Bangladesh ICT Industry Research Reports Desk Study

Desk Study on the
Bangladesh ICT Industry
Research Reports
Prepared by
Fokhruz Zaman
Md. Shakhawatul Islam

09/17/13 Desk Study on BD ICT Industry Research Reports 2
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

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

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 documents
3. Second level study of the short-listed ones
4. Report the study findings with qualitative remarks

Desk Report Methodology
Government
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

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

Study Categories : Gross
HCD / HRD
SW Industry
IT Enabled Services
ICT Adoption
Telecom Infrastructure Overall ICT Industry

Analysis of the ICT
Industry Research Studies

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

 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

 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

 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

 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

 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.

 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

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

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

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

Software Industry
 Comments
 Reluctance of the respondents
 Too generic recommendations
 Absence of FGDs
 Inaccurate recording by the enumerators

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

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 NGOs
2.Non-resident Bangladeshis
 Findings
 Factors limiting the growth of Bangladesh in the ITeS market
 Recommendations for this sector and who are to perform
them

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

 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

 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

 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

 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.

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

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

HCD/HRD
 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

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

HCD/HRD
 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

 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

 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

 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

 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

 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

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

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

 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

 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

Bangladesh ICT Industry Research Reports Desk Study

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