Quality of domestic & international IT service providers as perceived by customers

in the banking & financial institutions of Bangladesh: An analysis on the

prospective of Grameenphone IT Ltd.

by

Ali Iqbal Murshed

ID: 0810028

An Internship Report Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Business Administration

INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY, BANGLADESH

November 2012

Ali Iqbal Murshed (ID #0810028) | Internship Research Report

Quality of domestic & international IT service providers as perceived by customers

in the banking & financial institutions of Bangladesh: An analysis on the
prospective of Grameenphone IT Ltd.

by

Ali Iqbal Murshed

ID: 0810028

has been approved

November 2012

___________________
Md. Latiful Khabir
Faculty Lecturer
School of Business
Independent University, Bangladesh

Ali Iqbal Murshed (ID #0810028) | Internship Research Report

November 29, 2012

Md. Latiful Khabir
Faculty Lecturer
School of Business
Independent University, Bangladesh

Subject: Submission of research report as partial fulfillment of internship program.

Dear Sir,
I would like to inform you that it is with great pleasure that I am submitting my research report on
Problems & Prospects of Sports & Adventure Tourism in Bangladesh: An Analysis of the launch
of Quality of domestic & international IT service providers as perceived by customers in the
banking & financial institutions of Bangladesh: An analysis on the prospective of Grameenphone
IT Ltd. as a requirement for the partial completion of my internship program in order to acquire
my Bachelor of Business Administration degree. The entire process has helped me gain
significant amount of first-hand experience in working within a professional environment.

I sincerely hope that this report generates your approval and demonstrates my understanding as
well as analysis of the topic being discussed. I would gladly provide you with any clarification as
required. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

Sincerely,
Ali Iqbal Murshed
ID #0810028
School of Business
Independent University, Bangladesh

Acknowledgement
First I would like to thank The Almighty, our creator, who has blessed me with the ability to
finish my research work within due time. This research would not have been possible without the
support and guidance of my family members. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely
thank each of them wholeheartedly.
I would like to give my heartiest salutations to Md. Latiful Khabir, my faculty supervisor at
Independent University, Bangladesh, for supporting me throughout the entire program as close
mentor and without whose guidance I would not have been able to conduct my research
successfully.
I would also like to thank Mohammad Tareq, Head of Competence Development, who acted as
my supervisor on behalf of Grameenphone IT Ltd. His kind nature and constant guidance has
helped me tremendously to gain the maximum amount of knowledge from my internship
experience. I am indebted to the time he took off from his overly busy work schedule to point me
in the right direction.
Lastly I would like to express my gratitude to the numerous individuals who have participated in
my study to provide the necessary inputs without which the research would have remained
incomplete. Their contribution is highly regarded and I am grateful for the time they took to help
me fulfill my objectives.

Table of Contents
I.

Executive Summary

Introduction

III.

Origin of the report

IV.

Literature Review

Objectives

II.

V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.

X.

Methodology

10

Scope & Limitations

11

Timeline

11

Company Overview

12

a. GPIT Business Strategy

20

b. Organizational Structure

21

c. Client Portfolio

25

Findings
a. Competitor Scenario

27

b. Market Scenario

28

c. Identified Potential
Challenges for Local Service
Providers

29

d. Exhibit 1

31

e. Exhibit 2

31

f. Exhibit 3

32

g. Exhibit 4

32

27

Discussion

33

Significance of Study

36

XIII.

Reference

37

XIV.

Appendix

38

XI.
XII.

Executive Summary
Global IT enabled services industry has been growing steadily in the last decade. The current
global economic crisis has led to shrinking IT budgets for corporate, but there has been a
continual growth in demand for global demand of IT services, with cost optimization being the
primary driver for off-shoring services to the developing countries in order to acquire the best
options at the cheapest possible rates. The increasing cost being the primary driver for off-shoring
IT services provision from the West to the East. The increasing field of development and pioneer
technology, with new service delivery paradigms like cloud computing and multiple sourcing, is
set to transform the ITES industry globally.
Over recent years, Bangladesh has made major strides in laying the groundwork for a diverse and
successful IT services market. The IT services industry within Bangladesh has been growing
serving international clients and domestic clients in banking and telecom sectors. The industry
now employs over 20000 people, and is exporting services to European, North American and East
Asian clients. Bangladeshs emerging IT service players already have strong credentials.
Bangladeshi freelancer community has further supplemented the IT exports by close to US$7
million in 2010 - with Bangladesh appearing consistently in top freelance work locations on sites
like oDesk, eLance and the likes.
With todays challenging economic conditions, more companies are looking at effective use of
external providers to help them support and expand their operations. Bangladesh has positioned
itself as a key location for consideration by enhancing delivery capability and skill availability,
lower costs of operations, making focused investments in telecom and IT infrastructure, and
highlighting success stories. For a long time since the inception of the industry, the software and
IT service industry has been viewed as only a port for outsourcing services by foreign companies.
However the attention of my research was to delve into the current scenario of the budding IT
service industry in Bangladesh and try to understand if the industry is being perceived in a
different light after shifting towards a more inward centric business.

