projects, and be inspired. The top speakers of the Game Summit included Dr. Umar Saif – Chairman, Punjab Information Technology Board and Vice Chancellor of Information Technology University, Fawad Asghar – CTO, WeRPlay, Sadia Bashir – Founder & CEO, Pixel Art Games Academy, and Faizan Iftikhar – CEO, GeniTeam, among others. Telenor Pakistan has been developing initiatives to strengthen the local developer community, while Google has tools and insights with a focus on game creation and monetization. Together, the speakers from Telenor Pakistan & Google elaborated on their expertise and how the gaming ecosystem can benefit from it. Prominent local developers also shared experiences, challenges, and ideas on how to better contribute to the local game development ecosystem. Gamebox, Pakistan’s indigenous game store, was a sponsor of the Game Summit and showcased its offerings at the event. Must Read: Minister Anusha Rehman Gave Concluding Address At Huawei Mobile Pakistan Congress 2018 “We are proud and delighted to be hosting the country’s first Game Summit in a city that’s fast emerging as one of Pakistan’s key app development centers,” said Durdana Achakzai, Chief Digital Officer at Telenor Pakistan. “We are grateful to the experts from Google and the local gaming community for coming together and exploring ways to boost the Pakistani game development industry. We hope that the learnings the event’s participants take home today will prove valuable in putting Pakistan on the global map for gaming innovation. With Gamebird in place, we are expecting more of such knowledge-sharing networking events for the gaming community in the future.” Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, Umar Saif, the keynote speaker who is Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board and Vice Chancellor Information Technology University, said: “We congratulate Gamebird for hosting this insightful event and giving game developers the opportunity to demonstrate their skills. The launch of Google DCB has been a game changer for the gaming industry as it has provided earning avenues to game developers. I appreciate Telenor’s role in spearheading the launch of Google DCB in Pakistan and hope that Pakistani Gamers make good use of it to come up with a superb game in the near future.” Gamebird is an e-Sports platform for gamers and gaming app developers in Pakistan. The platform hosts events, tournaments, broadcasts, and provides reviews and plays of different games. Gamebird is geared for more initiatives in mobile & PC gaming (tournaments, community meet-ups, etc.) in the near future.
Huawei Technologies Hosting Pakistan Mobile Congress 2018
Huawei Technologies Pakistan is going to host Huawei Mobile Pakistan Congress 2018 from 16th to 20th April, 2018 at Marriott Hotel,Islamabad. At the Mobile World Congress 2018 (MWC) in Barcelona March,Huawei Outlines a Vision for 5G By Unveiling Latest Solutions and shared its vision for a collaborative ecosystem that can stimulate innovation and the development of 5G, All-Cloud network, video, and IoT technologies. Huawei received 8 major awards from GSMA during the at the 2018 Mobile World Congress (MWC). Among them was the Outstanding Contribution to the Mobile Industry Award, which recognises Huawei for decades of advocating new technology, building out the digital ecosystem, and social responsibility. Following the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona,by the requirments of the operators and other industry partners in Pakistan,Huawei is going to host this Huawei Mobile Pakistan Congress in Pakistan with the aim of “Enabling Future Together”. Must Read: Telenor Pakistan Wins ‘Best In Telecommunication In Pakistan’ And ‘Best In PR’awards At 8thPAS Awards The Huawei Mobile Pakistan Congress will focus on the 5G technologies, 5G Wireless, 5G Energy, 5G Bearer Network, Intent-Driven Network, 5G Core Network.There will be total 17 booths in the exhibition hall which will present some the most advanced ICT solutions the first time ever in Pakistan. Besides the 5G technologies,the congress will also demonstrate the VoLTE, Next Generation Home Broadband, Intelligent Video Surveillance, Next-Generation Digital Campus and many other advanced ICT solutions. It is expected that PTCL, Ufone, Jazz, Telenor, CMPak and other operators will attend this congress,industry partners and government officers are also expected to participate in this event. Huawei is a leading global ICT solutions provider with the revenue of 92.5B USD in 2017 and ranked 83rd on the Fortune Global 500 list.It is the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer and the third largest smart phone manufacturer in the world.
