TechSpotlightBASIS SoftExpo 2009
Towards digitalisation
Visitors browse stalls at the SoftExpo 2009 at Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre Photos: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
Every year Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) organises a spectacular event to showcase the magnificent wonders of the Software and IT services industry in Bangladesh. And this year it was no different. On January 27 the doors of the Bangladesh and China Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC) welcomed the public to BASIS SoftExpo 2009 with the theme 'Linking People with Technology'. The major aim of this year's exposition was to present market potentials of information and communication technologies in Bangladesh, to the international players in different fields like national and international vendors and service providers, investors, development agencies, policy makers and ICT associations. As many as 115 stalls and nine pavilions of different multinational software vendors and ICT companies, international ICT associations, local software development companies, successful ICT projects initiated by multinational and local companies, government departments and agencies implementing e-Governance projects, ICT training institutes and Universities made the main building of the BCFCC their home for the five-day exhibition. As you make your way through the entrance of the main building of BCFCC, you are taken aback by the crowd that built up near the IT firm- Genuity System LTD who were exhibiting its unique gPlex Softswitch Call centre Solution GFax- Virtual Fax Service Professional IT Training. Nearby, major sponsor Grameen Phone was also showcasing its different facilities offered to its customers like BillPay, Cell Bazar, CIC Heathline, Data Service and Basic GSM. Just beside the Grameen Phone pavilion, somewhere in… which is an outsourcing service firm was exhibiting its exceptional mobile and web community for people, businesses and different service sectors in both Bangla and English. In other words it's another version of facebook, which is local and gives you the insides of what is happening within your local community via the net or even thorough a simple SMS. So visit somewhereinbangla-desh.net/community and find out more about this new and fun experience. Desktop Computer Connection Ltd displayed the Desktop e-Banking system at this year's fair which has been designed to meet the challenges of a new banking era. The Desktop e-Banking is integrated, multi-user, multi-tasking, multi-currency banking application software that is being used in many major banks making the entire banking system much more flexible and easier. Not only does this making banking easier, initiatives like this and many more also help us achieve the target of reaching a digital Bangladesh by 2021. Another such initiative that will help us achieve a more modern and hi-tech country is e-Commerce. Several stalls were set up by different companies to provide the facility of e-Commerce while at the same time provide different kind of e-commerce solution. ClickBD Limited is one of the major companies where you can sell or buy almost anything new or secondhand in an exciting e-commerce format. Apart from that companies like Winux Soft Ltd, US Software Ltd, Roots Information Technology and Moon Networks. Also after the successful parliamentary elections, the idea of e-Governance has also hit the market at a high pace. Several companies were providing methods and solutions to actually implement this idea taking us another step closer to a digital Bangladesh. Solitus, a company of Agree Ya Solutions from USA, Mi3, Inc as well as TechnoVista Ltd were focusing on e-Governance solutions, e-Government and e-Government applications respectively apart from providing business software and solutions. Another company, Dohatech New Media displayed its Voter Registration Enrolment and Multi Biometric Duplicate Detection System. Safety and security were another major highlight at this year's grand event. Singaporean company ACTAtek Pte Limited displayed its very own ACTAtek, a world class SNMP and LDAP compatible SSL-protected Access Control Time Attendance Linux web-based Biometrics and RFID, Smartcard and PIN System. It's highly secured and does not need a costly and complex dedicated architecture due to all the software and hardware being built-in to the system. It's also waterproof and this was literally explained within the stall. Another security device that was displayed that makes your shop, home or office entirely secured is Third Eye, designed and developed by Maayas Engineering and Technology. ACTAtek Pte Limited was not the only foreign company at the fair. Companies from US, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Russia all showcased their products and IT enabled services. Also at the same time many tech diplomats from different countries spoke at various seminars held throughout the five-day event. Further down, American International University of Bangladesh and Daffodil University set up stalls to showcase their own products and services. However, it was the stall set up by United International University (UIU) that created the entire buzz. The stall put up by the Department of Computer and Engineering of UIU displayed several products and devices that awes you like an Unmanned Vehicle, Walking and Dancing Robot, Industrial Robotic hand, Car Security System using GSM and even a UIU energy meter reading device. The specialty of all these devices is it was built by the students and lecturers of UIU. Throughout the entire fair many IT based firms were offering different kinds of promotions and discounts on various training programmes to attract the students who were making the most of this entire exhibition without having to pay an entrance fee were enjoying the latest advancements in the software and IT sector of Bangladesh leading to digitalisation. However, a digital Bangladesh cannot be achieved only through the discoveries of different technologies and services. We, the people of the country need to value our local entrepreneurs and software developers. At the same time, the government needs to be supportive and take certain measures to make it easy and flexible for the Software and IT services industry within the nation to flourish not only in the local market but at the global market as well. So if you want to see what will take us another step closer to a more modern and digital Bangladesh, I suggest you grab your shoes straightaway and make your way to BCFCC because tomorrow is this last day of this mega exposition.
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