Introduction
The software and IT service industry in Bangladesh has come a long way over the last few
decades. The sector has reached immense growth potential over this time and joined the
mainstream market by making considerable contribution to the national revenue. The industry
had also been playing a crucial role in creating high quality employment for a large portion of
young graduates in the country.
According to Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services (BASIS), there are
over 800 registered software and ITES (IT Enabled Service) companies currently in Bangladesh.
The industry investment size is estimated to be approximately US$ 250 million and around
30,000 professionals, specializing in IT and software engineering, are employed in this sector
(BASIS Survey, 2011). Out of the 800 member companies, over 70% of them are found to be
involved in development and maintenance of software for their clients. Some very promising
recent trends in the industry has been that a good number of companies are focusing on web
based virtual services that include specialized portals, e-Commerce, e-Learning, payment
channels etc. These ventures have garnered significant amount of popularity in the market as well
as financial viability and some of these companies are also developing applications based on
cloud/SaaS delivery model.
However, the local market is still a major component of business for the domestic IT service
industry despite having seen a consistent growth over the last few years. Banking and other
financial sectors continue to be a central focus for a large portion of domestic IT industry. In the
banking sector, the core banking service provision is mainly dominated by foreign companies.
However a good number of local IT solution providers have started working with banks for
providing a range of industry related services. As Bangladeshs capital market has faced
increasing activity over the years, the local IT service providers have developed solutions for
merchant banks, brokerage houses and insurance management. These companies possess the
capacity to develop in-house IT solutions but are limited to acting as vendors for large foreign
solution providers.

Origin of the Report

The internship program is most crucial part of the BBA degree coursework. The entire program
duration is 12 weeks (3 months). Through exposure to the practical activities of the professional
world, the course helped teach the students to be disciplined, trained, and also smart in various
aspects. In order to complete my internship I was recruited into Grameenphone IT Ltd. My
contract attachment started on 10th September 2012 and will end on 10th December 2012.

Literature Review
According to Lacity & Willcocks (1998), Fitzgerald & Feeney (1995), Information Technology
Enabled Services are provided by third party vendors who are responsible for managing the
Information Technology components on behalf of their clients within a working place. IT Enabled
Services means handling the management of some or all of an organizations information
technology (IT), systems (IS) and related services by a party using the tools pioneered by either
themselves or another party. Chaudhury, Nam & Rao (1995) also mentioned in their paper that,
Information Technology Enabled Services are defined as the trade of various information
systems functions such as managing of data centers, operations, hardware support, software
maintenance, network, and even application development to be provided by a provider to its
clients. In the words of Carmel & Agarwal (2002), Information technology enabled services
(ITES) describes a process whereby an organization decides to vend or sell its own developed IT
assets, people and activities to another party, who in exchange receive these services for an
agreed fee over an agreed time period. SOTA has identified Information Technology Enabled
Services (ITES) as the decision by an organization to contract an external provider in the delivery
and/or support of IT and/or IS services and functions.
The relationship between domestic and international IT industry is well documented through
research by a handful of sources that are both private and government based. IT capital is broadly
defined as the part of capital stock which comprises investments in computer hardware, software
and telecommunications (Dedrick et al, 2003). The BASIS 2011 survey indicates that majority of
the software companies in the country have strategically maintained a flexible skill portfolio by

including proprietary technology platforms. The most noticeable issue here is that no IT
developers currently in the country have pioneered any form of proprietary technology based on
which to establish a unique selling point, instead relying on the brainchild of foreign industry
leaders like Microsoft and Oracle.
In terms of capitalizing on the exporting front by the domestic IT industry, the research conducted
by BASIS in 2011 shows that the industry could not perform according to its potential when
compared to outsourcing IT firms in other countries in the region. Industry experts such as
Habibullah N. Karim, CEO of Technohaven Ltd. & current president of BASIS have identified a
number of issues including lack of infrastructure, shortage of qualified IT personnel, absence of
proper branding & marketing etc. There are already signs that global companies have started to
seriously consider Bangladesh as their outsourcing and back-office location. In February 2011
Daily Star reported Samsung, one of the global leaders in consumer electronics, launching its
high-end research & development center in the capital city of Bangladesh with over two hundred
engineers. Currently there are approximately ten small to mid-size offshore back-office service
centers operating on behalf of international companies (e.g. AMD, LG & IBM) in the country.

Objectives

To identify if there is a strong correlation between the competitive weakness of domestic

IT services and the lack of technological infrastructure in Bangladesh.

To identify the factors and their detrimental impact on the growth capacity of IT service

providers in the country.

Be able to forecast the business prospective of Grameenphone IT in the banking &
financial sector, which is mostly dominated by local vendors of foreign products.

Methodology
I.

Secondary Research
a. To gather general information on the selected six sample organizations (two banks,
two insurance companies and two financial institutions).

b. The sources mainly involve browsing through websites, newspaper articles, books,
research publications and company annual reports.
II.

Primary Research
a. Type of research will be semi-structured exploratory since it is most effective
means of determining the best research design, data collection method and
selection of subjects.
b. Prescribed research will focus on problem identification, which is to understand
the problems highlighted by the source materials, rather than solving any predicted
problems.
c. Method of conducting the research involves market survey through personal indepth interview with executives (preferably with IT knowledge) from the selected
institutions.

III.

Data Collection & Sampling

a. A detailed survey questionnaire consisting of open-ended & close-ended questions
was developed to ensure that relevant data would be acquired as accurately as
possible.
b. Upon recommendation from my supervisor, sample size chosen for the research
was limited to 20 employees from ten banking & financial institutions out of a
population of 45; a combination of employees ranging from junior executives all
through IT department heads and top level management.
c. The sampling technique was purely on a judgmental basis since the institutions
were approached based on direct personal contacts.

