Bd ict research_desk_study_report_presentation_7

Desk Study on the Bangladesh ICT Industry Research Reports

Prepared byFokhruz Zaman

Md. Shakhawatul Islam

04/11/23 Desk Study on BD ICT Industry Research Reports

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Background and Scope

Regular Research for National ICT Strategy Inspired by Neighbors – NASSCOM-McKinsey studies Desk Study as a Prerequisite for the final ToR Sponsors / Technical Assistance Providers

Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services (BASIS)

ICT Business Promotion Council (IBPC) Katalyst, Bangladesh

Approx 8 weeks study (June 10 – Aug 10, 2007) Research Reports Collection & Surface Scan Gross Qualitative Remarks


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Background and Scope

In scope – Collect and Surface Scan BD ICT Research Publications Select ICT Studies, which:

Involved some fact finding Required extensive study Has rich primary and secondary data sources Qualified in our qualitative judgment.

Out of scope – We were not required to do an exhaustive study on the ICT

industry It was not in our scope to judge the quality of the data

collected in the studies We did not need to communicate with the sponsors,

researchers or respondents of each studied report


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Desk Report Methodology

1. Scan all the available secondary sources for BD ICT Research Reports

Govt Agencies ICT associations NGOs focusing ICT Expert Individuals, and the Internet

2. First level surface scanning of the found documents3. Second level study of the short-listed ones4. Report the study findings with qualitative remarks


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Desk Report MethodologyGovernment

bodies

Private sector associations

NGOs Internet sources

ICT reports for last 10 years

Collect

Reports for further analysis

Qualitative judgment

Summarize findings

Comment on the quality of the report

Based on the findings and the methodology


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Gross Report Categories Overall ICT Industry Software Industry ITES – IT Enabled Services HCD / HRD ICT Adoption Telecom Infrastructure


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Study Categories : GrossHCD / HRD

SW Industry

IT Enabled Services

ICT Adoption

Telecom Infrastructure Overall ICT Industry

Analysis of the ICT Industry Research Studies


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Overall ICT Industry

Baseline Survey on IT Sector of Bangladesh (BCS, Nov, 2000) Overview

Hardware, Software, ISPs & IT Training Companies Trend Analysis from 1983 to 1999 Many statistics given

Findings: New ventures concentration during 97-00 SW Development and IT Training Business on the rise

Comments: Pioneering study, very good attempt Surveillance was very needed Inclusion not observed in other subsequent studies


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Overall ICT Industry SBIT 2001 Report: Bangladesh – An IT Power House

(AABEA Silicon Valley Chapter, SBIT2000 Conference Follow-up Committee, 2001, Recommendation to the Government of Bangladesh)

Overview Recommendations resulted from numerous discussions

among the NRB professionals and feedback from American corporate executives

Five problematic areas identified by NRBs from the Silicon Valley:

• Resource Development & Planning• Focused Team• Infrastructure• Business Promotion & Marketing• Funding


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Overall ICT Industry Findings

The four different broad areas where Bangladesh needs to focus on:

1. Export man-power in the IT sector utilizing programs such as the H1B visas available in the US

2. Deliver out-sourced consulting projects for foreign markets

3. Deliver offshore services, such as Data Entry, Call Center Processing, etc.

4. Develop and deliver packaged software

Comments Prepared by some highly talented, hyped up and patriotic NRBs Lacked objective facts and pragmatic projections Unrealistic ambition followed by minimum implementation That implementation also failed to achieve the objectives


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Overall ICT Industry Policy Brief on "Information and Communication

Technology“ (Centre for Policy Dialogue Task Force, Aug 2001) Very thorough policy recommendation approach 210 action agenda items under 11 important areas of

intervention by the government Thoroughly researched hard industry facts not found The action items were mostly items of wishful thinking No follow-up or surveillance besides the 2003 review Can still serve as a good platform for new studies


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Overall ICT Industry BD ICT Policy Review Report (CPD Task Force, Jan

2003) Follow-up review of the Policy Brief on "Information and

Communication Technology“ (Centre for Policy Dialogue Task Force, Aug 2001)

Only 10% policy recommendations addressed by the government

Revisited the 112 broad categories, and reduced them to 6 Eliminated timeline in the action plan, as it did not have any

impact Added some new recommendations Good example for the follow-up research studies Confusion regarding their understanding of broad categories


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Overall ICT Industry ICT Sub Sector Study in Bangladesh (JOBS

IRIS, 2005) Overview

Follow up of 2 seminars organized by 2001 – JOBS, the Ministry of Planning, and the Ministry

of Science and Technology 2002 - Ministry of Science and ICT, BASIS

Literature review of ICT thinking in Bangladesh Findings

definition, implications in the context of Bangladesh, necessities for its implementation, and constraints faced in implementation for e-policy, e-governance, e-commerce and e-HRD.


