Saquib Ahmad, Country Managing Director at SAP Pakistan, described the government’s latest special tax relief package dedicated to the information technology (IT) sector as a positive step towards increasing IT exports. Furthermore, he explained that the contribution of SAP in the IT industry has been underpinned by the company’s cloud offerings that aim to help organisations become sustainable, intelligent enterprises.
Last month, Pakistani President Arif Alvi spoke at a ceremony in the city of Karachi to mark the launch of the Presidential Initiative for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computing. He stated that the current government is providing all possible support to the country’s IT industry, adding that various laws have been enacted to expedite the sector’s growth and foster scientific and economic development.
Given the rapid development of countries that focus heavily on AI and computing technologies, President Arif Alvi advised the Pakistani youth to pursue IT education in order to take advantage of the numerous opportunities available in the field globally. He said that the Pakistani government has implemented various initiatives aimed at supporting the country’s youth, including the free Digital Skill Program, which provides IT training via online classes.
It can be noted that in 2020, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has made an invitation to German tech giant SAP to establish software development laboratories in the country. Khan mentioned that Pakistan has been leveraging digital solutions, notably in the areas of responding to citizen concerns, enhancing business processes, and improving operational efficiencies. Meanwhile, the efforts of the Pakistani government in focusing more on digital transformation were recognised by SAP CEO Christian Klein. Expressing appreciation for these endeavours, Klein emphasised the company’s commitment to shaping young software engineers through training and education. In an earlier statement, he hoped that this new generation of engineers will be advantageous to several IT development projects in the country.
The Contribution of SAP in IT Sector Development
Meanwhile, SAP Pakistan MD Saquib Ahmad believes the country’s IT sector should have a five-year relief package. Calling for a simplification of the tax regime for the industry, Ahmad added that the government’s special tax relief program was “an encouraging decision” that would aid in increasing the country’s export revenue. Despite this, he stated that because of inconsistencies in tax regulations, IT investors and specialists expressed confusion and are now looking for uniformity in the system.
Sharing more about the role of SAP in the IT industry, he explained that the private sector in Pakistan — including textile, food, agriculture, telecommunications, healthcare, and fashion sectors — is progressively embracing digital transformation to meet the needs of organisations in an ever-changing business environment today. According to the SAP Head, a cloud-first approach, which involves the usage of a cloud product rather than developing a non-cloud-based solution, supports enterprises in saving costs and improving scalability, while also minimising errors and allowing for more standardisation and collaboration.
“The next era of computing will be defined by intelligent enterprises. Organisations need to cut through the hype and be more useful and efficient to be an intelligent enterprise to make the world run better using emerging technologies,” he highlighted.
Additionally, Ahmad indicated that SAP was already experiencing significant success in its close cooperation with Pakistan’s digital leaders and that the company was actively working to eventually realise the “Digital Pakistan” goals. This is done by continuing to promote youth skills development and training in partnership with several major universities, he added.
“Going forward, SAP’s plan for 2022 is to tap on other industries to help them optimise costs, efficiency, and customer experiences,” the SAP Pakistan MD concluded.
