Category: IT news

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Systems Limited – a next-generation global technology company enabling enterprises to reimagine their businesses through information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services out of Pakistan is the only IT company that has bagged the most prestigious Forbes Asia’s top 200 under a billion 2020 award.

Held for the first time in a virtual format, the award ceremony honored the companies that made it to the Forbes Asia 200 Best Under A Billion list – a well-researched ensemble of companies from the Asia-Pacific region with less than $1 billion in revenue and consistent top- and bottom-line growth. These companies have showcased track records of exceptional corporate performance, and scored above their peers in a composite score that includes sales and profit growth, low debt levels, and robust governance. The criteria also ensured diversity of companies from across the region.

“This is an extremely proud moment for the entire team including all the employees, stakeholders, partners, principals, and our shareholders who have trusted us in our leadership. I would like to congratulate all the employees who have put their heart and soul in delivering success to us,” said Asif Peer, CEO of Systems Limited. “My passion is that we become a billion-dollar company out of Pakistan very soon, and I trust my employees, the management and leadership that we will soon celebrate our billion-dollar success as well,” he added.

Being the only Pakistani award-winning IT company, Systems Limited’s selection in the prestigious list was no surprise. The company achieved record-breaking revenue in 2019 with surging growth continuing in 2020 as well, despite the market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The technology giant possesses all-round expertise in IT consulting and BPO/Contact Center services with a strong local and global client portfolio. Recently, Systems Limited won Top IT Exporter Award for 2019 by the Pakistan Software Export Board. Being included in the prestigious list is another feather in the cap of one of the biggest players in Pakistan’s IT sector.

Forbes Asia’s Best Under A Billion list celebrates the success of high achievers of the region across different industries. These inductees are selected from a universe of 18,000 publicly traded companies in the Asia-Pacific region with annual revenue above $10 million and below $1 billion. Aside from quantitative criteria, qualitative screens were used as well, such as excluding companies with serious governance issues, questionable accounting, environmental concerns, management issues or legal troubles. State-controlled and subsidiary companies were also omitted.

• The company serves as the largest community of its kind in Pakistan, with up to 93% of its students being trained free of cost
• Since 2017 the community has generated over $350 million in economic activity through its learning platform

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  Approximately 63 per cent of Pakistan’s population is currently under the age of 30    and the total unemployment figure is estimated to reach 6.65 million during the fiscal year 2020-21. Moreover, according to a recent report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), titled “Tackling the COVID-19 Youth Employment Crisis in Asia and the Pacific”, more than 2.3 million Pakistani youth are at risk of losing or have lost their jobs in case of a long term containment scenario implemented to curtail the coronavirus spread. Meanwhile it has also highlighted unemployment rate is set to increase by 12.6 per cent from 8.9 per cent at the end of 2019 to a whopping 21.5 per cent.

While traditional retail sales have declined both in Pakistan and globally, ecommerce has seen a 129 per cent year-over-year growth in the United States and Canada, with an impressive 146 per cent growth globally. It has also been estimated that by the end of 2020, global e-commerce sales are expected to reach $4.2 trillion.

This is where Extreme Commerce and its ‘Billion Dollar Pakistan’ vision fits in. Since its inception, it has evolved into a one of the largest knowledge sharing and empowerment ecosystem, paving the way for Pakistani’s living in Pakistan and abroad to engage with international ecommerce hubs such as Amazon, eBay etc and local hubs such as Daraz.

Extreme Commerce’s Chief Executive Officer Sunny Ali while sharing his vision said that, we want to enable Pakistanis to at least make $1,000 per month. This is the correct minimum wage that Pakistanis need to survive and improve not just their lifestyles but do something for their nation as well. He said, “my ideology is simple, if I have an empty stomach how can I even think of doing good for others? We need to eradicate this problem and take Pakistanis to sufficiency, inline with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision for a Naya Pakistan.”

Aligning with this ambition, Extreme Commerce aims to inject more than a $1-billion into the local economy via online sales and service and so it has launched VBC2020, a one of its kind eCommerce skill development platform which has more then 40-50 practical trainings covered by industry experts, through which students and can earn $300-$500 minimum.

Moreover, the company’s management says that financial accommodations will be made for those who cannot afford, so that everyone has a shot at making it work. It is worth mentioning that more than 90 per cent or around 13,000 VBC students currently have access to the platform free of cost.

Sunny Ali also added that VBC2020 is a proof of Extreme Commerce’s commitment and vision of empowering the youth through skill development and capacity building. This initiative will also help in training the next generation of ecommerce professionals and e-tailers of Pakistan and digital nomads, and give the industry a much-needed boost along with acting as a catalyst for the nation so that Pakistan can export IT services in global ecommerce marketplaces.

