P@SHA

P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association)

Type	Trade Body
Industry	Information Technology
Founded	(1992)
Headquarters	Karachi, Pakistan
Website	PASHA.ORG.PK

1 Introduction
2 Aims & Objectives
3 Publications
4 PASHA ICT Awards
5 Central Executive Committee
6 External links

Introduction

Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) a trade body and a registered association, was founded in the year 1992, primarily to promote and develop the software and services industry in Pakistan and to protect the rights of its members. PASHA is the sole non-profit organization that helps the IT industry in Pakistan be heard in the global arena. PASHA is funded by the companies that are its members and it organizes activities that promote the image and achievements of the industry.

Aims & Objectives

Primary aims & objectives of P@SHA include:

To provide a platform for member software houses and for IT & IT enabled Service companies to share technical and management related experience in IT & IT enabled Service projects.
To promote, protect and develop the IT and IT Enabled Services industry in Pakistan.
To provide a forum for formulation of standards for the IT & IT enabled Services industry in Pakistan.
To provide a focal point for external agencies such as end user organizations and foreign trade/donor agencies etc. to contact for queries related to accredited IT & IT enabled Service companies and inform on the general state of affairs of information technology in Pakistan.
To solicit support (such as subsidized communication facilities and relaxation on government policies on travel
To devise ways and means for tackling and solving the problems and difficulties confronting the members and allied industries/trade.
To collect, tabulate and circulate statistics and other information relating to or of interest to the business of its members and/or the industry in general.
To publish or cause to be published or encourage and support publication, bulletins or any other information useful or beneficial to the members, and allied trade.
To initiate, and to take steps to protect, promote and support legitimate interest of the members, including those necessary for and in the interest of Pakistan and to take steps to secure public support against measures affecting the IT & IT enabled Services industry.
To make representations to and communicate with Federal Government, Provincial Governments, Local Governments or other authorities both Government and Private on any matter affecting the business of its members or the trade.
To secure, organize and coordinate action on all matters pertaining to or affecting the interests of its members.
To endeavor to settle, adjust and resolve controversies between members and to arbitrate in matters of differences or disputes arising between members willing and/or agreeing to submit to arbitration.
To frame, vary, modify and/or amend from time to time the arbitration rules of the Association.
To undertake special investigation, study, research and enquiries.
To hold in trust or in safe custody or otherwise, not being for the purpose of trading any material or amount, if desired to be so held by the Government or members of Association.
To advise and assist the Government in the formulation of useful and progressive policies and to cooperate with them in their successful implementation.
To take effective measures to eradicate unethical practices in the field of trade, commerce and industry.
To subscribe to and become a member of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and to cooperate with, and/or to procure from and communicate with, any incorporated organization of trade, commerce and industry such information as may be likely to further the aims and objects of the Association.
To endeavor with recognized/registered Chambers and Associations of trade and Industry to form a national Arbitration Association of Pakistan and to seek affiliation or liaison with similar other bodies abroad with the prior approval of the Government.
To frame and assist in the framing of rules of practice for facilitating and simplifying the business of its members.
To maintain and manage any training facilities which may be set up by the Association with or without the assistance of the Government.
To encourage friendly feelings, close cooperation and unanimity among the members of the Association on all matters connected with their common good and objectives.
Any individual firm or company engaged in the development or marketing of IT & IT Enabled Services, information systems consulting or software related to training shall be eligible to become a member of this Association. No individual firm or company will be entitled to have more than one membership in the Association.
Only in connection with the activities and operations of the Association, to purchase, take on lease, or in exchange or otherwise acquire or deal in and to construct, maintain, develop or control lands, buildings, hereditaments or any kind of movable or immovable property or properties.
To sell, improve, manage, develop, exchange, lease, mortgage, and dispose off, turn to account or otherwise deal in all or any part of the property of the Association.
To invest and deal with the moneys of the Association not immediately required in such manner as may, from time to time, be determined.
And generally to do all that may be conducive or necessary to achieve and attain all or any of the aims and objects of the Association directly and indirectly of the IT & IT enabled Services industry and allied trades/industries.

Publications

PASHA ICT Awards

The P@SHA ICT Awards, which are now in their 7th year, aim to provide recognition to software and service applications that have been developed in Pakistan, by providing companies an opportunity to gain local, regional and international exposure through on-going promotional activities. Hence, it is meant to acknowledge creativity, innovation and excellence in the Pakistan Information and Communication Technologies sector.

Objectives

The objective of the P@SHA ICT Awards is to provide recognition to software and service applications that have been developed in Pakistan . It is meant to acknowledge creativity, innovation and excellence in the Pakistan Information and Communication Technologies sector. This annual Awards program also provides an opportunity and an ideal environment for companies to gain local, regional and international exposure through on-going promotional activities, and through participation at the international Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA).