Telenor Pakistan pledge towards ‘Reduced Inequalities’ accentuated at Sustainability Conference
Telenor Pakistan, country’s foremost telecom and digital service provider, hosted a Sustainability Conference to revisit the progress of, and pledge commitment to, the UN Sustainable Development Goal no. 10 ‘Reduced Inequalities’, at its campus 345. The event focused on Telenor’s sustainability efforts, its vision of empowering societies and sharing insights to accelerate progress on United Nations SDGs. The conference featured key notes and a panel discussion by industry experts focused on challenges related to inequality, and how the public and private sectors can work together to enable our people and achieve socioeconomic growth. The event brought together Ms. Anusha Rahman, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom, Wenche Agerup, EVP and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Telenor Group, Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan, Ignacio Artaza, Country Director UNDP Pakistan, Cristian Munduate, Deputy Country Representative UNICEF Pakistan and senior representatives from Planning Commission SDGs Support Unit, NUST, Plan International, and Telenor Pakistan employees. “Supporting Sustainable Development Goals across our global markets is a core theme for Telenor”, said Wenche Agerup, EVP and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Telenor Group while speaking at the conference. “Sustainability at Telenor is how we do business and Telenor Group, with its vision of Empowering Societies, has fully integrated UN SDGs to create real value for the regions it serves. Mobile industry can have significant impact in achieving the SDGs. Through responsible business conduct we want to connect the many to the internet, not the few. We recognize our role in delivering on the UN Global Goals, particularly #10 – ‘Reduced Inequalities’. This is part of our business strategy with sustainability at its core.” Must Read: Pakistan Industry Vertical Digitization Enables Vision 2025 And Transforms Daily Lives During his keynote, Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan said, “The private sector plays a crucial role in Pakistan’s economic progress and it can play an equally significant role in achieving UN SDGs. We leverage on digital and financial technologies as enablers to create amenities that have lasting benefits for our customers. Telenor Pakistan’s initiatives like Digital Birth Registration, m-Agri, Open Mind program, Digital Learning and Safe use of Internet, to name a few, are creating an enabling environment for future interventions by the industry. Our sustainability initiatives are removing barriers and bringing a level playing field for the underserved segments of the society to improve their standard of life. I’m extremely glad that our collaboration with the government and our business partners is supplementing our efforts towards the socioeconomic uplift of our people.” Ms. Anusha Rahman, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom during her closing remarks said, “The use of public-private partnerships has proven time again to be beneficial for the Pakistani society. I’m pleased at the efforts made by Telenor Pakistan towards Reduced Inequalities by leveraging their digital products and services on top of connecting people across the country, and joining hands with the Government of Pakistan and other organizations to supplement the SDG agenda. Government’s engagement brings scale & vision, and our industry brings sustainability around the programs targeting socioeconomic equality. This is the most satisfying version of public private partnership and we are fully committed to taking this partnership beyond.” Telenor Pakistan has initiated a number of innovative ICT-based initiatives over the years to ensure socioeconomic wellbeing of the masses. The company is also extending its digital products and services to the people in the far-flung areas of Pakistan, through USF projects, to give them access to quality communication & data services, and mobile banking. There is great opportunity for the industry to come together and combine their core competencies to introduce digital products and services to enable and empower the people of Pakistan.
Minister of State for IT and Telecom Chaired the 59th Board of Director’s Meeting of USF Co
Minister of State for IT and Telecom Chaired the 59th Board of Director’s Meeting of USF Co. Universal Service Fund Company (USF Co) 59th Board of Directors Meeting was convened on Wednesday 4th April, 2018 in the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom, Islamabad. The Chairperson, Board of Directors, USF Co Minister of State for IT & Telecom; Mrs. Anusha Rahman chaired the meeting. The Minister for State reiterated that with proliferation of enabling apps and digital platforms, user behavior has shifted from voice and data centric to app-centric , which requires networks to deliver seamless app coverage with optimum end to end performance. Board of Directors approved the launch five (5) Next Generation Broadband services. NG-BSD lots including Dadu, Hyderabad, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan. Must Read: Meizu Feature Rich Affordable Smartphones Available In Pakistan The USF.Co Board also approved to implement the contract for the establishment of Computer Labs for people with disabilities at National Library of Pakistan and six special Education Centers of CADD. Board members including the Secretary IT; Aamir Ashraf Khawaja, Member Telecom; Mr. Mudassar Hussain, President and CEO PTCL; Mr. Daniel Ritz and the senior Management of USF Co also attended the meeting.
Lawyers delegation calls on Anusha Rehman
Lawyers delegation calls on Anusha Rehman. A delegation of High Court Bar, Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench headed by Mr Hassan Raza Pasha, General Secretary Ms Hifza Bukhari called on Anusha Rehman Minister for IT & Telecom here at Islamabad today (Thursday ) Other newly elected office bearers of the High Court Bar Association were also part of the delegation . Congratulating newly-elected office-bearers, Anusha Rehman said that lawyers have an important role in the justice system and provision of justice to a common man on daily basis. And I always feel proud to be a part of the legal fraternity. The delegates expressed their gratitude to the worthy Minister for sparing time for the meeting. Must Read: Nissan To Begin Datsun Production In Pakistan Anusha Rehman shared some key initiatives of her ministry for development of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the country. She said that our government got national and international recognition and three international awards were conferred upon us on highly transparent spectrum auctions, Telecom policy and global achiever awards on “ICT for Girls” program. We established 150 state of the art computer labs in women empowerment Centers across the country where girls from marginalized sections of the society, are learning latest techniques of coding and cloud computing through Microsoft . We are establishing latest computer labs in 226 girls schools of Islamabad Capital Territory. Besides this we are focusing on under served /un-served areas to provide 3G connectivity through out the country including Balochistan and FATA where even landline connectivity was not available. The delegates appreciated Minister’s initiative in the arena of ICT and asked the Minister to initiate an ICT training program for young lawyers which the latter acceded instantly and directed the concerned authorities. Ameena Sohail Member Legal MoIT and Nasir Ayyaz Director legal, MoIT and other senior officials from Ministry were also present in the meeting.
