Samtel Tele marketing Intern report page 7

4.0 Industry Analysis

4.1 Introduction on software

4.1.1 Definition of Software

Software is a generic term for organized collections of computer data and instructions, often broken into two major categories: system software that provides the basic non-task-specific functions of the computer, and application software which is used by users to accomplish specific tasks.

Software is created with programming languages and related utilities, which may come in several of the above forms: single programs like script interpreters, packages containing a compiler, linker, and other tools; and large suites (often called Integrated Development Environments) that include editors, debuggers, and other tools for multiple languages.

Example: Word, Excel, PhotoShop, Picture Easy, and PhotoDeluxe are software programs.

4.1.2 Categories in Software

There are two major categories of software: System Software and Application Software.

System software is responsible for controlling, integrating, and managing the individual hardware components of a computer system so that other software and the users of the system see it as a functional unit without having to be concerned with the low-level details such as transferring data from memory to disk, or rendering text onto a display. Generally, system software consists of an operating system and some fundamental utilities such as disk formatters, file managers, display managers, text editors, user authentication (login) and management tools, and networking and device control software.

Application software, on the other hand, is used to accomplish specific tasks other than just running the computer system. Application software may consist of a single program, such as an image viewer; a small collection of programs (often called a software package) that work closely together to accomplish a task, such as a spreadsheet or text processing system; a larger collection (often called a software suite) of related but independent programs and packages that have a common user interface or shared data format, such as Microsoft Office, which consists of closely integrated word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc.; or a software system, such as a database management system, which is a collection of fundamental programs that may provide some service to a variety of other independent applications.

4.2 Software Industry in Bangladesh:

4.2.1 The ICT (Information & Communication Technology) Sector

The ICT sector of Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing sectors of its economy. The Government of Bangladesh has declared this sector as “the trust sector”. Realizing the importance of ICT, the name of the Ministry has been changed from "Ministry of Science and Technology" to the "Ministry of Science and Information & Communication Technology. Also the government has set up the 15-member ICT Task Force headed by the Prime Minister stating the aim to harness and utilize the immense potentialities of ICT for the overall welfare of Bangladesh.

4.2.2 History of Software Industry

It was in 1964 that Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission first introduced computers in the country, to be followed in late 60s and 70s by their use in the financial sector. Those were mainframe computers and were used mainly as a research and data processing tool at that time, and it was till the 80s that wider use of computer was made in the printing and publishing industries. However, at that

time, their high price restricted them for more general and commercial use. Personal Computers gained popularity in the early 1990s when they became more user-friendly and affordable, but the real boost came in 1998 due to the Government exempted computers and ICT accessories from taxes that coincided with substantial price reductions in the global market. The result is that growth rate in the use of PCs in Bangladesh stands around 40% in recent years. As such, the Consumption of ICT in Bangladesh is rapidly increasing both in public and private Sectors.

Another milestone in the history of ICT in Bangladesh is the introduction of direct Internet connection using VSAT in June 1996. Due to high cost of VSAT the bandwidth was limited and expensive in the early years of Internet in the country.

However, with the deregulation of VSAT in 2000, the available bandwidth has increased greatly, and rates have gone down substantially. Thus the Internet has gained massive popularity all over the world with millions of connected users worldwide.

Software has been a relatively a late entrant in Bangladesh ICT market. However like any learning curve, more and more firms are coming into this fray; systematic procedures and practices are being implemented so that quality software houses are being produced rapidly. The basic clientele for the software houses has usually been the corporate houses. i.e. the institutional market. That being so it naturally follows that most of the software is database related.

4.2.3 Categories in Software Industry

There are mainly three broad categories of software such as Customized Software, Multimedia Software, Web Software developed in Bangladesh. The most widely used programming language used for developing software are Visual Basic, C++, MS Access, SQL, Oracle, Java, Fox-Pro, Developer 2000, HTML and more. The following pie charts show the uses of various platform/languages by developers in Bangladesh:

	Chart 3.1: Languages use by software developers in Bangladesh Source: BASIS

 

Chart 3.2: Platforms use by software developers in Bangladesh Source: BASIS

One of the prime indicators or the growth factors for the software industry is technical people. In recent times, with the growth of the ICT training sector, availability of skill people has been enhanced. Also more and more software business houses are soliciting orders from outside. Hence it is expected that within a decade software sector will form a predominant part of Bangladesh economy.

4.2.4 Industry size and volume

Growth of ICT sector in terms of business conglomerates and professionals is predominant in Bangladesh. The figures below show the number of sector-wise companies and ICT professionals during 2000-2006.

Chart 3.3: No. of ICT companies in Bangladesh (Year wise) Source: BASIS

Chart 3.4: No. of ICT professionals in Bangladesh (Year wise) Source: BASIS