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Overall ICT Industry Findings (Contd.)

Recommendations for maturity of e-policy, e-governance, e-commerce and e-HRD

comprehensive, ICT-focused, educational campaign

source of high value, skilled ICT workers

remittance levels and opportunities to Bangladeshi citizens Global IT Report 2004-2005 standings: Bangladesh ranked

100 out of 104 on network readiness. Comments

Considerable research went into its creation Necessity for Bangladesh clearly defined


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Software Industry Export of Computer Software from

Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects (JRC Study, September 1997) Overview

Meetings with exporters and BSCIC officials Knowledge gathering mission at India

Findings Problems impeding growth and recommendations The inherent strengths of Bangladesh


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Software Industry Comments

Travel abroad provided new ideas Meetings with the pertinent people Adequate study of various publications Comprehensive perspective Milestone research leading to the creation of BASIS and

other developments No significant research as follow up to this seminal research


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Software Industry Bangladesh Software Industry Survey

Report- 2004 (JETRO) Overview

Questionnaire survey on 99 known software development companies

SWOT analysis Findings

The finance, human resource, infrastructure, and marketing related problems and their recommendations

The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing this industry


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Software Industry Comments

Reluctance of the respondents Too generic recommendations Absence of FGDs Inaccurate recording by the enumerators


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Software Industry Bangladesh Software Industry & its

Dynamics – (BASIS, 2005) Overview:

Reports the BASIS conducted study results so far. Summarizes report with recent data.

Findings: ICT Industry size: BDT 1,300 crores per year (excluding the

telecom sector) Software : over BDT 200 crores per year

Comments: Good industry snapshot Data needs continuous updates


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ITeS – IT Enabled Services Elements of a National Strategy for

Development of an Information Technology Enabled Services Sector in Bangladesh (CARANA Corporation, Apr 2002) Overview

Two opinion surveys:1.Bangladesh firms, government officials, and NGOs2.Non-resident Bangladeshis

Findings Factors limiting the growth of Bangladesh in the ITeS market Recommendations for this sector and who are to perform

them


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ITeS – IT Enabled Services Comments

Proper utilization of the NRBs’ knowledge The Philippines case study served as a standard Huge respondent population, thus study is extensive and

useful


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ITeS – IT Enabled Services External Market Analysis (CARANA

Corporation, 2002) Overview

Respondents from different public bodies, private sector associations, ITES firms, and the sponsors for the study.

ITES segments in question evaluated on the basis of three criterions:• Competitiveness Potential• Economic Impact • Potential for successful implementation


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ITeS – IT Enabled Services Findings

Overview of the outsourcing industry Various factors involved in outsourcing decisions Bangladesh meets just the Basic Requirements Bangladesh has a few inherent advantages and

opportunities to exploit and some constraints to overcome. Comments

Survey included all the important matters regarding ITeS Lacked the perspective of the offshore importers


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ITeS – IT Enabled Services Study of e-Commerce in Bangladesh (BEI,

May’05) Overview

Questionnaire-based surveys and face-to-face meetings in 5 export oriented sectors

Surveys, meetings and phone conversations with different pertinent government officials

Conceptualization of e-Commerce Findings

Global trends in e-Commerce Current preparedness of the private sector, the government,

and the ICT industry for e-Commerce in Bangladesh Constraints of e-Commerce growth in Bangladesh


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ITeS – IT Enabled Services Findings (Contd.)

Recommendations and action-items for industry associations, individual firms, the government, and the academia

Vast scope for development in the B2B sector E-mail and customized software for internal business

process automation have gained in popularity Over the last 5 years, several B2C portals have been

launched Comments

Explained the concept very well Did not cover too many export oriented industries. Recommendations and actions items were designed well but

not properly implemented.


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HCD/HRD Human Capacity Development (HCD)

(CARANA Corporation, 2002) Overview

Interviews with officials from different software manufacturing firms, universities, training institutes, and other organizations connected to the ICT industry.