VENTUREDIVE INTO AUGMENTED REALITY WITH INVESTMENT IN TAPLANDO
VentureDive, one of region’s fastest growing technology companies, today announced plans to enter into the augmented reality arena via investment in Taplando, a augmented reality start-up. As per the announcement, VentureDive will invest in Karachi-based Taplando with an aim to develop a range of Augmented Reality (AR) offerings.AR applications take a live or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment and ‘augment’ elements therein through layering on top of the ‘live image’ various digital information or images, via multiple sensory inputs, including audio, visual, and haptic. With recent developments in smartphone technologies, AR-based applications and games have lately been all the rage. As part of its vision to help foster regional entrepreneurship and technological innovation, VentureDive is constantly on the lookout for new technology start-ups to support and with which to partner. Taplando is currently set to be amongst the first Pakistani companies to completely develop AR mobile games in-house. By combining their strengths and resources, the two companies hope to create compelling, exciting, and immersive AR mobile games and applications, for Pakistan as well as the rest of the world. Must Read: HUAWEI Brings The All-Connected World To Mobile World Congress 2018 Commenting on the occasion, Taplando’s CEO Muhammad Shariq said, “This investment will help us a great deal towards establishing a strong base. VentureDive has already made a mark within the technology sector; it is one of those rare companies that have the courage to invest in early stage startups. I believe that working together with VentureDive, Taplando will be the next billion dollar company in their portfolio.” VentureDive’s Co-Founder and Managing Director Saad Fazil added, “As a technology company, it is essential that VentureDive constantly stay at the forefront of all developments. Augmented Reality is currently at the cutting edge of mobile games and applications and will revolutionise the global entertainment and information landscape. Given Shariq’s passion and creativity, investing in Taplando was a no-brainer. For the future, we will continue to seek out similar opportunities, to help us stay ahead of the curve and ensure that we create and invest in products and solutions that are geared around adding value and providing solid entertainment.”
THK Solutions PARTNERS WITH 1LINK TO PROVIDE QUALITY PAYMENT BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
ConnectPay a subsidiary of THK Solutions (Private) Limited (THKS), recently signed a tri-party agreement with 1LINK [Guarantee] Limited (1LINK) and Faysal Bank Limited (FBL) to digitize their payment collection methods. The collaboration allows ease of B2B & B2C payment collection through different service channels of banks. THK Solutions is operating in the payment landscape for few years and this partnership with 1LINK & FBL will provide the opportunity for THKS to enter a new market segmentsegment market; THK will play its role as an aggregator where Faysal Bank will cover the settlement function. Must Read: PTCL Signs Fiber Leasing Agreement For 3rd Consecutive Year With Telenor Pakistan This collaboration will empower both THKS and 1LINK to jointly provide an efficient, cost effective and strong payment infrastructure. In addition, it will drive the growth of payments by promoting new, secure, and more convenient ways to pay, and thereby advancing e-payments in established and emerging markets of Pakistan. Mr. Anwar Matin, CEO THKS after signing the agreement commented, “This strategic alignment, will make online payment transaction infrastructure accessible to all business entities and provide convenient, quick payment acceptance capabilities to any business that needs to process payments from their end customers.” Speaking on this occasion, the CEO of 1LINK – Mr. Najeeb Agrawalla, stated, “Times have changed and technology is changing rapidly. We need to stay competitive and offer the best solutions to our customers. We are proud of our success and through our collaboration with THKS, we are confident that our customers will be appreciative of the expediency that will be enabled in payment industry.”
