Rashed Uddin Mahmud is a Non-Residential-Bangladeshi (NRB), who lives in the USA. He has graduated in Computer Science and Engineering and has worked in Information Technology sector in the USA at fortune 500 companies like Ford Motor Co., BellCore, IBM for about 10 years now. He was nice enough to give us some of his time during his present visit to Bangladesh.



Computer Jagat: What are you currently doing at IBM?

Rashed:I work at one of the IBM UNIX Engineering teams.

Computer Jagat: What brings you to Bangladesh this time?

Rashed:I have always had an entrepreneurial mindset and been interested in developing business in the technology sector in Bangladesh. I think Information Technology in Bangladesh is now matured enough, and entrepreneurs should take some initiatives. One of the reasons of my visit is to explore opportunities in this area.

Computer Jagat: What are your expectations from Bangladesh?

Rashed:I think Bangladesh has lots of hidden talents and we need to bring them out. I do have high expectations.

Computer Jagat: What would you say if we ask you to compare the Bangladeshi IT organizations with the American ones?

Rashed:This is actually a tough one. Bangladesh still has lots of room for improvements in corporate culture. I feel that the work culture and attitude in Bangladesh is very different from USA.

Computer Jagat: In your opinion, what are the main reasons behind this huge difference between the IT organizations of these two countries?



Rashed:I would say mainly because of the difference in management of the corporations, and may be because of our culture and the way we think. If we can bring Bangladeshi professionals with solid educational background and work experience back to this country this difference can be minimized.

Computer Jagat: In your opinion what are the most important issues that we need to work on to get more business investments in the IT field from the foreign countries?

Rashed:First of all we need a stable Bangladesh. Most of the foreign companies don’t have confidence in Bangladesh. We also need to establish the ‘Bangladesh’ brand.

Computer Jagat: Recently you have been to the DigitalExpro. What is your opinion about it?

Rashed:I really had high expectations, but I think we need to make lots of improvements in this kind of expo.

Computer Jagat: There is a lot of outsourcing IT companies in Bangladesh at present. What do you think about their position in the IT field comparing to those in North America?

Rashed:From the information I gathered, no one is actually working directly for any big name foreign companies. Outsourcing is happening but in small scale and through several layers and subcontracts. Again, if we can have a stable Bangladesh, change the corporate culture and attitude and the way we think, I’m confident we can get direct contracts from big name companies.

Computer Jagat: Finally, would you like to share any suggestions or opinions?

Rashed:We need the right people in the right place. I think there are lots of talents in Bangladesh who are not in business or technology management. They are either working for a company or migrating overseas and never come back. We need them to lead. We need professionals who have passion for technology, who have solid educational background and experience in engineering and technology to lead the technology businesses.

Computer Jagat: Thank you so much for your time.

Rashed:Thank you. It’s been a pleasure.
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About IBM

IBM’s character has been formed over nearly 100 years of doing business in the field of information-handling. Nearly all of the company’s products were designed and developed to record, process, communicate, store and retrieve information - from its first scales, tabulators and clocks to today’s powerful computers and vast global networks.

IBM helped pioneer information technology over the years, and it stands today at the forefront of a worldwide industry that is revolutionizing the way in which enterprises, organizations and people operate and thrive.

IBM has become the worldwide leader in UNIX systems revenue through the consistent delivery of POWER processor-based systems with leadership performance and proven reliability. The confidence that IBM will deliver innovative UNIX technologies in a timely manner supports IT infrastructure planning to support business growth.

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