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Ihab JabariCEO

Palestine An effective solution to your IT needs

Palestinian IT Association of Companies (PITA)

االتحاد PITA members 1999-2009أعضاء

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 20090

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Year

Num

ber

of M

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Specialties: Software development, Hardware, IT training and capacity building,

Telecom services, Education , and Outsourcing.

ICT in PalestineAround 300 enterprises – small and medium doing ICT related

jobs

Palestinian companies with track record: Experienced companies capable of delivering specialized ICT

services1. 37% of ICT companies have at least 12 years of business

experience2. 12% of ICT companies have at least 20 years of business

experience3. 44% of ICT employees have programming and software

engineering skills- 15% with 10+ years of experience4. 27% of ICT employees have a Master and/or Ph.D degree

Palestinian solutions won international and regional prizes Outsourcing to major international companies (CISCO and Intel)

2185 graduates annually from the 13 universities in ICT related studies

Facts: The Palestinian ICT SectorEmploymentIn the ICTSector:

Value Added Per Paid Employee: $ 31,770Compared to whole economy: $ 17,000

ICT Sector 3,200

Total Economy10,000

EconomicDevelopment

Healthcare

Education

2001

2005

2008

Exports (USD million)

3 5 10

ICT Sector Indicators – Export Market

30% of ICT companies are already exporting products and services

Main Indicators

ICT usage and spread in Palestine is in line (in some cases better than) with Arab countries

*32.8% of households own a computer *15.9% have access to the Internet

*About 400,000 Internet Users

*About 72,000 ADSL subscribers – one of the highest in the Arab world

*The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics “PCBS” 2007 study

Outsource to Palestinian High-Tech Companiesa clear distinctive advantage

ICT as a tool of economic development

ICT Outsourcing

One Time Zone,

Real-time

Cost Base English-Arabic -Hebrew

language skills

Trained Resources

Companies with Track record

Business Environmen

t

Israel

$3,500 – 7,000+$4,500 – 8,000+

India

$1,500 – 4,200

$2,500 – 4,800

Palestine

$1,500 -$2000

$2,500 - 3,000

Developer

Team Leader/ Project Manager

Cost Advantage

Palestinian

Authority$1,50

0$2,50

0 - 3,000

Developer

Team Leader/ Project Manager

Low Prices

Cheap Local Communication

Cost Advantages

Outreach and connection in the Middle East and the Gulf Low churn rate (turn over of employees within

the Palestinian IT company) Excellent command of English, some in Hebrew Proven on time delivery at all times and

situations Reliable and advanced infrastructure in

telecommunications (All modern telecom means) Access of fresh and skilled ICT resources.

Advantages: Operational

LanguagesMore than 85% of managers

and developers speak English

Around 10% speak Hebrew

GovernmentThe Palestinian

government(s) support the ICT sector

There is also interest to develop the Palestinian-Israeli Hi-tech cooperation

The Palestinian ICT Sector

Available Expertise

Java, JSP/J2EE, (Spring Framework), Oracle VB.NET, C#, ASP.NET, Visual Basic, ASP HTML, JavaScript, XML, PHP, CF, others…

Development

Technologies

Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, others…

Databases

Windows, UNIX Linux, Solaris, AIX platforms

Operating Systems

Palestinian experience

Connectivity and Internet access Internet is provided through different

main internet providers with backbone from Israel

Therefore reliability is the same as in Israel Monthly fee)$( Installation fee

)$(Type

$50 256 MB upload

Free- $50 ADSL 1 MB

1000 500 TDM 1 MBLease line

$300 Free - $500 Wireless –one –to-one1 MBPS

100512 MB upload

Free - $50 ADSL 2 MB

The Palestinian ICT Sector

VPNsVPNs are very common in Palestine

There are several internal and international VPNs running

Connectivity and Internet access

The Palestinian ICT Sector

TaxesTax on corporate profits is now

15%Maximum rate of personal income

tax is 20%Investment Promotion Law provides

effectively a Zero Tax Rate for new IT projects for 5-7 years, thus encouraging cost effective initiatives.

HR development and training costs are now treated as capital investment for the IT industry

Low cost training and certification compared to the region

Fees for Palestinian labor will be paid as “Professional Fees” applicable to the VAT

The Palestinian ICT Sector

Risks of InstabilityReal Case Examples (References Available)

Palestinian companies that have international experience have managed to keep their delivery time accurate at all times.

The political situation did not affect the Palestinian companies in terms of the technical work rather in terms of sales and marketing.

During the worst situations, there was no damage to Internet connectivity, VPN links to Israel, or IP risks

When these companies get steady business from Israeli partner, it makes there standing even stronger.

Risk Assessment

$9-12 million in Export Stories The Palestinian ICT Sector

……… Need to Scale Outsourcing Services

Opportunities Growing BPO / ITO Markets

in the MENA region Untapped BPO / ITO and

outsourcing capabilities: IT services spending forecast for 2009 is $796 billion*

Growing digital Arabic industry

*Research and Markets, www.researchandmarkets.com

Growing Opportunities

Significant financial and operational benefits for both sides

Great potential for cooperation

Huge benefits in outsourcing to Palestine

Relevant StrengthsCompetitive and talented human resources

Advanced and accessible telecom infrastructure

Entry point to fast-growing MENA region

ICT is the most resilient to Israeli practices in terms of trade barriers, movement restrictions, closure, incursions, etc. in comparison to other traditional industries

Additional 7500 jobs are projected within the next 5 years as a result of opening the telecommunications market and outsourcing initiatives

Thank you