ABB in Pakistan celebrates 25 years of pioneering technology leadership
ABB is celebrating 25 years of operations in Pakistan with a ground breaking ceremony for a new purpose-built facility. The company established its first office in Lahore in 1992 and has since grown from strength to strength, today supplying advanced technologies and solutions to Pakistan’s utilities providers and industries. “It’s a matter of great pride that today we are commemorating our years in Pakistan with the ground breaking for a new facility. From providing electricity to far flung villages to modernizing the country’s industries by making them digitally ready, we have been working with our customers to improve the efficiency of their operations for twenty five years,” said Najeeb Ahmad, Managing Director, Pakistan. The new purpose built facility will be constructed in a prime location on the Lahore Ring Road. The office premises will have state of the art facilities covering the corporate office, customer training center, product display area, service workshops, panel’s assembly and warehouse. Must Read: Telenor ‘IChamp2’ – Successfully Delivers Digital Awareness Training To Schools Across Pakistan ABB in Pakistan is further celebrating sustainable double digit growth in its 25th year of operation covering products, systems and service offerings for utility, industry and infrastructure. “Our divisions have robust offerings in the country and we have a strong service footprint with a large installed base,” added Ahmad. Notably, Pakistan and China have signed around $62 billion of energy and infrastructure projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It will help Pakistan address its energy problems with projects focussing on renewable and thermal energy. ABB is actively involved in many of the on-going projects. “ABB is a proud partner in these nearly 400 megawatt wind farms, which are located in Gharo and Jhimpir, near the city of Karachi. We are global leaders in renewable energy generation and ABB has more than 40 years of experience in wind and solar power products and solutions that cover the entire renewable power generation industry chain from the supply of turbine and solar components to power transmission and grid connection,” said Mostafa Al Guezeri, Managing Director for United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its oversight countries. ABB’s operations in Pakistan fall under the umbrella of the company‘s UAE and oversight cluster. “We strive to help meet growing energy demand around the world while minimizing environmental impact and creating value for our customers,” said Al Guezeri. “This project in Pakistan is one such example where ABB’s flexible and innovative wind power technologies will allow the country to commit to their energy efficiency and sustainability targets. Integration of renewables is an increasingly important element of the world’s energy revolution and ABB’s Next Level strategy.” On the industry side, ABB is the market leader in providing control, automation, instrumentation and energy efficiency solutions for all verticals including food & beverage, pulp & paper, oil & gas, chemicals, cement, metals and textiles. In utility segment, ABB has large footprint in transmission & distribution, power generation and renewables mainly covering all types of substations, FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems) devices such as SVC (Static VAR Compensator). ABB is fully prepared to support its utility customers for all ongoing and future plans for upgrade and reinforcement of transmission network including HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current), 800kV AC transmission. ABB Ability – ABB’s digital offerings – help customers in utilities, industry, transport and infrastructure develop new processes and advance existing ones by providing insights and optimizing planning and controls for real-time operations. The results can then be fed into control systems to improve key metrics such as factory uptime, speed and yield. “ABB in Pakistan continues its work as a pioneering technology leader, helping the country modernize its utilities industries and infrastructure. We want to thank our customers for partnering with us through the years and look forward to many more years of successful operations in the country. Further we are ready to help our customers squeeze the most value from each unit of energy they use. We want to educate architects, engineers and consultants who are working on making smart cities that ABB has the technology, so make the most of now.” concluded Najeeb Ahmad. ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner of Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 135,000 employees. www.abb.com
Oracle Cloud Growth Driving Aggressive Global Expansion
Oracle Cloud Growth Driving Aggressive Global Expansion. Driven by strong customer demand for its cloud services worldwide, Oracle today announced plans to significantly expand its modern cloud infrastructure footprint. The company’s rapid expansion plans include the opening of 12 new data center regions and increase the breadth and depth of Oracle Cloud services available across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. With this news, Oracle continues its industry leadership position, delivering a complete and integrated portfolio of cloud services (SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS) and new services in security, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence. Must Read: Senate Committee Recognizes Contribution Of Telecom Sector Highlights Need For Rationalized Taxation “The future of IT is autonomous. With our expanded, modern data centers, Oracle is uniquely suited to deliver the most autonomous technologies in the world,” said Oracle CEO Mark Hurd. “As we invest, our margins will continue to expand. And with our global datacenter expansion, we are able to help customers lower IT costs, mitigate risks and compete like they never have before.” The regional expansion of Oracle’s cloud footprint will include locations in Asia including China, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and South Korea; Europe including Amsterdam and Switzerland; and North America including two in Canada and two new US locations to support U.S. Department of Defense workloads. Since launching Oracle Cloud, the company has seen an ever-growing set of customers, across the Global 2000, as well as small and medium businesses. Organizations continue to turn to Oracle at record-rates to build, deploy, and extend game-changing applications and run business-critical workloads in a low-latency, highly available, reliable and secure cloud environment. Today, customers in more than 195 countries are running their most demanding applications on Oracle Cloud Platform and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
SOFTWARE GROUP SIGNS KEY PARTNER NDC TO EXPAND ITS OPERATIONS IN MENA
Software Group, a global technology company specialized in delivery channel and integration solutions for financial service providers, announces today its partnership with National Data Consultant (NDC), an award-winning IT Services Provider to banks and financial institutions. The partnership will support Software Group’s strategy to expand operations in the MENA region and will add to the NDC’s rich portfolio of services. NDC will act as a key business development and implementation partner of Software Group to enable the company to step in the local markets with great potential. The first countries where the partnership is being activated are Pakistan and Afghanistan. Both companies are already registering significant interest in the joint proposition from financial institutions in Pakistan. The partnership can further expand across the whole MENA and Asia Pacific region as well. Must Read: PTCL Co-Sponsors 6th National Disabled T20 Cricket Championship 2018 NDC carries deep domain knowledge and experience in all sectors of the financial services industry. Combined with the vast expertise of Software Group in integrations and alternative delivery channels, the two companies will enable financial organizations, in particular banks, branchless banks and microfinance institutions, to drive digitalization strategies and be more efficient and competitive on the market. “We are very glad to partner with NDC in developing our operations in the MENA region. The company is well recognized in the financial sector and the partnership will be of a strategic importance for Software Group on the local markets. We are looking forward to establishing a long-term cooperation with NDC and together supporting financial institutions in their digitization journey.” says Mr. Kalin Radev, CEO of Software Group. “NDC is delighted to collaborate with Software Group in helping digitize and extend outreach of banks” says Ammara Masood, CEO and President of NDC. “The digital finance industry in this region is both young and dynamic, and, as it grows, it is constantly innovating to address the issues it faces. We believe that with NDC’s strong presence, expertise of the local market and Software Group’s innovative solutions can really make a positive impact. We look forward to this strategic and long term partnership which will grow our existing client base” NDC current clients in Pakistan include 12 banks.