IV.

Analysis of Gathered Data

a. After successful collection, all of the data was analyzed in order to understand the
perspectives of the sample organizations regarding the topic of discussion.
b. Based on the analysis of the data, specific recommendations have been identified
that will provide an outline for a course of action to take in order to excel GPITs
business growth.

Scope & Limitations

The scale of this research is limited in size and scope since I am only able to focus on one out of
the four major market verticals of the country. There will most likely not be enough data collected

from the primary sources to provide a solid forecasting of market potential for Grameenphone IT.
Also there will be insufficient data to base my research and derive any meaningful solution to the
topic of research. However what I ultimately hope to achieve through this research paper is a
strong understanding of the IT service industry developing in Bangladesh and how
Grameenphone IT plans on taking the lead of the business in the future.

Timeline
MONTH

OCTOBER

WEEK
ACTIVITIES:
Research Proposal
Questionnaires
Secondary data
collection
Primary data
collection
Draft Report
Final Report
Internship Viva

NOVEMBER
3

DECEMBER
4

Company Overview
Grameenphone IT Ltd. is the leading fastest growing IT Company registered by the Registrar of
the Joint Stock Companies and Firms of Bangladesh under the Companies Act 1994. GPIT is a
100% completely owned subsidiary of Grameenphone Ltd. - the leading telecommunications
operator in Bangladesh. It was incorporated as a private limited company in January 2010 as a
separate legal entity. It has established and maintained its parent company Grameenphones IT
infrastructure for more than a decade. As a local company with a strong brand association and
international presence, it is well on its way to build an impeccable global profile. It is a 100%
subsidiary company of Grameenphone Ltd. which is the largest mobile operator company in
Bangladesh with more than 30 million subscribers.
As a leading IT company, it is providing end to end solutions for Bank, Financial Institutes,
FMCG, Pharmaceuticals and Telecom Industry. It has a team of talented individuals who are

dedicated to creativity, service and efficiency. They are purely devoted to bringing clients
noticeable transformations in their operational efficiency and they strive to provide inventive endto-end IT solutions which are unsurpassed in value and quality. GPIT look forward to
representing the exceptional skills and initiatives this country has to offer.
In an unprecedented accomplishment, GPIT has prevailed to qualify for ISO 27001 and ISO
20000 certifications in the very first year of its commencement. While ISO 27001 is protection of
customer rights and information security, the ISO 20000 certification is ensuring quality in the
processes to deliver high standards IT services. Together, they ensure a robust world class
management system, touching all critical areas to ensure effective service delivery. The ISO
certification confirms GPITs commitment to quality and adds credibility which is a prerequisite
for establishing dominance in both the global and local market.
GPIT is the pioneer in providing mobile content solutions with state of the art CMS platform. It
has strong partnerships with content providers both locally and internationally. It delivers a wide
range of contents solutions to enhance clients business growth. GPIT provides following solution
& services: Managed Service Content Aggregation, Content Sourcing Platform Integration &
Management WAP Portal Development Node Integration. SMS based solutions: GPIT provides
industry standard SMS based solutions. Enterprises are seeking for easy to go solutions to
enhance business operations, sharing business information to maximum audience, accelerate
business growth and to capture market information faster. GPIT delivers customized solutions
considering clients business needs and ensure their participation with technological
advancement. GPIT offers following SMS based solutions focused on: SMS Broadcast Solution
Push Pull Services Customized Solution.
As industry leaders, it has continually pioneered ideas which make operations simple. It strives to
incorporate efficiency in everything it does. Through more than a decade of excellence, it
emerged as an inspiration to their nation and to the world. With strong experience and state-ofthe-art infrastructure, it hopes to play an integral role in building the IT industry and serve their
local and global customers.
GPIT aspire to leading Bangladesh into the global IT arena and would like to invite all to join the
revolution. As hardworking and persistent people, they have proven capabilities in driving

initiatives to surge forward a nations technological development. With a diverse array of IT

experience, GPIT brings to the clients a promise of change, the change that will take their
organization into the future.
Currently the world is seeing technology take over the numerous aspects of an enterprise,
business and all its organizational/managerial aspects and beyond. Information technology today
creates opportunities past generations could only dream ofnew business models, new markets,
and new ways to connect with employees, partners, suppliers, and customers. IT Infrastructure
does more than just collaborating hardware with supporting software. As businesses depend more
and more on IT systems, these are just a few of the questions on the minds of todays IT leaders

If their systems go down, how quickly can they recover?

Is their information protected?
Are they compliant with policies and regulations?
How much data will they lose?
Will the systems they depend on remain available?
Can it be shared safely?