Findings Assessment of HCD capacity and existing constraints Strategies to reduce/eliminate the constraint Positive developments and recommendations for this sector

Comments Subjective judgment took the place of raw data Lacked a questionnaire with options for filling quantitative data


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HCD/HRD ICT Skills Gap Assessment - Public Sector

Assessment (JOBS IRIS, 2006) Overview

ICT developments in Bangladesh’s government and its ICT HR needs

Analysis of Pakistan’s e-Government Strategy Interview with government officials

Findings Gap between the skills of graduates in the ICT field and the

skills in demand in the private sector The government lacks an ICT career track within its ranks


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HCD/HRD Findings (Contd.)

e-Government services are like stand-alone projects Inadequate advisory, management and maintenance support The current disadvantages plaguing e-government in

Bangladesh Recommendations pertaining to Bangladesh’s government

HR and to the government Comments

Case study approach provided an international standard to compare with

Lacked a comprehensive field study on the trainers and/or the training institutions


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HCD/HRD ICT Skills Gap Assessment - Private Sector

and Academia (JOBS IRIS, 2006) Overview

Analysis of both the demand and the supply side in academia and the private sector

Varied survey methods Survey covered majority of student population (60% of ICT

students) Findings

Continued necessity of a highly skilled human resource pool in Bangladesh’s ICT sector

Economic growth can be sustained and expedited If academia and the private sector work hand-in-hand


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HCD/HRD Findings (Contd.)

Recommendations for collaboration between the academic and private sectors, as well as further recommendations specific to each sector

Private sector analysis revealed the market growth and human resources trends

Comments Comprehensive Respondent population was satisfactory Maximum output derived through the survey process


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HCD/HRD Strategic Plan for Higher Education in

Bangladesh: 2006--2026 (UGC, 2006) Overview

Mostly secondary data driven Brainstorming sessions leading to idea generation It discusses the following topics:

The current scenario for teaching ICT, Vision for ICT in higher education, Strategies and Programmes to be Implemented, Academic Network and Fast Global Connectivity

Options, Information Strategies in each institution, Training and Development of Academic Staff, Role of the Colleges, National ICT Funding


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HCD/HRD Bridging Digital Divide for Rural Youth: An

Experience from Computer Literacy Programme in Bangladesh (D-Net, 2006) Overview

Both CLP and non-CLP schools were surveyed Respondents included students, teachers, head teachers,

and guardians Findings

The study is more of a baseline from which we can go further to ask more relevant and penetrating questions to gauge the performance of the CLP

14 recommendations and 10 future work suggestions were made


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HCD/HRD Comments

Baseline developed, so that judgment can be traced back to reality

Interview process was comprehensive FGDs with students and guardians were missing


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ICT Adoption Peoples’ Report on MDG: Bangladesh (D.Net, Jun

2005): Guided by three major components of development strategies: Poverty alleviation; Sustainable economic growth; and Empowerment.

The PMDG on ICT covers the following areas: Assessment of current scenario Identification of problems and issues Description of short term [up to two years] and mid-term [up to

five years] agenda Identification of stakeholders for each agenda and

implementation mechanism


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ICT Adoption ICT / ITeS Need Assessment Study (AC

Nielsen, Nov 2005) Overview

Two-step survey: (i) In-Depth interview and (ii) SME survey Respondents included different SME verticals

Findings Strengths, weaknesses, threats, and recommendations

facing this sector Comments

The survey process was very rigorous The depth interviews acted as a preparation arena for the SME

survey Different SME verticals, thus variety in sample


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ICT Adoption ICT4D Status Report 1.0 (D-Net, 2006)

Overview Access and infrastructure issues: context Bangladesh Community Access Points or Telecentre Movement in

Bangladesh Community Radio: Ready to Launch in Bangladesh E-Governance: Bangladesh Perspective Localization and Open Content Development in Bangladesh

Findings Bangladesh stands at 171 out of 180 countries in

connectivity & ICT diffusion index BTRC must be dynamic in Telecom deregulations Telecom Infrastructure must be greatly developed ASAP


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ICT Adoption Comments

Stock taking type report Addressed multi-dimensional issues Lacked cohesiveness Could link / correlate the areas for ICT4D more explicitly

Study of e-Government in Bangladesh, by BEI Case study based,

Successful (4) Semi-successful (3) Failure (1)

SICT’S Steps towards Good Governance through ICTs: Bangladesh’s E-Governance Strategy

Stock Taking of SICT Projects 55 projects studied including completed & on-going ones


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ICT Adoption Final Report on the Law of Information Technology (The Law Commission)

UNCITRAL Model Law (Indian) Information Technology Act, 2000 (Singapore) Electronic Transactions Act, 1998 1) Applicability of the Act; 2) The “Functional Equivalent” approach; 3) Electronic documents and electronic contracts; 4) Electronic governance; 5) Electronic signatures; 6) The technology for electronic signatures; 7) Liability and risk allocation in a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI); 8) Procedural aspects of PKI; 9) Contraventions; 10) Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal (CRAT); 11) Information technology offences; 12) Investigation, search and seizure; 13) Limited liability of Network Services Providers; 14) Cyber Regulations Advisory Committee; 15) Amendment/ repeal, etc., of related enactments.