VENTUREDIVE BOLSTERS TEAM WITH TOP INDUSTRY TALENT
VentureDive, one of Pakistan’s leading technology solutions studios, has bolstered its team with the addition of top industry professionals, Mr Murtaza Saeed and Mr Anas Ahmed. The addition of these two professionals is a testament to VentureDive’s positioning as a top employer in the technology industry and one of the few (if not only) Pakistani start-ups able to attract top talent from Fortune 500 companies. Their addition will help strengthen VentureDive’s teamin taking a leading role in delivering mobility solutions that will change the world. A certified change manager and Six Sigma professional, Mr Saeed joins VentureDive as Vice President Professional Services. After successfully graduating as a Computer Systems Engineer from Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, Mr Saeed spent close to two decades within the fields of business and technical management. Prior to joining VentureDive, he spent time at various organisations, including Telenor, Rockville Group, NDC, and Netsol, and has led several successful collaborations and projects within the European, GCC, and South East Asian Markets. An IT and telecoms professional, Mr Saeed brings to VentureDive a core focus in Commercial and Technical value chains, Customer Experience and Business Development. Must Read: Vodafone Ziggo Deploys Ericsson Packet Core To Manage Future Data Demands Commenting on his appointment, Mr Saeed said, “I am extremely proud to become part of the VentureDive family. This is the technology team behind the successes like Careem and IslamicFinder; I eagerly look forward to seeing how I can help take their vision forward and cement the company’s reputation as a leading technology solutions provider.” With over 14 years of experience in leading HR operations at various multinationals, Mr Ahmed is joining VentureDive as Director HR and Corporate Communications. A graduate of Bahria University, Mr Ahmed is a CIPD-certified HR professional, as well as a Certified Results Coach accredited by the ICF, Australia. He comes to VentureDive from Shell Pakistan, where he heading HR for the retail business, and spearheaded diversity and inclusion for Eastern Markets. MrAhmed is also a licensed Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner, accredited by the Society of NLP. Mr Ahmed said, “This is an exciting time to be joining the technology industry. I look forward to helping the VentureDive team scale during this critical period of expansion and further our vision of creating a global tech giant of Pakistani origin.” Commenting on the new appointments, VentureDive CEO Atif Azim said, “At VentureDive we aspire to create a technology organisation and an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region that are recognised as second to none in the world. The knowledge, expertise, and experience that both Anas and Murtaza bring to the firm in their respective areas of delivery and talent management will help us execute on our ambitious global growth plans.We are super excited about our future as we welcome them on-board.”