These questions are answered by robust IT Infrastructure solutions that take care of these issues.
IT complexity adds additional challenges. Driven by rapid data growth, physical and virtual
platforms and new service delivery models- IT complexity increases risk exposure, hampers
productivity, and increases operational costs. These challenges are mitigated with risk-managed
designs, redundancy of data, disaster recovery systems/schemes and many more.
Vision & Mission
GPIT intends to be a dominant player on the local market for enterprise grade IT software and
managed solutions. GPIT also intends to be recognized globally for quality mobile, enterprise
software solutions and its support/maintenance. Just by having Grameenphone as customer
makes GPIT the largest company in its segment in Bangladesh. GPITs vision of exploring new
opportunities in the dynamic field of IT has drawn closer an enormous opportunity for GLOBAL
ICT companies to tag along with GPIT in order to come-up with a combination of winning value
proposition for the clients. GPIT they comes all to join the winning team to strengthen presence
in the Global ICT revolution. The company has a customer and cost-focus; where customers

asking for service will be taken care of from an end to end perspective and experience a good
cost/quality ratio for the services provided. That translates into GPITs vision to Reshape and
Repostion GPIT as the Leading IT Company in Bangladesh
Bangladesh will be the platform for GPITs business; and partnering with internationally
renowned partners shall allow us to make their footprints abroad as well.
History
GPIT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Grameenphone Ltd. - the leading telecommunications
operator in Bangladesh. GPIT was incorporated as a private limited company in January 2010 as
a separate legal entity. It has established and maintained Grameenphones IT infrastructure for
more than a decade. Raihan Shamsi has joined as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
GPIT, a subsidiary company of Grameenphone Ltd. from 1st of May 2012. Mr. Raihan Shamsi
replaced Mr. Peter A. Dindial, who moved to a new position in the Telenor Group.
Values
As a part of the Grameenphone family, Grameenphone IT shares the values with its parent
company.

Reliable

- Keep Promises
- Make it Easy
- Be Respectful
Innovative

Cost Efficiency

- Be Inspiring
Social Responsibilities
GPIT believes that running a business with values is part of building a successful business. They
see Social Responsibilities as combination of ethical and responsible corporate behaviors, as
theyll as a commitment towards engineering high-quality products for the society by addressing
the development needs of the country; contributing in formulation of their Digital Bangladesh.

GPIT, being a socially responsible company adopted systematic processes to ensure that,
wherever possible, they aim to minimize the probable negative impact of their business activities
on the environment.
Goals
The ultimate goals of GPIT are:
-

Superior Revenue Growth

Capture Market Share
Leader of IT Industry
One of the preferred IT supplier to Telenor
Shape and drive IT industry

Cultural Diversity
Cultural diversity is their greatest strength in the workplace as it confers us to focus on the skills
of their people and contributes to the overall growth of GPIT. They consider their people as their
greatest asset; regardless of gender or race. They encourage talented individuals dedicated to
creativity, service and efficiency.
They believe that their culture and values open opportunities for everyone to have a significant
impact on building their business. They are continuously making efforts towards a more diverse
workplace, which benefits the company and enables us to meet the needs of their customers
around the world successfully.

Products & Solutions

Infrastructure:
IT infrastructure consists of the equipment, systems, software, and services used in commonly
across an organization, regardless of mission/program/project. GPIT provides the tools to
assess, optimize, manage and report on the IT infrastructure and changes within in it with
agent-less, accurate and rapid IT Infrastructure deployment, configuration and inventory
management using a unique single stop service center.

 Communication:
GPIT is providing Unified Communication solutions to allow IT to deliver the new
collaborative workspace. With the ever-changing concept of office & workspace- they meet
the high demand and rapidly emerging face of unified communication for the enterprise with
state of the art applications and shared services that provides superior collaboration
experience regardless of device, content, location and interaction style.
Banking & Financial:
GPIT being one of the leading IT solution providers bring state of the art solutions for
Banking & Financial Industry to enable them with technological advancements. They are the
pioneers in providing unique solutions by building strong partnerships with industry leaders.
Banks and financial enterprises today work tirelessly in making everyday transactions,
queries and other banking/financial needs to be as effortless as possible for their thousands of
clients. In order to deliver their service efficiently- they offer world-class solutions that
guarantees efficient deliverance to clients for the banking and financial enterprises.
Mobile & Content Solution:
The world is getting smaller everyday- this statement is proving to take shape literally
through the advancement of cellular and portable technologies. These technologies now
enable seamless communication through cellular networks, internet, collaborative application,
revenue generation services etc. Using these solutions- cell phones, tablet-PCs and other
portable technologies are paving the way for emerging business opportunities that focus on
client convenience and revenue generation. GPIT avails a range of mobile-centric services
which can help you gain the competitive technology edge.
Business Support Solutions:
Grameenphone IT (GPIT) has developed a deep understanding of the dynamics between
business and IT and has created an approach to repeat this success through its efficient
support by designing and implementing target-oriented solutions and services.
Their Business Solutions provide with new opportunities for efficient business structures and
processes. They support the relationships with customers, suppliers and partners, help to
manage and automate business data and processes, and allow using new electronic sales
tracking and distribution channels.