On Monday, 29 June, a delegation from Facebook held a virtual meeting with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to discuss the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020, and to propose recommendations as part of an ongoing consultation process. 

In the meeting, Facebook representatives highlighted that the rules should: strive for greater transparency on content restricted in Pakistan; preserve citizens’ right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under Pakistan’s Constitution; incorporate due process requirements; and develop an independent oversight mechanism as required by PECA.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Today, Facebook announced the winners of the Ethics in AI Research Initiative for the Asia Pacific, an initiative to help support thoughtful and groundbreaking academic research in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) ethics. 

Among the winners from nine different countries is Junaid Qadir, Professor at the Information Technology University (ITU) of the Punjab, along with co-investigator Amana Raquib, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi.

To support AI ethics research in the Asia Pacific, Facebook partnered with the Centre for Civil Society and Governance of The University of Hong Kong and the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong (PCPD; esteemed co-chair of the Permanent Working Group on Ethics and Data Protection in AI of the Global Privacy Assembly) to launch a request for proposals (RFP) in December 2019. The RFP was open to academic institutions, think tanks, and research organizations registered and operational across Asia Pacific. 

“The latest advancements in AI bring transformational changes to society, but at the same time an array of complex ethical questions that must be closely examined. At Facebook, we believe our understanding of AI should be informed by research conducted in open collaboration with the community. That’s why we’re keen to support independent academic research institutions in APAC to pursue interdisciplinary research in AI ethics that will  enable ongoing dialogue on these important issues in the application of AI technology that has a lot of potential to benefit society and mankind,” said Raina Yeung, Head of Privacy and Data Policy, Engagement, APAC at Facebook.

“We’re excited to be awarded this grant and are looking forward to beginning this project. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has great potential to facilitate sustainable human development goals, but it also has significant potential for abuse. Through this work, a culturally-informed, pro-social AI framework for Pakistan and the Muslim world will be proposed. In this regard, the rich Islamic legal tradition and the work on objectives (Maqāsid) of Islamic law will be leveraged for studying contemporary AI-related issues,” said Junaid Qadir, the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project.

“Through the proposed framework, the project team will seek to engage with other AI ethics frameworks and propose new insights that can advance the general body of knowledge on AI and Islamic ethical principles and guidelines,” he added. 

Junaid Qadir is a professor at the Information Technology University (ITU) of Punjab, Lahore since April 2020, where he also serves as the chairperson of the Electrical Engineering Department since January 2019. He completed his Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia in 2008 and his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore, Pakistan in 2000. 

Amana Raquib, the co-PI of the project, has completed her doctorate, summa cum laude, in Religious Philosophy and Ethics from the University of Queensland, Australia. She had earlier completed her undergraduate in Philosophy from the University of Karachi. She is the author of the book “Islamic Ethics of Technology: An Objectives’ (Maqasid) Approach.”

For more information please visit: https://research.fb.com/blog/

Lahore  (Muhammad Yasir)  “Today, as more and more people across the globe, including Pakistan are required to stay home due to government lockdown interventions, we are seeing a massive shift towards remote learning. This has meant the growth in the usage of collaborative tools such as Microsoft’s Teams to create virtual classrooms wherein educators can communicate with their students in real-time”. This statement has been issued by Microsoft recently.

According to the South African activist and former president Nelson Mandela, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’. Investment in education is one of the biggest investments any country can make for its current and future generation. Currently, around 420 million people across the world would be lifted out of poverty with secondary education consequently improving the quality of life globally by more than half.

In emerging markets alone, over 1.5 Million students and teachers are leveraging Microsoft Teams as the remote learning platform during this period. Through such platforms, educators can connect with and support students in much the same way they could in person with live meetings wherein they are able to show video, share presentations, and even invite external speakers for virtual field trips. But, as students and educators move online, naturally there is an increase in the risks to security and safety.

In Pakistan, Microsoft has observed that as we adjust to the new normal and governments take the much needed next steps towards safely re-opening the economies and adopting possible return to school strategies, blended learning will play a key role in ensuring that some of the non – essential aspects of learning that do not require face to face interaction are enabled while ensuring the online safety and security of students.

Pakistani educational institutions, therefore, need to take steps to ensure that digital learning environments are safe by setting up concrete policies and restrictions when using these tools to guard students’ safety, while also ensuring that online classrooms remain engaging and giving educators the tools they need to create a focused learning environment. When educators set up meetings to teach students a link is created which participants can use to enter these meetings. Sharing these links online to reach students can seem like a quick and easy way to communicate with students when and how to enter live meetings but this also opens meetings up to anyone who sees the link.

