So we sit down with Chris Armitage, Area Vice President for UK, Ireland and Pakistan at Teradata Corporation, and talk about the current status of the economy and its impact on the industry. The opening line he throws our way? “I think the recession forces businesses to focus on key areas, and technology has to be one of these focal points. Those who are willing to invest in technology are the ones who will still be standing once the current scenario stabilizes.” He is obviously not making any bones about whether organizations should or should not cut back on technology spending. Chris is referring to companies who are in a situation whereby they simply have to make the leap.

In challenging times, businesses essentially look to drive up efficiency by reducing cost and improving decision making. “Technology can be the ‘go to tool’ through which decision making can improve and become more informed,” he says. Customers continually look to identify areas where they can invest in where overall process efficiency can improve. “Companies focus sharply on the way through which maximum benefits can be derived from, and if you can quantify your solution’s benefits, then you can create a good business case,” says Chris. “If you can show that your technology can improve day-to-day decisions and that can lead to better profitability, you have a win-win situation,” he adds.

Keep It Moving
Over the past 8 months or so, since the abysmal reports of the international markets crashing all over the place, companies seem to have put all spending on hold. This includes ongoing projects which may have been approved, and then halted. The plans might be in place but organizations have put a spending close.

In Chris’ experience, the right thing to do is to re-assess the projects that had been previously approved and see if they are still feasible in the current environment. “Reviewing those projects, the ROI and whether the projects are going to result in value addition, will convince companies of considerable efficiency and feasibility, and try to get the projects to work in the new circumstances,” says Chris. “In the Ireland and the UK, a number of projects have been delayed due to the re-permission, as companies as increasingly taking a step back from decisions that have already been made,” he adds. The key here is to show that the technology that will be acquired will lead to improved ROIs and profitability. “It is vital to show that we are selling technology solutions, and solving business problems, and not just selling software,” Chris says. “Data collection, analysis and information systems improvements can easily be translated into better efficiency,” he adds.

According to Chris, despite reevaluation of decisions, most firms are still going ahead with investment in technology, and that is something that he sees will be mirrored in the Pakistan market. “I believe that in Pakistan as well, companies are still looking to make investments in technology, and to use that very investment to help them through the recession environment,” he says.

“I think there is still great potential for technology acquisition and hence our company in Pakistan,” says Chris. “The good thing is that the Pakistan industry is quite mature, as can been seen from comparing the level of deployment of solution in Pakistan with any other part in the world.” As companies will grow, so will the data volumes, and that is a trend that Chris sees for Pakistan.

Khurram Rahat, Managing Director of Teradata Pakistan, has similar ideas about the impact of technology is in the recession. “It fairly evident that Pakistan is going through a tough period along with the rest of the world economy in terms of getting through the unstable economy,” says Khurram. “However, I think there is a lot of resilience in the people and our economy, and I believe that over the next few months, we will see Pakistan tackling the problem and coming out of the current situation, moving ahead in its growth.”

Khurram outlines how Teradata fuels Pakistan’s technology sector: “Teradata is primarily being using in the Telecom Industry, banking industry and government sector; in these industries, the prime focus is always towards the customer and hence there is a large volume of data and information which needs to be handled and which needs to be stored,” says Khurram. It is this information that organizations need access to in order to make strategic, planning decisions. “The common denominator here remains that our solutions can actually be the competitive advantage that will keep a lot of companies afloat,” he adds.

One of the key initiatives from Teradata has been the setting up of a global consulting center which has been now operating in Pakistan for the last few years. “I think its an excellent initiative as it not only enables Teradata to provide high quality cost effective solutions to the customers in Europe, middle East, Africa and US; but it is also ensuring the transfer of a lot of experience and knowledge back to Pakistan. This, in turn, is helps the local organizations,” explains Khurram. The knowledge transfer is an excellent way for young professionals within Pakistani companies to obtain global knowledge and understand work processes along with getting the exposure of working on international assignments.

“Internationally, there has been an increased focus in terms of quick and informed decision making and ensuring correct investments having strong ROIs,” says Khurram. “From that perspective, I think we are seeing a lot more focus from the organizations towards our solution through which companies want to get through the turbulent times and still stay on top of the game.”

Khurram also believes that despite emphasis from the government towards the IT sector, there is further room for improvement. “I think they do provide some tax exemption to the export-based software industry and this has indeed impacted the Global consulting center,” points out Khurram. “In the last few years the government has definitely helped in terms of facilitating and creating an infrastructure in the country which has helped as being an ‘enabler’.” However, Khurram believes that many areas, especially training, can improve. But then that is always an evolutionary process. “The quality of the resource available to us can certainly improve, and I know there has been some training organized through the Pakistan Software Export Board and the Ministry of IT, but there is a need to be more focused on enhancing the quality and increasing the skill level in the country,” he says.

Khurram shares the pertinent example of NADRA, which, according to him, has been one area where the Government has done some great work. “This is a great example of citizen data warehouse and NADRA, no doubt, is a unique example,” he points out. “The work that NADRA has done has not been replicated anywhere else in the world and I think the whole concept of having a centralized place for verification facilitation is going to go a long way in helping businesses and people have access to more efficient services and facilities,” he continues.

Despite the challenges, the key lesson to learn here is the fact that the continuous investment in technology much remain constant regardless of the crisis. If anything, if companies want to demonstrate their long term vision and their ability to be proactive to handle an increased customer base once markets open up again, the downtime should be spent in reinvesting and re-eginnering. “That’s how they will be ready to do business when their customers want to spend. At that time, you can’t be thinking about innovating – you have to be a few steps ahead of your market,” explains Chris.

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