Samsung Electronics grows the ‘world’s smallest’ 10-nanometre 8-gigabit DRAM chip
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Wed it is rolling out the world’s smallest DRAM chip, widening its technological lead on opponents as it monitors towards an archive operating earnings in 2017 motivated by the semiconductor business. The “second-generation” 10-nanometre school, 8-gigabit DRAM potato chips with improved upon energy efficiency and data control performance would be aimed toward premium data-crunching consumer electronics such as cloud processing centres, cellular devices and high-speed visual credit cards, Samsung said in a assertion. The global head in computer potato chips, tvs and smartphones said it could shift almost all of its existing DRAM development capacity to 10-nano potato chips in 2018. Must Read: Zong 4G’s Free WhatsApp Offer Continues To Be The Best Offer For Customers Yet This “aggressive” creation enlargement would “accommodate strong market demand,” said Gyoyoung Jin, chief executive of Ram Business at Samsung Electronics. With the visit of a fresh technology of top professionals in its three main businesses including semiconductors in overdue October, the Southern Korean company said it had not been looking to develop chip shipments immediately but was making an investment to keep up longer-term market position. Reuters
Pindi gets affordable ride option through uberAUTO
Pindi gets affordable ride option through uberAUTO. Uber, the global smartphone app that seamlessly connects riders to drivers operates in more than 600 cities worldwide has announced the start of its uberAUTO service in Rawalpindi, a first of its kind initiative for the city. The service is already operating in Karachi, Faisalabad and Lahore. At the tap of a button, Uber will connect riders with the closest available uberAUTO rickshaw driver, who shall pick the rider up at the earliest. Riders will be able to see a photo of the driver, vehicle license plate, and will be able to follow them on the app as they make their way to the requested destination. Just like other Uber services, uberAUTO is a reliable, safe and affordable rickshaw service on offer by the global ride-hailing app. The base fare for hailing an uberAUTO is set at PKR 45, while riders will be charged PKR 5 per km for the trip and PKR 1.15 per minute as waiting charges. Must Read: Zong 4G Inaugurates State Of The Art 4G Research Lab At LUMS Speaking about the launch, Safee Shah, GM – Uber Pakistan, said, “Our uberAUTO service has been a success in Lahore, Karachi and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is another area, where research showcases that rickshaws are a primary mode of public transport for many. With uberAUTO, riders will now be able to experience convenience and safety like never before.” uberAUTO has been launched for the convenience of riders who prefer affordable and safe alternatives to their daily commute. uberAUTO also allows for easy navigation during peak traffic hours in metros across Pakistan. uberAUTO also provides the option of the ‘Share Status’ feature, where riders can share their current location with family and friends so they are aware of the route and expected arrival time at the destination. In order to use uberAUTO, riders will need to download the Uber App from any App store and request a ride within the app.
Google launches Datally, an app that saves you data
Google announced Datally, a smart and simple Android app that helps smartphone users understand, control, and save mobile data. Datally works on all smartphones running Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and higher and is available today on the Google Play Store globally. Datally helps solve one of the biggest pain points for smartphone users around the world — worries about data usage. Google found during extensive user research around the world that many smartphone users worry about running out of data. This is an especially acute problem for the newest generation to come online, known as the “Next Billion Users.” Not only are these smartphone users constantly thinking about data balances, but they do not understand where their data is going, nor do they feel in control over allocating data to the apps they really care about. Datally empowers users to solve these problems with four key features: Data Saver. Apps frequently use data in the background for updating content and information. Datally’s Data Saver feature lets users control data on an app-by-app basis, so that data only goes to apps they care about. People testing the app saved up to 30% of mobile data, depending on the way they used Datally. Must Read: HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro Pre-Book The World Most Intelligent Phone Data Saver bubble. Once Data Saver is turned on, Datally’s Data Saver bubble will appear when a user goes into an app that is allowed to use data. Whenever that app uses data, the Data Saver bubble will show the current rate of data usage, and users can easily choose to block that app’s data use if things start to get out of control. The Data Saver bubble is like a speedometer for mobile data. Personalized alerts. Datally alerts users when apps start consuming a lot of data, and it allows them to see how much data they’ve used on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Wi-Fi finder. There are also times when users want to use more data than they have on their mobile plans, such as when they want to watch HD videos. Public Wi-Fi is an important access point for high-bandwidth connectivity, so Datally’s Find Wi-Fi feature reveals the networks nearby, rated by the Datally community. Once connected, users can rate the Wi-Fi networks themselves based on their own experience.
Introducing Paragon File System Link for Android
Paragon Software, a recognized data storage expert, releases Paragon File System Link for Android. The program enables Android users to connect external storage media formatted on macOS and Windows systems directly to smartphone and tablet devices. Once connected,you can work with external storage media as if it were just another Android folder. Work with photos, videos, presentations — even when travelling or on-the-go — and never run out of space on your Android device again. Nor will you be stuck without a way to access USB sticks containing precious photos and videos saved from digital cameras. Without the need to connect to a PC, simply attach the camera to your smartphone or tablet to share images with family and friends or upload images to popular hosting services and social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and others. Must Read: Glaring Security Flaw In MacOS High Sierra Can Provide Anyone Full With Paragon File System Link for Android you can easily: Check external storage media and verify remaining space; Organize files and clean up used space; Use files directly from USB stick – listen to music, read a book, show a presentation; Send files to Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, other cloud services; Share files with friends and colleagues. Features: Works with USB sticks, camera cards, SD cards (SDXC, SDHC, SD), other external storage media types; Works with NTFS, FAT32, HFS+ file systems; Works on Android 4.4 (KitKat) with SAF support (for more information, please visit the product page); Depending on the storage media type and connection, file transfer speed corresponds to Class 6-10 SD cards that allows read/write of full HD video.
