The trend of technological advancement in business is expected to get a boost this year with the forthcoming auction of the next generation telecom spectrum.

This is expected to enhance broadband penetration manifold. Besides facilitating citizens, it will provide the convenience of essential connectivity to entrepreneurs to become part of the global traction.

“It is not a matter of choice anymore. The business ecosystem is evolving as market compulsions and success stories of companies embracing technology, innovation and interconnectivity drive not just the startups but also conventional enterprises in the country to restructure [and modernise],” a founding member of a leading business house commented.

Technology companies of varied size and capacities have moved in to tap into the transformative market. And market competition is said to be taking care of the quality of service providers.

“With the acceleration of technological change, the adoption rate is soaring, altering the business landscape. The popularity of social media among spending classes is opening up new options for businesses to interact with their target customer base,” Ali Reza, a partner in an IT company, said.

“We believe there is a lot of room. Through technological solutions, we intend to optimise potential by trimming inefficiencies. The target is to contribute to the evolution of a more efficient business ecosystem in the country,” Jamal Khan, CEO of Arpatech, said at the launch of a web-based food service outfit.

His company acquired a struggling company (Food Connection) and re-launched it with a new name (Eatoye!) in Karachi this month.

Meanwhile, the government hierarchy — spread over multiple ministries and departments — is low on substance but high on claims.

In the absence of verifiable data on the subject or structured analysis, their input focused more on grabbing credit for the government’s role in paddling the evolution and less on describing the contours of the trend along sectors or segments of the economy.

Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi — the federal minister for industries and production, who belongs to one of the biggest landholding families of Sindh — projected an active role of his government in facilitating the private sector.

Responding to a question about the trends of technological advancement, he said “the performance speaks for itself. The government has minimised controls. We encourage foreign investment. Yamaha is a new entrant and has pledged an investment of $200 million. The ministry supports the private sector with the right policies”.

“Over the past decade, textile, engineering, electronics and others have invested heavily in modernisation,” the minister told Dawn over telephone.

Anusha Rahman Ahmed Khan, the minister of state for information technology and communication, was not available for comments. However, some senior officers of the ministry accredited the government’s communication policy for the technological turnaround in the country.

“From 3.5 per cent 10 years back in 2004, the teledensity in Pakistan today borders around 75 per cent. High connectivity has changed the market scene. It is natural that businesses are making adjustments to changing preferences of informed consumers. It would not be wrong to describe it as a single most important factor that kick started the cycle of change,” a senior officer said.

In response to Dawn’s queries, the ministry e-mailed the following response. “Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have revolutionised and transformed business operation trends. It has become a strategic marketing tool to enhance [businesses’] competitive edge. Adoption of cutting edge technologies has raised quality, customer satisfaction, revenues and overall performance of industry”.

“On one hand, the introduction of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) and other high tech machines have increased the productivity and quality of products, while software/ applications like ERP (enterprise resource planning) have helped industrialists and entrepreneurs increase and improve business processes ranging from financial management to HRM (human resource management)”.

The e-mail mentioned the telecom and banking sectors as key beneficiaries of the trend, with a huge role in creating an enabling environment for other industries.

People at the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@asha) were reluctant to offer comments without the permission of their president, Jehan Ara, who was not available. They advised the writer to refer to studies available on their organisation’s website instead.

The available studies dealt with a host of subjects, but not the one under review.

“It is for sociologists to explain the dichotomy of why the mobile- and internet-using people of Pakistan are more conservative in their outlook than their parents. But a country with 20 million people online and an active social media scene is not what it was a decade back,” an analyst commented going off track.

“The modernisation of the plant is absolutely necessary, but it is not sufficient for stimulation and growth,” a textile tycoon in Karachi told Dawn.

“The pace of change is too fast for people my age. In 2007, I grudgingly outsourced research, development and marketing. Today, I do not repent that decision, as young data crunchers enabled the company to regain confidence and reclaim its share in the market,” the founding father of a big textile group, in his late 70s, confided on the condition of anonymity.