PASHA ICT Awards Categories

Participating organisations should select only one category to submit the nomination. A participating organisation may submit more than one nomination. However, one nomination can only be submitted once and cannot be repeated under different categories.

ANIMATION

P@SHA is reaching out to all budding and professional animators from across Pakistan to participate in a new “Animation Category” that P@SHA has started as of this year. This will be a local award. Winners will receive a trophy in recognition of their winning entry and their products will be showcased online. The Animation Category will consist of two different categories – 3D animation and 2D/Flash/Silverlight Animation and will be judged on Subject Matter, Creativity, Originality, Artistic Quality and Quality of Motion & Technoloy used.

MOBILE GAMES

A game developed for delivery on any mobile platform – Apple iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry or Nokia, etc. The entry will be judged on different criteria – user interface, ease-of-use, complexity of game, technology, market potential, etc.

Cluster Category : e-Government Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination that enable more efficient, effective, transparent and low cost of Government Operations; or any application software, hardware or its combination that has been implemented by Government Institution and Public Services to provide the best and valuable services to Public; or any application software that has been developed to meet specific Government requirement for Public Service use and its services is managed by Government Institution. The application can be developed by private institution, government institution or government owned companies funded by the Government or Foreign donor, and still can be in the pilot implementation. The application may not necessarily be in full-scale implementation but the Government Institution or Public Services Institution already uses it. The application that has been developed to be used by State Owned Company or Government Owned Company for business purposes is not included under this category. Prove from the user for the acceptance or recognition of application implementation must be presented during the entry nomination.

Cluster Category : e-Inclusion and e-Community Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination to support the community in the member economy’s society with the aim to promote the rights and needs of particular groups; or to improve the wellbeing, quality of life and standard of living of the community with the ultimate intent to bridge the digital divide. The product shall be initiated, developed and owned by Non-Government organization, however the funding to the initiative and the development can be provided by the Government or Private Institution or both.

Cluster Category : e-Learning Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination that serves the needs of learners to acquire knowledge and skills through information and communication technologies; used in schools, universities, other educational institutions and corporations through interactive, personalized and distributed learning resources; creating active e-learning communities and target models and solutions. Cluster Category : Secondary Student Project Product Definition :

Any Information and Communication Technology project or research performed by a student or a group of students who are coming from a school comprising any span of grades beginning with the next grade following an elementary or middle-school (usually 7, 8, or 9) and ending with or below grade 12. Generally refers to the years of formal education prior to entering a College or University.

Cluster Category : Tertiary Student Project Product Definition :

Any Information and Communication Technology project or research performed by a student or a group of students who are registered as active undergraduate student in higher-learning institution, such as college or university during the P@SHA ICT Award competition or within 1 year period from his or her graduation date by providing proof of graduation certificate during delivery of the presentation.

Cluster Category : Tourism and Hospitality Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination that supports service based industry comprising a number of tangible and intangible component such as transport, foods and beverages, tours, souvenirs and accommodation, health-tourism, culture, adventure or simply escape and relaxation.

Cluster Category : New Media and Entertainment Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination that relates to the process of combining text, sound, pictures, and videos, to create a diversion that holds the attention (entertainment), in the form of Multimedia, Infotainment, Immersive and interactive e.g. the technology innovation to develop advance human characterization in the animation film. Including in this category is the application afore mentioned through internet medium and mobile devices delivery. Any application software, hardware or its combination that provides management and technical support to the news and entertainment industry such as Television Broadcasting, Radio Broadcasting, Cinema, Live Entertainment, Publishing, Newspaper, Internet News.

Category : Communications Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination that relates with any transmission of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, voice, video, data, or intelligence of any nature by digital or analog, electromagnetic or electronic signals through existing and emerging media (e.g., radio, telephone, television, facsimile, SMS, MMS, GPRS, Internet, WiFi, WiMax, 3G, Bluetooth, RFID). The application must be developed specifically for Communications Industry and it is not appropriate and difficult to be converted and used by other industry.

Cluster Category : Financial Industry Applications Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination to support and enable process of transferring and managing capital or funds or monetary related entities within or across the enterprise in a various related industry such as banking, insurance, stock exchange, and multi finance.

Cluster Category : Industrial Applications Product Definition :

Any application of software, hardware or its combination to improve the process performance of creating products and services and to increase efficiency and productivity e.g. Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM), optimization devices and system, process effectiveness monitoring tools, data acquisition software, SCADA, process and discrete manufacturing, oil and gas etc.

Cluster Category : e-Logistics and Supply Chain Management Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination to support and enable the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customers’ requirements.

