ISLAMABAD - Teradata Pakistan is seeking nominations for its 10th Teradata National IT Excellence Awards by 6th January 2012 as part of annual programme to support Pakistani talent.
This was stated by company’s Managing Director Khuram Rahat in an exclusive interview to The Nation here on Friday.
Rahat, who has pioneered the programme, says National IT Excellence Awards is one aspect of corporate social responsibility of the New York stock listed multinational data warehousing company he personally overseas at Teradata Pakistan to recognize talent in the country.
Rahat was of the opinion that Pakistan is blessed with enormous talent that has to be channelized, supported and recognized, adding that nominations for awards are being sought for twelve different categories.
Rahat who is well known for his in-depth knowledge of leading edge business intelligence solutions has held various senior management, project management and sales positions in the country as well as in the region. Asked how will he compare IT industry growth in Pakistan with that of India, Khuram Rahat said Pakistan should not engage in such race with India and should better focus on value addition and quality services to take advantage of the emerging markets.
He was of the view that Pakistan had enjoyed special edge over India by developing NADRA and emphasized the need for Pakistani companies to pay special attention to value addition in order to compete in the world. “Value addition is the key for Pakistan companies to compete globally”, Rahat said, adding that Teradata was busy in hiring 200 Pakistani youth to groom them for global consultancy services.
 This he believed would further give boost to the local IT sector.
Rahat who has done his master in business administration from IBA, Karachi has been associated with NCR and Teradata for decades noted that Pakistan needs to pay special attention to tackle major challenges including power crises, law and order as well as imaging and branding to boost business environment in the country.