Online classrooms introduce a new dynamic for both teachers and students alike, making managing disruptions and curbing inappropriate messaging, a task which educators need to perform in new ways. Now, these disturbances can also appear in the form of unauthorized users with disruption often being their main goal.

To manage disruptions while ensuring the safety of students, administrators should limit students’ ability to schedule meetings, initiate private calls, and monitor chat sessions to remove inappropriate messaged in channel meetings. This can be done by restricting meeting roles for students within a meeting. Educators can control the learning environment further in Teams by creating meetings for classes within specific channels which allows them to disable student-to-student chat if necessary and allows them to track class discussions in context. Other functionalities such as being able to blur video backgrounds, mute participants, and control who can present during the meeting are key for ensuring safe learning for students with Teams.

We have entered an unexpected and often challenging time where in just over a month the education landscape has completely transformed. But as we have also seen, technology is a powerful tool that can be used to overcome these challenges and sometimes even improve on functions such as learning. With technology, education can be interactive, engaging, and controlled as long as we ensure digital security to protect students and staff online.

As a way to support educational institutions as they work to do so, Microsoft has created a more in-depth guide to serve as a foundation to their safety plans, and thus help to give teachers, students, and parents’ peace of mind while also making learning more productive.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) “Our world has changed dramatically over the last couple of months and in an effort to keep the wheels turning, companies across the world are switching to remote work … and Microsoft is no different”. This statement was issued by Microsoft today while sharing guidelines to keep devices safe from cyberattacks. Earlier this month, the company asked tens of thousands of its employees from around the globe to work from home. “A decision not made lightly as we all try to navigate the challenges of juggling the demands of home life with work hours”, the statement added.

Protecting your data, privacy and networks is another challenge that we are constantly engaged with. Microsoft analyses 6.5 trillion signals a day in order to identify emerging threats and protect users. However, according to the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s Cybersecurity report from July 2019, we all are at risk when it comes to cybersecurity.

With more of us going online via our home networks to work, do online banking, grocery shopping or even catch up with family members at a distance, cyber criminals will be looking for weaknesses to exploit. While we’re always on the lookout for these threats to your security, we still need your help to stay on top of our game.

In recent months, we’ve all had to rethink everyday hygiene like washing our hands and cleaning the surfaces we touch. Working securely from home should be no different. Much like how governments are asking us to make small changes while they consider the bigger ones, we want you to do the same when it comes to cybersecurity at home while we keep you protected.

A good place to start when it comes to cybersecurity hygiene is with email. “91 percent of cyberattacks start with email. To help protect you, we’ve created a multi-layered defence system that includes machine learning, detonation, and signal-sharing to quickly find and shut down email attacks. If any of these mechanisms detect a malicious email, URL, or attachment, the message is blocked from your inbox before it’s opened by our secure and isolated machines. It’s then analysed to give our developers additional insights and train machine learning models. This information is then shared with other services such as Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)”.

For us to provide you with this kind of protection, we also need your help to identify malicious emails. There are a few things that you can look out for when it comes to recognising a possible email cyberattack. One of the first tell-tale signs is a general greeting like “Good day” or addressing you by the incorrect name. This is then often followed by bad spelling and grammar. However, some scammers might have superb email etiquette and will trip you up elsewhere with suspicious links. To double check this, hover your mouse over the link – don’t click. A white or yellow box will pop up with the actual link and you can see if it corresponds with the link mentioned in the mail.

Avoid opening attachments from people you don’t know or you weren’t expecting to hear from. If you know the sender, but are still unsure, contact them directly to see if they meant to send you a file. Scammers will often instil a feeling of panic by setting a short timeframe for when you have to respond, with some sort of penalty. Finally, check to see if the sender’s name, signature and URL are the same. If an email has any of these red flags, send it to your spam folder and mark it as ‘phishing’. Email habits like these will go a long way to protecting you while you work from home.

One of the easiest ways you can help us keep your devices safe is to update the device software regularly. System updates are important for maintaining your device’s software to ensure it continues to run efficiently and helps keep you protected. During the update process, we’ll install the latest security patches to the operating system and other programmes to strengthen your device against cyberattacks.

Antivirus updates are also critical to making sure your device has the latest protection when it comes to virus and malware attacks. All devices running Windows 10 will have Windows Defender Antivirus built in which offers ongoing protection. It also works with third party antivirus software if you or your company has chosen to install a different programme. However, no matter which antivirus software you have, you will need to update this on a regular basis. The easiest way to do that is to set up automatic updates to download when you’re taking a break or at the end of a work day.