Glaring security flaw in macOS High Sierra can provide anyone full usage of your Mac
Glaring security a major insect in macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 and the existing beta version (10.13.2) enables anyone get administrator privileges on your Mac pc without requiring a password. Administrator privileges essentially allow a end user to do anything they need with a Mac pc. This consists of the changing of configurations, installing every types of programs, adding and taking away users, etc. Think about it as departing your entry way unlocked. Any user can merely check out the Users and Communities portion of System Preferences, click on the lock icon to make changes and enter “root” as the username. Afterward you go through the security password field and struck Unlock. You will have admin privileges on the Macintosh personal computer. Must Read: AkzoNobel Agrees To Acquire V. Powdertech Business To Strengthen Leading Powder Coatings The bug can even be exploited to find yourself in a locked Macintosh. Talking with MacRumours, an Apple spokesperson has recognized the insect and mentioned a patch has been done. The spokesperson also advised a momentary fix for the problem. “We will work on the software update to handle this issue. For the time being, setting a main password stops unauthorised usage of your Apple pc. To allow the main User and establish a security password, please follow the instructions here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204012. When a Root User has already been empowered, to ensure a empty security password is not established, please follow the instructions from the ‘Change the main security password’ section.” Reuters
Smartphones, IoT and Connected Cars Fueling Rise in LTE Network Traffic
Smartphones Oracle announced the “Oracle Communications LTE Diameter Signaling Index, Sixth Edition,” highlighting the continued explosive growth in LTE Diameter Signaling traffic. Fueled heavily by the proliferation of smartphones and rise of Internet of Things (IoT) enabled devices, the report demonstrates that Diameter signaling shows no sign of slowing and is expected to generate 595 million messages per second (MPS) by 2021. Other key developments impacting LTE network traffic include LTE broadcast, VoLTE, and signaling associated with the policy management required to support more sophisticated data plans and applications. Connected cars also continue to show strong network traffic momentum, with 9.4 MPS and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 percent. The report was designed as a tool for communications service providers (CSPs) network engineers and executives to plan for expected increases in signaling capacity over the next five years. Download the Full Report and Infographic. It is anticipated that growth will continue in Diameter even as 5G implementations begin. While Diameter will not be the main signaling protocol of 5G, it will remain as an important part of 5G networks. Central and Southern Asia will account for 10 percent of the world’s Diameter signaling, reaching 62.4 million MPS, a CAGR of 38 percent, by 2021. Policy management is the largest generator of Diameter signaling in the region, generating 10.4 percent of the world’s policy-related Diameter signaling. Pakistan, followed by India, is the largest generators. For example, according to Statista.com, smartphones will represent 76 percent of wireless connections by 2021. As consumers maintain their appetite for “always on” connections to increasingly sophisticated and data intensive applications such as gaming and video, LTE network traffic will continue to skyrocket. Likewise, devices that reach beyond the traditional mobile handset, such as IoT sensors used in everything from tracking available parking spots and moisture in crops to lost pets or workers on a job site will have a significant impact on Diameter signaling growth. “Diameter signaling traffic continues to grow significantly with little end in sight. While smartphones continue to be the traffic leader, applications such as connected cars and IoT promise a significant impact to network traffic in years to come,” said Greg Collins, Founder and Principal Analyst, Exact Ventures. “Diameter signaling controllers continue to be vital network elements, which help enable operators to secure their network borders and to efficiently and effectively route signaling traffic. As such, it is critical for CSPs to understand what’s driving traffic and where, enabling them to avoid signaling traffic issues than can cause network outages, thereby reducing customer satisfaction and increasing customer churn.” Read Full Story: 24 Young Leaders To Start Change At Telenor Youth Forum In Collaboration With Nobel Peace Center “With consumer expectations at an all-time high, it’s more critical than ever that CSPs innovate and plan for continued Diameter signaling growth in order to stay relevant,” said Doug Suriano, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications. “The cloud continues to offer one of the clearest avenues for CSPs to accelerate and achieve these goals.” Oracle helps CSPs create a more scalable and reliable Diameter signaling infrastructure with Oracle Communications Diameter Signaling Router and Oracle Communications Policy Management. LTE Diameter Signaling Traffic by Region Latin America and the Caribbean continues to show accelerated growth in Diameter networks. The region will generate 52 million MPS by 2021, a CAGR of 34 percent. Brazil is the largest contributor of Diameter signaling, followed by Mexico. The Middle East will reach 27.9 million MPS of Diameter signaling by 2021, a CAGR of 23 percent. Turkey and Iran are the largest generators in the region. Africa continues to show strong growth in Diameter signaling. The region will generate 20 million MPS by 2021, a CAGR of 63 percent. Egypt is the top generator, followed by Nigeria and South Africa. Oceania, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia generates nearly half of the world’s Diameter signaling (45 percent). By 2021, the region will generate 265 million MPS of Diameter signaling, a CAGR of 18 percent. The region is also responsible for 44 percent of the world’s policy Diameter signaling, generating 131 million MPS by 2021. China alone will generate 83.5 million MPS of policy generated Diameter signaling by 2021. Indonesia is also showing strong growth. North America leads the world in LTE penetration as service providers move aggressively to sunset 2G and 3G services in favor of 4G/5G. The region will show moderate growth in the coming year, generating 59.3 million MPS by 2021, a CAGR of 12 percent. Eastern and Western Europe. Eastern Europe will generate 48 million MPS of Diameter signaling, a CAGR of 46 percent by 2021. Russia, followed by Poland, are the strongest generators in the region. In comparison, Western Europe will generate 61 million MPS, a CAGR of 23 percent. The United Kingdom generates the most Diameter signaling in the region today, but Germany will surpass the UK generating 6.4 million MPS of Diameter signaling by 2021.