Cluster Category : e-Health Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination that relates to the services provided to individuals or communities by a health care system or by professionals to promote, maintain, monitor, or restore health. Healthcare contains a broad spectrum of services and activities delivered by a team of health personnel.

Cluster Category : Security Product Definition :

Any application software, hardware or its combination that provides authentication support, intruder detection prevention, antivirus, anti spyware, data and/or system protection and counter security checking system that is applicable to the information technology environment as well as other security systems at large.

Cluster Category : Tools and Infrastructure Application Product Definition :

Any software program designed to operate hardware through basic operating systems and programming languages, increase the efficiency of systems personnel through system performance measurement tools, improve the operating capabilities of the hardware system by routing the flow of data among machine units, and handle data entry and delivery, or to insure program integrity through maintenance, convert programs from one language to another, organize data resources through sort/merge products, and monitor machine usage. Any software program designed to allow users to retrieve, organize, manage and manipulate data and databases. This group is divided into four sub-categories: data access/retrieval, data management, data manipulation, and program design, development. It includes all database management system (DBSM) software; decision-support and executive information system (EIS) programs; spreadsheet programs; front-end and back-end CASE tools; and emerging areas like cooperative processing and/or object management application development tools. Any software program designed as a software tools to develop another application or database or operating systems. Any software program designed to monitor integrated Information Technology System operation, improve systems performance and increase reliability of systems.

Cluster Category : Research and Development Product Definition :

Any Information and Communication Technology research and creation, to discover and invent new knowledge, products, processes, and services or to create new and improved products, processes, and services required by market needs. Any Information and Communication Technology product or creation that has been completed fully but not yet actively marketed or it is already actively marketed but still no customer or installation at the customer site yet provided its marketing effort is still less than one year since its product completion. Any Information and Communication Technology product or creation that has not been completed but can be demonstrated to show its features and functionality. Funding of this product can be either from internal funding and or customer/user funding. IPR of the Research and Development product must be owned by the company who nominate the product entry.

Specific Category : Start-up Company

Nomination Description

Start-up Company is an Information and Communication Technology company who develop an innovative and potential superior ICT Product but the company itself is still considered at the early stage of inception. The Start-up Company must meet the following criteria,

• The company must be a company registered under company eligibility for nomination rule • Company registration must not more than 3 years from the date of P@SHA ICT Awards competition • Founder of the company and or the product developers must still be the major share holder of the company • The company must not be a subsidiary of well established parent company. • The company has not received substantial funding from VC or other investor other than their own funding

Best in Operational Excellence

This Award will be presented to the Service or Product company that has shown the most innovation in customer service & satisfaction

Best in Service Innovation

This Award will be presented to the service company that has the most unique and creative business model in terms of service innovation.

Best in Corporate Social Responsibility

This Award will be presented to the company that has developed a product or provided a service using ICT for the development of the rural sector, for empowering the underprivileged or the physically challenged.

CIO of the Year – Private Sector

This Award will be presented to the CIO of a Private Sector organisation who has worked most effectively and seamlessly with an IT firm in Pakistan to implement a solution which has improved the efficiency of the organisation.

CIO of the Year – Public Sector

This Award will be presented to the CIO of a Public Sector organisation who has worked most effectively and seamlessly with an IT firm in Pakistan to implement a solution which has improved the efficiency of the organisation and improved citizen services.

Best in System Integration

This Award will be given to the company that has worked with a local customer to provide the best System Integration services thereby improving their automation and delivery.

Best in Brand Development

This Award will be presented to the Service or Product company that has most significantly developed its brand over the past year – in terms of its image, its collateral, its advertising and its overall perception locally or internationally.

Best in Export Growth

This Award will be presented to the Service or Product company that has shown the highest percentage of growth in its export business.

Central Executive Committee

The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA) elected a new Chairman and Central Executive Committee which will take charge with immediate effect for the year 20010-2011.

The new CEC members are:

Ashraf Kapadia

Managing Director, Systems Ltd

Jehan Ara

Room 310, 3rd Floor Business Center Block 2, PECHS, Karachi – 74400

Shahzad Shahid

Head of Global Business Development, TPS Pakistan

Faisal Khan

CEO, Ovex Technologies

Talhah Munir Khan

CTO. Knowledge Platform Pvt Ltd

Yusuf Jan

Co-Founder, Mixit Technologies

Abbas Khan

Director, Abacus Consulting

Nadeem Elahi

Country Manager, TRG

Amin Ansari

COO, CTO 24/7 Pvt Ltd

Arooj Alam Khan

Executive Director, Sidat Hyder Morshed Associates

Sultan Hamdani

COO, Maison Consulting & Solutions