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Partners

GPIT leverages from the extensive product/solution genre of the OEM partners. Other than
standardized solution, open source based solutions are also available to provide cost effective
customized solution.
ORACLE
GPIT has a Certified Gold partnership status with Oracle Corporation and is also the
Reseller of Oracle products. GPIT and Oracle Corporation have a multi-pronged strategy
on product development, professional services and joint Go-to-market. Together, they
provide cost-effective vertical solutions to key industries, including: The Public Sector,
Financial Services, Communications and others. They deliver superior client value by
combining the GPIT service and technology portfolio with Oracles leading enterprise
software solutions.
IBM
IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure,
hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to
nanotechnology. IBM is the OEM partner of GPIT and GPIT is developing the resources
to offer IBM solutions to the clients. GPIT and IBM ensure the delivery of end to end
solutions of Express Apps Server, RDBMS, Tivoli Storage Manager, Messaging &
Collaboration and UC, Network Monitoring System, EMSA, Enterprise Content Mgt.,
Archival, Security/ Compliance, DWH/BI.
Microsoft
GPIT is a Microsoft Registered Partner. This relationship realizes the value of enterprise
visibility, deep industry knowledge and quality technology consulting capabilities to
provide innovative, high-quality and cost-effective solutions to customers. A full suite of
IT services based on the Microsoft platform with significant number of trained, certified

and experienced GPIT resources are focused on delivering the highest quality Microsoftbased solution.
CISCO
GPIT is CISCOs Certified Premier Partner. They offer design and implementation of
Cisco-based networking and infrastructure solutions including maintenance for ytheir
entire Cisco environment. GPIT has proven capabilities in offering Unified
Communications (UC) and Data Center (DC) services that combine Ciscos industryleading solutions.
AVAYA
Avaya is a global leader in unified communications systems, providing Unified
Communications, Contact Centers, Data solutions and related services directly and
through its Channel partners to leading businesses & organizations around the world.
GPIT has a dynamic array of skill and knowledge to integrate the best of breeds Avaya
solutions with the enterprises of all size, which depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art
communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer services &
competitiveness.
HUAWEI
GPIT is HUAWEIs only VAP (Value Added Partnership) in Bangladesh. This enables
GPIT to have a strong competitive edge in the market and also provides a winning
combination to the end customer. HUAWEI Technologies is a forbearer in providing next
generation telecommunications networks, Software solutions and ICT applications
worldwide. GPIT has been collaborating with HUAWEI to provide clients with premier
network infrastructure and support services that offer unique value and innovation. As
strategic system integration partners, GPIT and HUAWEI build and deliver end-to-end
networking solutions to transport data, voice and video in secure business environments.
DELL

GPIT and Dell relationship provides value of feasible enterprise solutions to the
customers. Dell designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports mobility
products; desktops PCs; and servers and networking products. This partnership ensures
the quality technologies and deep industry knowledge to provide innovative, cost effect
and feasible IT solutions to the customers as a whole to the information technology (IT)
industry worldwide.
EMC
EMC is a world leader in offering the IT departments to store, manage, protect and
analyze their most valuable asset information in a more agile, trusted and costefficient way. GPIT enables the customers to avail the EMC solutions in most effective
way, by ensuring quality implementation in a cost effective manner. The combination of
GPITs strength of skilled resources with EMCs products enables clients with the
winning value proposition in storing their valuable asset of Information.
HP
HP is a leading global technology company that offers a broad product portfolio of
infrastructure and business solutions. GPIT as a System Integrator and product reseller
partner is able to offer a comprehensive suite of solutions to their clients by utilizing HP
hardware and software platforms.
GPIT Business Strategy

Technology

Commercial

Efficient restheirce engagement &

enablement

Maximize revenue and profit potential

Effective partnership/collaboration

Efficient marketing and branding

Establish and maintain 24/7 service

Be customer oriented

Build a better commercial organization

delivery Model

Customer friendly solution ensuring

quality & efficiency

Finance & CA

Provide strategic direction and drive

business performance

Translate business drivers into good

financial results

Change the IT environment in

Bangladesh

Lead the way of good business practice

Standardization & service excellence

People & Organization

Talent acquisition, management &

retention

Be a knowledge based organization

Become a performance driven organization

Build & maintain winning culture

Be the best employer in Bangladesh IT

Industry

Organizational Structure
The diagram below illustrates the organogram of GPIT. With Mr. Raihan Shamsi as the Chief
Executive Officer at the top level, there are two mid level managers: Mrs. Tajin Islam Joya is
responsible for monitoring the coordination of the four key functional areas and Mr. Syed Sohel
Reza is responsible for strategic business development. Under their supervision are the heads of
the four key functional areas: Technology, Commercial, Finance & Corporate Affairs and People
& Organization.

The board of directors of GPIT includes the following person:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Mr. Tore Johnsen

Mr. Raihan Shamsi
Mr. Arild Kaale
Mr. Frode Stoldal
Mr. Haroon Bhatti
Mr. Kazi Monirul Kabir
Mr. Tanveer Mohamad

Mr. Raihan Shamsi was appointed as the chief executive officer of GPIT from 1st May 2012 as a
replacement of Mr. Peter A. Dindial. Mr. Raihan Shamsi had previously been the deputy CEO and
CFO of Grameenphone Ltd. and he is a qualified chartered accountant by earning a professional

degree. Mr. Haroon Bhatti was appointed as a Director at the 26th Board meeting on December
12, 2011 in replacement of Mr. Arfinn Groven as per provision of the Articles of Association of
the Company.
Functional Department: Technology
The mission of GPITs technology division is to provide state of the art solution targeting
customer satisfaction by leveraging productivity tools & technique, people skill and keeping
abreast with technology trend. Its vision is to build a world class capable organization with
multiple skill set in base technology by aligning with standardization benchmark and company
business goal.
Functional Department: Commercial
The function of the commercial department is to generate innovative market ideas, identify and
create businesses. It formulates market strategy through talking to clients, and helping them to
identify the right solutions. The department is also responsible for delivering its promises to the
clients and respecting their feedback.