Pakistan got $111 million from computer services exports, PBS said
Pakistan IT industry is doing well in terms of computer services exports as it have seen a boost of 32.11% during the first two months of the present fiscal year 2017-18, in contrast to the last year. The report of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) claimed that Pakistan has received $111.38 million in favor of the services worth $84.31 million during the particular time period. Minister for IT Anusha Rehman said that during the last 4 years, IT Industry has contributed 98% to Pakistan’s economy by foreign exchange earnings, which is great contribution and positive gesture for IT industry. Read Full Story: Swedish Ambassador Called On Anusha Rehman IT industry in Pakistan is at its boom as Pakistan has earned $54.37m by means of exporting software consultancy services, showing growth of 69.22 % which is impressive as compared to exports of $32.126m previous year. According to the data revealed by PBS, hardware consultancy services exports have also seen an increase of 144.41 percent to $0.72 million as compared to the last year’s export of $0.3 million of the same services. In the same way, the maintenance and repair services for computers also got a small raise of $0.39 million as compared to $0.23 million of last year, presenting growth of 68.97 million. If we go through the whole scenario of the exports of the country then we can observe a decline by 12% in the past fiscal year 2015-16, despite the fact that the current fiscal year seems to make better by the export services of IT and Telecom industry. On the other hand, the trade of computer software services experienced a downbeat growth of 1.01% during first two months, waning to $40.766 million this year from $41.181 million during the last year. Though, the export of telecommunication services didn’t turn out to be a success story for Pakistan. The export of telecom services from the country decreased by 0.93 percent by going down from the trade of $63.43 million last year to $62.84 million during the current fiscal year. It is pertinent to mention here that general services exports from Pakistan have seen a huge increase by 4.94% during the time period under analysis as compare to the similar period of last year. With this significant boost of $816.27 million of this year, in contrast to the exports of 777.84 million in previous year, the country certainly got a great potential in its IT and Telecom sector and flourishing in this era of digitalization. It’s good to know that Pakistan is on the way of nailing the world in respective field.
Swedish Ambassador called on Anusha Rehman
Swedish Ambassador Ms. Ingrid Johnson called on Minister of state for IT & Telecom Mrs Anusha Rehman here at Islamabad today. Various issues of mutual interest and promotion of bilateral cooperation in the arena of ICT and innovation were discussed in the meeting. Minister apprised the ambassador regarding key initiatives being taken by the Ministry of IT for ubiquitous sectoral development. She stated that we have laid down a telecommunication highway and and enterprenuership ecosystem and are continuously working to widen it throughout the country. Anusha Rehman said that we believe, ICT is the lever of economic progress and we are using this lever to empower all classes of citizens and particularly women and girls from the marginalized sections of society. Therefore, we have established around 150 state of the art computer labs including the Baitulmal Women Empowerment Centers where Microsoft is imparting latest technical training of coding and computing to empower the girls of marginalized background by equipping them with modern IT knowledge . Moreover we are establishing state of the art computer labs together with Microsoft training at 226 girls schools in Islamabad Capital territory and this project will improve the lives of more than 100,000 young girls by equipping them with ICT skills. Through this initiative we aim to help girls student by making them computer literate. Read Full Story: Anusha Chaired 55th Board Of Directors Meeting Of Ignite – National Technology Fund Minister further said that we have recently approved a “Digiskill” program to train one million freelancers through Ignite platform and Sweden can collaborate with Pakistan in terms of training start ups and SMEs and we can learn from the experiences of each other which will be mutually beneficial for both the countries. The Swedish Ambassador , while appreciating the forward looking steps being taken by the government of Pakistan and Ministry of IT for the development of IT& Telecom sector, assured her utmost cooperation for enhancing bilateral engagement in IT & Telecom spheres.