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ICT Adoption Comments

Good review on: the UNCITRAL Model law the (Indian) Information Technology Act, 2000 the (Singapore) Electronic Transactions Act, 1998

Hoping for some follow-up phased implementation plan

The PKI & related technology & admin issues needed to be clearly spelled out


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Telecom Infrastructure Bangladesh Telecom Brief (USTDA South

Asia Communications Infrastructure Conference, Apr 2004) Overview

A brief timeline of the changes occurring in the telecom sector

Initiatives by BTRC Features of the Bangladesh telecom market An overview of the players in the telecom sector


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Telecom Infrastructure Findings

No clear, long-term strategy for sector development Political influence on industry reform proposals Inefficient telephone network more homes are connected with Cable TV than telephones

Comments Needed a better focus


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Telecom Infrastructure Community Access Point or Telecentre

Movement in Bangladesh (D.net, Nov’06) Overview

Initiated in August 2006 Includes the following programs or institutions:

Gonokendra: Centre for Community Development Amader Gram Learning Centre (AGLC): Community Database

for Development Internet Learning Centre: School Based Telecentre Youth Community Multimedia Centre (YCMC) RTC (Rural Technology Centre) GHAT: Rural ICT centre (RIC) Community Information Centre (CIC): A Profit-oriented Model ‘Pallitathya Kendra’: Focusing Access to Information for Poverty

Alleviation


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Telecom Infrastructure Findings

The telecentres in Bangladesh are faced with some constraints/challenges:

Technical constraints and sustainability Reliable connectivity Secured infrastructure Access to information services

Comments Successfully described the movement Danger of bias since authors are reporting their own works

Recommended Reports


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Overall ICT Industry(i) Base Line Survey on IT Sector of Bangladesh (BCS, Nov’00)(ii) CPD Policy Briefs in 2001 & its review in 2003

Software Industry(i) Export of Computer Software from Bangladesh: Problems and

Prospects (JRC Study, September 1997)(ii) Bangladesh Software Industry & its Dynamics (BASIS, Jan 2007)

ITeS – IT Enabled Services(i) Elements of a National Strategy for Development of an

Information Technology Enabled Services Sector in Bangladesh (CARANA Corporation, Apr 2002)(ii) Study of e-Commerce in Bangladesh (BEI, May’05)

Recommended Reports


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HCD / HRD

(i) ICT Skills Gap Assessment - Public Sector Assessment (JOBS IRIS, 2006)

(ii) ICT Skills Gap Assessment - Private Sector and Academia (JOBS IRIS, 2006)

ICT Adoption(i) ICT / ITeS Need Assessment Study (AC Nielsen, Nov 2005)

Recommended Reports


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Recommended Reports

Telecom Infrastructure(i) Bangladesh Telecom Brief (USTDA South Asia Communications Infrastructure Conference, Apr 2004)

Things TODO


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Things TODO In-Depth interviews, like FGD (Focused Group

Discussion), KII (Key Informant Interview), etc. Online forums Live TV shows Regular seminars on the Research Studies Extensive use of online questionnaires Make more “parallel studies” like CARANA Mention respondents’ names to increase credibility Online and physical databases of local and international

ICT reports Get SEDF study reports

Acknowledgments


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Mr. Rafiqul Islam Rowly, President (acting), BASIS

Mr. A K M Fahim Mashroor, Director, BASIS Mr. Monirul Bashar, Business Consultant,

Katalyst Dr. Ananya Raihan, Executive Director,

Development Research Network (D.net) Mr. Birendra Nath Adhikary, Chief Operating

Officer, Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS)

Acknowledgements


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Mr. Tarique M Barkatullah, Senior Systems Analyst, Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC)

Mr. Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, PMO/UNDP Ms. Suparna Roy, PMO/UNDP Mr. Nurul Amin, Secretary, BASIS Mr. Shariar Shaams, Program Manager, BASIS

Acknowledgements