Functional Department: Finance & Corporate Affairs

The finance & corporate affairs department intends to be a part and parcel of GPIT by providing
strategic directions, ensuring quality information & services in right time and to support wealth
maximization bid of the organization.
Functional Department: People & Organization
The P&O department of GPIT believes that its the people that keep the company ahead of the
curve. Thats why all its activities are driven by one single motto - People First. The department
is responsible for recruitment, training, and skill development of the companys employees.

Service Delivery Model of GPIT

Currently, GPIT is involved in implementing strategies to improve its operational effectiveness.
The strategies are based on three different ambitions: 1. Enhancing customer experience. 2.
Improving business performance and 3. Retaining and engaging people. To fulfill the ambition of
enhancing customer experience, GPIT has developed and implemented strategies which will
delight its customers with best experience re-engineer its service delivery process and establish a
customer-centric organization. Similarly, for achieving the ambition of improving business
performance, GPIT came up with strategies which will define its focused business areas and
increase the credibility and efficiency of its operations. For achieving the third ambition, which is
to retain and engage people, GPIT has developed strategies focused on establishing effective
communication framework and improving recruitment process. The diagram below illustrates the
current ambitions of GPIT and the strategies it has implemented to achieve those ambitions.

Client Portfolio
Being a very fresh and new organization, Grameenphone IT has yet to traverse a significant
amount of business landscape before being able to make the market aware of its existence. GPIT
is currently in the process of acquiring direct links to approach and establish relationships with
well known companies. Although GPIT mainly thrives as the IT support provider for its parent
company, Grameenphone, the company has a mission to lead the ITES industry of the country. It
is continuously taking initiatives to approach potential clients and generate a greater level of
brand awareness in their specific verticals; BFSI, Enterprise, Government & Telecom. The clients
with whom GPIT has already managed to establish successful contracts are:

 Grameenphone: GP is the first and a loyal customer of GPIT from a decade. GPIT

gives end to end solutions & supports GP in many ways.

BRAC Bank: GPIT implemented Oracle Service Bus as middleware to BRAC Bank.
Telenor Norway: SharePoint collaboration sites.
Telenor Broadcast: Provides business process integration using SOA Suite 11.
City Bank: HRMS Implementation.
SCB: Call center implementation.

Findings
I.

Competitor Scenario

Solution
Provider

Clients

Pricing

Solutions/
Services
Provided

LEADS
Corp.

IBCS
Primax

ERA
Infote
ch

Flora
System
s

Satco
m

Trust Bank

Phoenix
Insurance,
Phoenix
Finance &
Investments

Trust
Bank

Trust Bank

Green
Delta
Insurance

IDLC

ModerateCost

ModerateCost

Moderate
-Cost

ModerateCost

Moderate
-Cost

High-Cost

Merchant
Banking
Solution

Customized
ERP
Solutions,
(ORACLE)
ERP &
HRMS
module

FLEXCU
BE CoreBanking

HRMS
Solution

Core
Banking
Solution

Share
Mgt.
System

Oracle

Microsof
t

Data
Edge

SSD-Tech

EBL

Phoenix
Finance &
Investments

High-Cost

HighCost

ModerateCost

Mail Server,
Microsoft
SharePoint,
Linq

Universal
Banking
System
(ORACL
E)

Financial
Intelligence
System

Trust Bank,
IDLC

Service
Delivery

Good

Good

Average

Average

Average

Good

Good

Average

Average

Brand
Image

Strong

Strong

Average

Strong

Strong

Very
Strong

Very Strong

Good

Average

Customiza
tion
Options

Satisfactor
y

Satisfactory

Need
diversity

Satisfactor
y

Need
diversity

Standardiz
ed
solutions

Standardize
d solutions

Not
satisfied

Not satisfied

II.

Market Scenario
Bangladesh Association for Software & Information Services (BASIS) conducted a survey among the 450 member
companies in 2011 to find out some key industry trends. One of the findings of this survey provides a good insight into the
industry focus of the ITES companies operating in Bangladesh. The following graph reproduces the findings of the BASIS
survey:

Education

Telecommunication

Financial

Government

Garments
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

The banking software used widely among Bangladeshi commercial banks at present are PC Bank, BEXIBank, Flora Bank,
Infinity Banking Solutions, Micro Banker, and Flexcube. Moreover some commercial banks have also implemented software
from companies like Kernel, KPATI, A2Z, IBBS, InfoSys, Eagle, Steller, Millennium etc. About 16 commercial banks are
using ATMs including foreign commercial banks.

14
12
10
8
6
No. of Banks Using Software

4
2
0

Banking Software

III.

Identified Potential Challenges for Local Service Providers

Company
Green Delta Insurance Ltd.

Issues
Employees at the service providers leave job in the middle of a project.
From client end it is troublesome to re-communicate requirements to new
personnel.
There is a psychological resistance by the employees to accept new
technologies and system modules.

Trust Bank Ltd.

Lack of continuous R&D activities by local vendors that makes them slow

compared to international counterparts.

Phoenix Insurance Company Ltd.

The service providers have limited understanding of the company

requirements and do not provide options.

Lack in timely delivery of solution services and tedious manual flow of

troubleshooting activity.
Eastern Bank Ltd.
Newly introducing IT infrastructure therefore there is demand for services

like Performance Appraisal Management & Approval Management System.

Phoenix Finance & Investments Ltd.

