Why Pakistan is a Great Location for Software Outsourcing?
When we think about software or tech outsourcing the most common destinations that come to mind are Colombia, Russia, India, Philippines, China, Mexico and many others. These locations are considered great for outsourcing but over-crowding is not only hurting the quality but also diminishing the value that business are able to realize. As most businesses do not have the multi-million dollars budgets to spend with vendors, so they find themselves working with the lower tier vendors who remain limited in their ability to hire and retain exceptional talent.
As the result of these rising challenges and limitations, multiple alternate offshore locations have emerged who are not just producing great results but also becoming great success stories. One of these locations is Pakistan.
When we tell our clients or prospects about Cubix and its location in Karachi, Pakistan, they are unable to fathom or are curious about how we are able to deliver successful projects continuously leveraging Pakistan as a destination. The overall image conceived by the businesses operating outside Pakistan is not surprising given the negative perception that the media tends to create about Pakistan.
As most of the tech business leaders and entrepreneurs are considered as rational thinkers and when presented with facts, they realize not only the risks are considerably low but outsourcing the business to Pakistan has many advantages. To put it simply, Pakistan is a not only a favorable for tech outsourcing but offers a lot more as compared to other choices available today.
When I was working with different enterprises and entrepreneurs in the US, I witnessed first-hand the problems working with typical outsourcing locations which include inflexibility, rising prices and lack of overall quality improvements. Despite such problems, the working norms of such outsourcing destinations because everyone else is outsourcing to these locations with the notion that other companies can’t be wrong.
The times have changed now. The businesses today are more focused on getting outmost value and are realizing that speed-to-market is of greater importance to their business. Today, it is not about where you are located but whether you can deliver on time, with best quality while staying within the budget. We have different enterprises and businesses are approaching us to understand our strengths operating in Pakistan and how we are leveraging the best minds and human capital to deliver sustainable and continuous value and quality to our clients globally.
Below mentioned are the few facts and figures that highlights why Pakistan is the next tech and software outsourcing destination. The list may come as a surprise to you, but it is one of the major reasons Cubix has been able to offer great services and build substantial client success, building top-of-the-line products for both emerging businesses to the world largest enterprises.
1- Pakistan is world’s sixth most populated country in the globe having 220 million+ citizens, and more than half of its population is below the age of 25.
2- The country is home to more than 20,000 I.T firms, and features 20+ tech incubators.
3- The country is home to almost 10 million English speakers. This is essentially due to the fact that the country was a British colony till 1947.
4- The country is a great source for cheap labor, in fact, it rates even lower than India when it comes to finding top-quality tech workforce at an affordable price.
5- Pakistan is home to the seventh largest city in the world, and great number of students in this beautiful country are preferring a career in I.T.
6- Pakistan has a great plan for top-class I.T parks that have a US$0.5 per square ft /month rental rate.
7- The Government of Pakistan has offered several interesting incentives for the sake of its I.T sector’s development, some of these are:
8- a) Exemption of income tax on I.T exports revenue till June 2021.
9- b) Hundred percent repatriation of profits permitted to I.T firms.
10- c) Hundred percent ownership of equity permitted to the foreign I.T/I.TeS companies doing investment.
11- Contrary to popular beliefs, Pakistan is NOT on the ITAR control (export controlled or embargoed) list of countries.
12- Pakistan’s start-up scene is thriving. Momentum 2018 and 2019 events saw Pakistani startups winning multiple awards There are a number of Start-Up Incubators funded by both private individuals and multinationals (like Google), creating a highly vibrant and innovative ecosystem.
As the times today are rapidly changing, business not only transform through innovation but it is also necessary for them to become efficient. Due to the lack of inflexibility and quality with the traditional outsourcing vendors are forcing businesses to look for other options and is compelling them to partner with “Mode 2” technology partners that are more efficient, productive and agile. As the value equation with “Mode 2” partners is a no-brainer because the opportunity cost of not being able to deliver efficiently, on time while not compromising on quality.
The businesses around the world are recognizing Pakistan as a big tech powerhouse and the next best tech outsourcing destination because of the fact that it is delivering on business demands in terms of quality and value and Pakistan is rapidly becoming the go to option for businesses offshore outsourcing needs.
