ISLAMABAD, Aug 17: Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Thursday asked the local IT industry to adopt the concept of quality and improve business processes in line with international practices to penetrate the world markets.

Quality of products being exported is something that is now well understood, but the concept of quality in services is new and needs to be widely disseminated if Pakistan is to increase its share of the global marketplace,” he said at a ceremony to award CMMI level five certificate to a local company by Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Melon University under the Pakistan Software Export Board’s standardisation of IT industry programme.

State Minister for IT Ishaq Khan Khakwani, Secretary Farrukh Qayyum and PSEB managing director Yusuf Hussain were also present.

CMMI (capability maturity model integration) is the most renowned and globally accepted standard for software products/services. It is a framework that describes the key elements of an effective process and is divided into five levels with level five categorised as the most disciplined and matured.

Mr Leghari described the occasion as historic for the local IT industry as the achievement of CMMI level rating by a Pakistani company would boost the country’s image abroad besides marketing its IT products and services in premier markets of the world.

“The achievement of CMMI level five rating is also a tremendous example of public-private partnership and a proof of the excellence our companies can achieve through dedication and commitment,” he added.

He said software companies could use quality certificates to rely on their processes rather than the competence of individuals. “To get business from the corporate sector, international certifications like CMMI level prove decisive as they allow organisations to repeat their success and prevent defects in processes and software products.”

Mr Leghari said his ministry realised the importance of standardisation of the IT industry and launched a project through Pakistan Software Export Board about three years ago at a cost of Rs130 million to bring over 100 companies at the ISO 9001:2000 level and over 20 companies at various levels of CMMI.