There is always delay in technical support from service provider. Maybe a

virtual service interface would be helpful in speeding up the process.

Mostly relying on internal system development. There is a perceived lack of

IDLC Finances Ltd.

initiative by service providers to delve into clients inherent needs and create
awareness for new technology in the market.
There is no virtual or digitized medium through which the service providers

BRAC EPL Investments Ltd.

can approach the clients swiftly in order to solve little issues without
physical visits.
Already taking service from GPIT and is satisfied with the level and

City Bank Ltd.

standards. Previous experience with no local service providers but instead

agents who channeled services from India.
Service providers are not matured enough in terms of business planning and

Standard Chartered Bank Ltd.

bKash

it is clearly identified by the lack of professionalism when conducting sales

pitches.
Lack of market understanding and lowly trained staffs who do not

understand the specific needs for customization

IV.

Exhibit 1: Challenges faced by clients when dealing with Local IT solutions

(Note: Respondents have selected more than one option when giving their feedbacks; therefore there are multiple data entries for a single
respondent.)

Others
Customization Options
Technical Support
Proper Utilization
Service Delivery
Cost of Software
0

No. of Responses

Exhibit 2: Client Perspective on Local vs. Foreign IT services

Others
Performance Appraisal System
Disaster Recovery Site
Approval Management System
Call Center
Foreign

Data Center

Local

Core Banking
HRMS
ERP
0

No. of Responses

Exhibit 3: Annual Budget Allocated for IT Development

1000,000 +
500,000-1000,000
100,000-500,000
Amount in US$

50,000-100,000
10,000-50,000
< 10,000
0

Number of Respondents
Figure 1: The data presented only represents the responses from six institutions; the remaining four were uncomfortable sharing their
information because of confidentiality issues.

Exhibit 4: Areas of Improvement for Local Service Providers

R&D
Marketing/Promotion
Product Development
Service Delivery

Discussion

Tier
Tier 1

Tier 2 (Challengers)

Tier 3 (Up & Coming)

Country
India
China, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Australia,
Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain & South
Africa.
Belarus, Brazil, Egypt, Latvia, Mauritius, New
Zealand, Ukraine & Venezuela.

Bangladesh, Cuba, Sri Lanka, South Korea &

Tier 4 (Neophytes)

Vietnam

Table 1: World's Leading IT Service Providing Locations (Source: Deloitte Research, New York Business)

According to Crains New York Business, a research paper conducted on the new found growth of IT service industry around the
world discusses how Bangladesh is a rising star in the international economy with industrial analysts from Goldman Sachs to Cisco
Systems predicting that it has high potential to follow in the successful economic steps of the giant next door India.
The European Union (EU) officially announced that Bangladesh is one of the best 20 service delivery target countries. Further,
Goldman Sachs & Co. positioned Bangladesh at one of Next Eleven, which are potentially growing countries following Brazil,
Russia, India, and China (BRICs). Some American or European companies have regarded Bangladesh to be a standard software
service providing country and considered local companies as joint-venture partners.

IT Service & NonVoice ITES

Voice based ITES
Total

2008

2011

Growth

24.82

45.31

22%

NA
24.82

2
47.31

NA
24%

Table 2: Growth in ITES Exports from Bangladesh (Source: EPB, Govt. of Bangladesh)

Having gained experience and credibility in the international market for services, Bangladeshi companies are now graduating from
low value added tasks to higher end engineering and product development assignments Bangladesh based Eyeball Technologies has
developed the Blackberry Playbooks Video chat for BBM, for Research in Motion (RIM) a Canadian giant.

IT Service & Non-

2008
40.4

2011
52.5

Growth
10.08%

Voice ITES
Voice based ITES
Total

5.2
45.6

6.8
59.3

10.25%
10.01%

Table 3: Growth in Exports of ITES in India (Source: Ministry of Communication & Information Technology)

When benchmarking the most successful neighboring country, it can be deduced that India has expertise in software development/
maintenance, contract centers, financial processing, etc. and its major customers are Citigroup, GE Capital, American Express, etc. If
we have a look at the fastest growing IT service providers in the world, we can easily notice that Indian firms are much ahead in
building solid infrastructure base for its IT business.
From the research findings a few issues have come to light that need to be addressed immediately by GPIT in order to exploit the
unfulfilled demands in the market. Based on the study conducted it has been made clear that the local IT service providers are not
being able to match their foreign rivals on two most general fronts; research & development and marketing promotions. Upon
considering all the factors that make a well-prepared company like GPIT push forward the boundaries in the local IT market, a unique
value proposition can be derived. This value promotion strategy would mimic the requirements expressed by the market that are not
being fulfilled by any of the local service providers.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of GPIT
Superior customization options and satisfactory service delivery
The unique selling point for GPIT should be the service delivery factor in connection to providing greater customization options that
suit the individual clients requirements. In relation to this there should be greater focus upon the R&D activities of GPIT.

Specific strategies to increase exposure and awareness in the market:

Target new or growing institutions that are still in the process of adopting various IT solutions.
The people representing GPIT directly to external stakeholders must possess relevant knowledge to address any queries

regarding the products and services.

Product sales pitch teams should consist of good communicators as well as technical experts.
Research & Development activities should be given a certain amount of priority.
The logistical patterns should be developed around the idea of being able to deliver on time after-sales services as efficiently as

possible.
Organize workshops and learning seminars targeting institutions to not only generate brand awareness but to also reduce

psychological resistance towards the adoption of IT solutions.

