ISLAMABAD: Stephen A Brobst, chief technology officer (CTO) of Teradata Corporation, has said that Pakistan has become an attractive business market for the investors across the globe. That is why more and more international renowned companies are tending to invest in Pakistan, he said.
During an exclusive interview with Customs Today Stephen A Brobst said that Pakistan could capitalise on technology to make energy sector more efficient. Such a data driven approach can also help the country streamline its education, healthcare delivery, manufacturing and banking system.
Teradata Corporation is the world’s leading enterprise data warehousing solutions provider with a stated mission – to “help the world’s biggest brands get the most value from their data.”
Stephen A Brobst said that Pakistani tax system had significantly improved in recent years and simplified procedures for the establishment and registration of new companies had been a source of encouragement for international investors to invest in Pakistan.
He further said that he faced no hardship or difficulty from any state organization in the expansion of company’s operation in Pakistan. “In contrary, I enjoyed full cooperation from almost all the concerned organizations and departments in this regard” he asserted.
In response to rate of taxation in Pakistan as compared to other countries, he said that rate of taxes in Pakistan was far less than other countries as well as there was also a facility of refund which made Pakistani tax system unique and exemplary.
About operations of his company in Pakistan, he said that TERADATA Pakistan mainly served its local customers, but it has also established a Global Development Centre (GDC) in Lahore and Islamabad which served both local and international customers.
However, he said that company was working with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to identify population demographics and to support intelligence, investigation and many other areas.
“In fact, his company built for NADRA a repository of data for all citizens, which is now being used for a range of purposes” he said adding that his company worked with the Punjab government for dengue fever tracking and its prevention and used its findings in other countries successfully and it was a pride for Pakistan that its technology was utilized in other countries.
To a question about commencement of his companies operation in Pakistan, he said that company started serving telecommunication companies, such as Ufone and presently all the telecommunication companies used data solutions. Other than catering to telcos, it has expanded its services to the financial sector.
“Today, all the leading banks and financial institutions are using its high-tech and state-of-the-art services as well as company has served both the federal and provincial governments in a number of such areas as healthcare, crime prevention, tax compliance and many others” he maintained.
He said that Pakistanis telcos were using analytical applications and the customer relationship management (CRM) system as well as implementing data model, which was applicable to both landline and mobile phone segments.
He added the field of data science had great potential that in Pakistan and highly significant for local business due to broader applicability and effectiveness. As per its scope of work, data science is not similar to business analysis that company usually performs through data examination; it is more related to data R&D.
“Our company, as a part of its global programme, has been working to produce local talent in Pakistan, which will help it adopt modern data science techniques. We also have technical support of open source technology that is already popular due to its usefulness and user-friendliness” he noted.
To another question about talent of Pakistanis, he observed that Pakistanis were fully talented people with full energy for work and innovation, therefore, his company made enormous achievements in the field of technology. “Without the full-fledged support of Pakistani staff and technicians, no achievement was possible, this was why company was going to make further mega investments in Pakistan” he noted.
When asked about his stay in Pakistan, , Stephen A Brobst, said that although he had a short span of stay in Pakistan, however, during his stay, he found Pakistanis cooperative and supportive in the completion of his task. Moreover, I visited Naran Valley and enjoyed hiking to Saiful Malook Lake and it was a wonderful experience for me” he concluded.
