Q1. Tell us about yourself, how you reached there?
Prayers of my parents and charity, brought me to this place.
I was not a brilliant student but I kept myself busy. Joined Computer classes on completion of FSc, and served voluntarily as a teacher in school. During my University life I started part-time teaching at Computer Institute.
Applied for Aeronautical Engineering at PAF, initially NOT RECOMMENDED, in second attempt got RECOMMENDED, but was declared medically un-fit. Submitted appeal and was declared Fit for Aeronautical Engineering and General Duty (GD) Pilot by the Medical Board. But due to some delay in the process, was not considered in the merit list.
Appointed Lecturer Computer Science in 1996 at PAF Degree College Faisal in first interview and served for one year. Second Job started in 1997 with my current Employer, and since then I am here.
Applied for a job in the USA in year 2000 got H1 approval, but due to some un-certainty of job market in USA, employer regretted.
I want to share one life changing event of my childhood, it was the cold night in winter, one beggar outside our house was asking for some help. My father took his new shawl which he was wearing and gave it to that beggar. At that time, we didn’t like this act. But later in my life I experienced that these types of act give you a lot of satisfaction.
We all are demanding in our life, we want 5-6-digit salary, but have we ever given 5-6-digit amounts in charity? I will request to try at least once in your life and then see the results.
Q2. What is the future of E-Commerce you see in Pakistan?
E-Commerce, Electronic Commerce or internet commerce the terms used interchangeably refers to the buying or selling of products by using electronic means that is internet or mobile application.
Exponential growth is seen in the past few months in the whole world due to Covid-19, businesses not using online facilities were forced to switch to it for survival.
Covid-19 actually transformed our lives, we were reluctant to use technology in our business but after this pandemic we have learned a lot.
We can see a lot of students; individuals are already getting the benefit of online businesses to generate passive income.
Some of the organizations like enablers.org, Qasim Ali Shah foundation and Extreme Commerce are providing free assistance and education in this area.
The good thing is that people with limited resources can also be part of this E-Commerce business and generate income.
Q3. Does ERP implementation comes into digitizing?
Before answering the question, I would like to clear a few terms that seem to be the same but have different meanings.
First is Digitization, which means you convert your digital data from analogue or physical format to digital, here you are digitizing your information not the processes.
Next comes Digitalization where you adopt the process of leveraging digitization to improve business processes.
Third one is Digital Transformation, it’s about Organization Strategy and Culture, stakeholders (Staff and Customer Engagement, Process and Innovation, which is supplemented by Technology.
ERP implementation comes under Digitalization, because by implementing ERP we are improving our business processes to make them faster and more efficient.
Whereas ERP Implementation in the context of Digital Transformation can only refer to as an Enabler to the Business Strategy opted by an Organization.
Q4. What is the future of Fintech in Pakistan?
Financial Technologies or Fintech is a buzzword that refers to the use of Technology in the Finance industry.
Most of the people in Pakistan don’t know about the term Fintech, but they have already used it. Using online banking services such as fund transfer or viewing on-line bank statements are some of the examples.
The biggest challenge here in Pakistan is that, we still rely heavily on cash, our preferred mode of payment is Cash on Delivery. We are comfortable paying utility bills by visiting banks, however the same can be done with the help of the internet and Smartphone.
Besides all these challenges we can see that Fintech companies like EasyPaisa, JazzCash and SadaPay are getting popular and an extensive percentage of our population have started using these services.
According to the figures given by the State Bank of Pakistan, in Pakistan we have only 21% of our population with bank accounts and only 7% women. So the population without bank accounts opens the doors for Fintech Companies.
Pakistan being the 5th largest young population worldwide and most of them are equipped with Smartphones and using Internet services, this also provides an opportunity to Fintech companies.
Q5 What is the importance of Data for businesses?
Businesses are under competitive pressure to understand customer’s need and retain customer relationships.
The only thing which can help them is Data. Data is a fuel which creates power and its fuel of the future.
Volume of data has grown exponentially, Businesses are collecting data from mobile app usage, digital clicks, interaction on social media etc. Now the next step is correct usage of Data to have some value addition.
Decision makers require data on their fingertips. Data-Driven decisions make them more confident in making timely and proactive decisions. Companies using Data-driven decisions are gaining competitive advantage, reduction in cost and increasing profit.
Once the data is available, six sigma tools and techniques can be applied for process improvement and removing process bottlenecks”.
The reason why the Data Science field is gaining popularity and Data Scientists are in great demand is that now Businesses have understood the importance of Data. Till now many of the Businesses have failed to correctly utilize their data.
If used properly Retailers can correctly anticipate what their customers want, the Energy and Utilities industry can have a better idea of consumption trends, and the Transportation industry can facilitate customers with better trip options.
Here I will end up with the quote by Jim Bergeson “Data will talk to you if you’re willing to listen”.
Q6. How do you see Technology is changing our Lives?
I remember my childhood story, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. Aladdin just has to rub the magic lamp and the character (Jinn) uses to arrange what is ordered to him, the same as what we do with our Smartphones today. We just tap on our mobile phone and things get delivered at our doorstep.
We all think that Technology has made our lives easier, but in my opinion it disturbed our lifestyle, social life and we have become lazy. Let me give you an example here. How many of us will stand up and change the TV channel if our remote is not working? (no one). We are sitting with our family in one room but everyone is looking at their smartphones.
Increasing number of health issues are reported nowadays, computer vision syndrome, repetitive stress injuries, internet addiction and hearing loss etc. We see our children wearing glasses at the age of 3-4 due to extensive use of Smartphones and tablets.
Besides all the benefits we are getting through Technology, we also have to address these issues.
Q7. What was your strategy during Covid-19?
IT team was on the front foot, they worked hard to provide full day and night support to the Customers. Things were easily managed, without any disruption. Users were provided secured connectivity to the application running on premise. E-mail users were already using cloud services and Smart phones were configured for the same. Meeting rooms were created on WebEx, Zoom and Team.
In nutshell, users were very much comfortable using ICT Services while working from Home.
Q8. How CxO Forum given you benefit, what change have you seen after joining?
CxO Forum actually provided a common platform to IT and Finance Gurus to share their knowledge and experience. This collaborative environment helped me get information about the latest technological trends, policies and guidelines. Also now I have a place where I can share my technical ideas and have discussions on it.
Q9. What are the 5 best things you think are better from other countries?
- What I have seen is that Pakistani’s are good at charity work. One example is the food arrangement made at different places with an intention that nobody sleeps hungry. And behind all this we have a community which supports it.
- We have the largest Ambulance service in Pakistan. In case of any incident we see a lot of Edhi and Cheepa Ambulances moving for help.
- In case of any disaster or incident, we see our people are united, they forgot their difference and support each other.
- Pakistan has been a frontline state in the war on terror.
- We have a good family and cultural bonding.
Q10. What is your favorite quote?
Try to be part of Solution not the problem.