Focus on social networking to connect to the clients directly and understand their needs as well as keeping them up to date on

GPIT services.
Sponsor external events (ROI calculations should be considered) and programs to create further awareness of GPITs brand

image as well as attract potential clients in the growing market.

Take initiatives to form affiliations with academic institutions, like public & private universities, in order to conduct market
research to excel GPITs business growth without incurring high levels of cost.

GPIT prides itself on possessing the largest, most valuable IT workforce in Bangladesh. It has the most academically accomplished IT
experts in the industry, many having exceptional international certifications and professional credentials. Their beliefs are based on
continuous improvement and it, therefore, look to enhance their skills and knowledge at every prospect. It has a solid culture of
knowledge-building. GPIT also have very low employee turnover, owing to a progressive and inclusive culture where everyone has
the opportunity to grow.

Significance of the Study

I believe that this research topic is important because its findings will make the stakeholders of GPIT better aware of the companys
competitive position in the IT industry. More importantly, it will help them to take appropriate steps for enhancing the companys
human resource practices and its customer-oriented approach in providing services. The internal management might find the
outcomes of this research useful by learning about the companys strength and weakness in terms of its service offerings, in
comparison to its close rivals. Accordingly, the recommendations might help them to take appropriate decisions in utilizing the
companys strengths and overcoming the weaknesses.

Reference

Official website of Grameenphone IT. http://www.gpit.com/.

Official website of Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services, http://www.basis.org.bd/
Fitzgerald, G & Willcocks, LP. (1994), Contracts and partnerships in the outsourcing of IT in proceedings of the 15th

International Conference on Information Systems, Vancouver: Canada.

Karen Sharpe, Outsourcing or Third Party Service Management (2001), Deloitte & Touche (Presentation to ISACA).
Arora, A., Asundi, J., 1999. Quality certication and the economics of contract software development: a study of the Indian

software service companies, Heinz School of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh.
Lacity, M. and Willcocks, L. (1995), Interpreting Information Technology Sourcing Decisions from a Transaction Cost

Perspective: Findings and Critique, Accounting, Management & Information Technology, Vol. 5.
Nam, K., Rajagopalan, S., Rao, H. R., & Chaudhury, A. (1996). A two-level investigation of information systems outsourcing.

Communications of the ACM, 39(7).

Dedrick, J, Gurbaxani, V. and Kraemer, K.L. (2003). Information technology and economic performance: a critical review of

the empirical evidence, Computing Surveys, 35(1) March: 1-28.

Personal interviews with representatives from Green Delta Insurance, The Trust Bank, Phoenix Insurance & Investments,
BRAC EPL Investments, bKash, IDLC Finances, City Bank & Standard Chartered Bank.

Appendix
Survey Questionnaire
What kind of challenges do you face when working with local IT solutions? Please select the options below - you may
select more than one.
Cost of Software / License renewal costs
Service delivery
Proper Utilization
Technical Support
Customization options
Other:

Please describe the level of IT solutions & infrastructure being used in your organization. Kindly mention the IT service
used & the vendor's name.

Do you think any of the following services provided locally can add value to your organizational efficiency?
ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage
the business
HRMS - Human Resource Management System helps organizations better develop programs to manage, reward &
retain their employees
Core Banking Solution - Core banking solution will enable you for technological advancement in terms of service
offerings, improved risk management, faster consumer service etc.
Data Center - A data center is a centralized repository, either physical or virtual, for the storage, management,
and dissemination of data related to a business
Call Center - A call centre is a centralized contact point to handle large volumes of calls with balanced
distribution between agents, automatic voice, log reporting etc.
Approval Management System - Approval Management System is the electronic way of managing traditional
approval processes that enterprise handles everyday.
Disaster Recovery System - Disaster recovery can ensure reliable data system and application recovery as well
as improved recovery times, reduced storage consumption and centralized data from remote offices.
Performance Appraisal Management - Performance appraisal (PA) is a systematic and periodic process that
assesses an individual employees job performance.
Other:

What best describes your enterprise?

Government Owned
Commercial & profitable institute
Non-profit/NGO/Social enterprise

Do you feel the need of local Consultancy Service to improve IT Services of your organization.
Yes
No

If Yes, What Type of support you expect from the service provider?
To gain greater customization option of existing systems
To run the IT supported operations smoothly
To make processes effective & being compliant to regulatory body
To design & develop services/solutions
To run the Service Desk support
Other:

Approximately what percent of your company's annual budget is allocated for IT development? No calculation is
necessary; we are expecting a rough estimate.
< US$ 10,000
US$ 10,000-50,000
US$ 50,000-100,000
US$ 100,000-500,000
US$ 500,000-1000,000
US$ 1000,000 +

Which areas do you think IT solutions might be necessary in your organization? You may tick more than one. For any
other answers please mention in "Others" section.
Insurance Managment
Financial Transactions
Customer Service
HR Tracking & Management

Decision Making Support

Marketing & Branding
Performance Appraisal
Monitoring & Regulatory Processes
Other:

What are the areas where, in your opinion, international IT services are better than local service providers? Please
specify some processes/services of your industry which are being used internationally but not in Bangladesh.

Please write down in a few words if you have any suggestion or recommendation for IT solution providers or IT Industry.