Do you find yourself forgetting your passwords and as a result using the same password for everything? Now is the time to go passwordless so you never again have to remember a long 16-character set of random digits, symbols and letters. Save yourself the hassle and switch to Microsoft’s range of passwordless technologies. Windows Hello uses facial recognition or your fingerprint, while the Microsoft Authenticator app uses your phone to login. If you’re looking for another layer of security, you can enable two-step verification on your devices and Microsoft account. Each time you sign in, you’ll receive a security code on your email, phone or through the authenticator app that you’ll then need plug in to gain access.

Protect your data with regular backups. If by chance a virus does slip through and corrupts your data, a recent backup can be a real lifesaver. At the very least, try to save files that you can’t afford to lose, such as documents, pictures, financial information, favourite links, contacts, and important emails. If you’re concerned about space, Microsoft’s online cloud storage OneDrive is a great way to keep your files safe and accessible from anywhere in the world.

Much like how we have changed our hand washing routine, are sneezing into the crook of our elbows and keeping a safe distance from others to prevent risk, the same applies to cybersecurity. These small changes to your online habits keep our cybersecurity experts informed so that they can help prevent attacks on your devices and you can continue to work safely from home.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Infinix, the premium smartphone brand catering to the GenZ with its innovative and state-of-the-art devices, has just launched the successor to its best-selling Hot 8, the Infinix Hot 9. The new phone comes with a 6.6″ HD plus infinity O display, 16 MP Quad camera, 5000 mAh battery, and super ample storage. The Hot 9 series feature two variants, 3GB/32GB Rs. 17,999 exclusively available online on Daraz and XPark, and the Infinix Hot 9 4GB/128GB Rs. 22,999, to be available both in stores and online. The device would soon be available in three attractive color options; Violet, Ocean Wave, and Quetzal Cyan.

The Infinix Hot 9 is fitted with a 6.6-inch HD plus Infinity O display, designed to enhance the consumer’s viewing experience. The phone runs Android 10 with XOS 6 on top and features a massive 5,000mAh battery, with 4-day battery life. On the front camera, the buyers get an 8 MP primary camera with flashlight, and on the rear, there’s a 16MP + 2MP + 2MP camera with auto flash.                                                                                                                

“An exciting new addition to the Infinix family, the Hot 9 is the ultimate device for all the people on the go who are looking for the all-in-one solution in their smartphone. With its powerful battery performance, sleek and stylish design, the HOT 9 is going to be the best buy in user-friendly price range. Infinix has always worked to produce devices with powerful features and distinctive designs so our consumers can create their style statements with their smartphones, and enjoy all the cutting-edge features at the same time,” said Mr. Joe Hu, CEO of Infinix Pakistan.

The Infinix HOT 9 is a complete package for users looking to spend time on their phones uninterrupted by the worries of charging the device. Up-to-date with the latest design and features, the HOT 9 is an exciting new and budget-friendly addition to the smartphone market.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Aptec Distribution FZ LLC, a fully owned subsidiary of Ingram Micro Inc., one of the largest technology distributors in the META region, today announced signing a distribution agreement with Dell Technologies in Pakistan.

Through this agreement, Aptec Distribution FZ LLC is now authorized to distribute Dell Technologies portfolio which will be comprising of networking devices and server products and will collaborate with Ingram Micro Pakistan to broaden coverage of Dell products to channel partners in Pakistan.

Ingram Micro Pakistan distributes a wide range of value-added solutions and products covering Data Centre, Storage, Security, Networking, Software, Hardware, Physical Security, and Services from leading vendors in each segment. Ingram Micro Pakistan will work closely with Dell Technologies to build on the relationships with broad horizon of existing partners and customers as the demand for networking devices, servers & storage grows. 

The addition of Dell Technologies to Ingram Micro Pakistan portfolio strengthens the position and portfolio of Dell among its channel partners, resellers, system integrators, and end-users. This agreement further strengthens Ingram Micro’s relationship with one of the world’s leading IT solution providers.

Hasan Shahid Abdullah, Country Manager, Ingram Micro Pakistan and Afghanistan said, “Being a global distributor it is our aim to provide best in class product portfolio in the market and it’s a pleasure to extend Dell Technologies’ robust server storage and networking portfolio to our valued partners empowering them to deliver quality solutions to the end users.”

Naveed Siraj, Country Manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dell Technologies said, “Customers in Pakistan are modernizing their infrastructure, transforming their core businesses and relying on technology as the most-effective change-agent to derive positive business outcomes. This awareness has resulted in strong demand for Dell’s cutting-edge enterprise portfolio.  To further strengthen our market leadership position, we continue to collaborate with leading technology companies to bring what we have to offer, with agility, for which we are well-known. We are pleased to expand our distribution footprint with Aptec Distribution FZ LLC as a Dell enterprise distributor for Dell PowerEdge Server & Networking solutions portfolio. We are confident that this distribution agreement will further augment the transformation journey that our customers have embarked on in Pakistan.”