The State of Cloud Adoption and Opportunities in Pakistan All the tech giants of this world are following a “Cloud First” or a more aggressive “Cloud Only” strategy. The post COVID-19 era has strengthened their resolve even more. We as technology sales professionals are trained to highlight the benefits of the cloud as if it’s a daily sermon. The benefits of cloud continue to shine as bright as day, some of which include: Eliminate Hardware CAPEX: no huge upfront investment required to run your business-critical applications. Eliminate Hardware Upkeep & Maintenance: no need to extensively hire IT staff just to keep your systems running. Save on round the year air conditioning, power and physical space required for your hardware No Periodic Hardware Refreshes: As silicon chips keep getting smaller, HW will need to be upgraded every 3 to 5 years. Throw that expense and worry out of the window! So why has cloud hosting adoption been a challenge for big businesses and government bodies in Pakistan? The most common reason is government regulation. Public Sector, Telcos and Banks are heavily regulated by their respective regulatory bodies and they are prohibited from using foreign-based cloud services. They are not allowed to have their data leave the boundaries of Pakistan as it raises serious data security concerns. Pakistan is not alone in this as many other countries also impose similar restrictions. So, does this mean that all the benefits of the cloud will remain elusive for these big industries? Local ‘Infrastructure as a Service’ providers such as TallyMarks Cloud (TMC Cloud) is the solution to those problems. Their Tier 3 Data Centers are located within Pakistan which means that the data never leaves the country unlike other international cloud services available in the market. However, the performance of TallyMarks Cloud Service is at par with all leading international cloud service providers by guaranteeing 99.9% up-time. One other very important benefit of opting for a local cloud service is the option of having all commercial terms and billing locked in your local currency. No mandatory requirement for paying in US dollars. It is now time, all businesses and organizations (public and private alike) chart out their cloud strategy to stay relevant and keep up in this era of digital transformation. WANT TO KNOW: “WHY HAVING A CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE LOCATED WITHIN PAKISTAN IS IMPORTANT?” or VIEW: WHICH ARE THE TOP CLOUD DATA CENTRES IN PAKISTAN?
Khushhali Microfinance Bank signs for SAP Audit Management System
SAP Audit Management System Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited, the largest microfinance bank in Pakistan is stepping towards a digital world with TallyMarks Consulting, who are SAP Certified Gold Partners in Pakistan. Khushhali Microfinance Bank has signed with TallyMarks Consulting to acquire Audit Management System by SAP. This acquisition aims to boost the quality and effectiveness of the audit process at KMBL and help them to automate internal auditing procedures and improve quality with this audit management software. SAP is one of the largest blue chip technology companies in the world. Its Audit Management System solution is capable of handling complete audit process/lifecycle – data collection, risk assessment, audit planning, execution, reporting, and follow-up. The system is also able to support all types of audit i.e. operational audit, IT audit, and management audit which will assist KMBL in elevating the overall audit impact with technology-based insight into business risks. On the occasion, KMBL CEO, Ghalib Nishtar shared his views, “KMBL is steadily taking initiatives towards becoming digital and acquiring Audit Management System by SAP is a step in that direction. I believe this will streamline the process of passing an audit and surely increase business operations efficiency and customer satisfaction at KMBL.” The signing ceremony was attended by CEO and senior management team of KMBL, Executive Director TallyMarks Consulting, SAP MENA representatives and Internal Audit representatives. Learn more about SAP Audit Management System, a complete end to end Audit Solution by SAP
Digital Transformation in the University of Central Asia
The University of Central Asia is an internationally chartered not-for-profit secular institution which was established in 2000. It was formed as a partnership between the governments of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan under the sponsorship of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). As a university focused on the development of mountain societies, UCA resolved to make informed decisions regarding their ERP. To achieve this goal, they become one of the first organizations in Central Asian region to adopt SAP S/4HANA. As a result, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan are the 4 countries in this region that have been introduced to the power of SAP, to transform their business processes with the Intelligent ERP. SAP S/4HANA basically provides end-users with active decision support driven by data (external and internal) in real-time. However, most importantly, the biggest advantage of SAP S/4HANA is that it allows organizations to work seamlessly in a digital economy. It revolutionizes business processes with intelligent automation to meet your IT landscape goals. TallyMarks Consulting is proud to successfully complete its implementation of SAP S/4HANA in a record time of 6 months, we were able to smoothly complete the overseas project, adding yet another feather to our cap of SAP greenfield implementations. Click to view SAP Services and SAP S/4HANA Platform details Know about our Managed Cloud Services for SAP S/4HANA
Qlik Pakistan Annual Event 2019 (Augmented Intelligence in Action)
Business Intelligence is optimized when you harness the collective human intelligence across an organization. The 4th Annual Qlik Session 2019 mainly focused on AI (Augmented Intelligence) and Data Literacy. The way these two concepts are connected is that Augmented Intelligence and machine learning basically find and highlight new insights for users, increasing data literacy and trust, thus empowering the data user. This year’s event was conducted in Karachi and Lahore with sessions designed to share Global Data Analytics trends and discussions on how Augmented Intelligence can impact Corporate decision making. In addition, there were informative and interactive booths and a live demo session showcasing the latest releases and technologies of Qlik including Cognitive Engine, Data Catalyst and Insight Bot. Data Literacy was a hot topic this year. Attendees were able to assess their literacy skills during the event and understand the steps they would need to take to Be Data Brilliant. The event included CXOs from top Multinationals and Government bodies as well as those professionals affiliated with Data Analysis and Business Intelligence. The guest client speakers on board were from different industries of renowned companies such as Byco Petroleum, Punjab Information Technology Board and Taar Consulting. They shared deep insights regarding Qlik as well as unique perspectives about Augmented Intelligence and Data Analytics. View Albums on Facebook: Karachi Event Lahore Event
Top Cloud Data Centres in Pakistan
The demand for Cloud Services and Solutions is rapidly growing in Pakistan. Companies are realizing it is expensive for them to maintain their own IT infrastructure. PTCL, TallyMarks Cloud, Wateen Cloud, and Rapid Compute are the only Cloud service providers whose data centers are physically present within the boundaries of Pakistan. In order to help you select the best cloud hosting service, we have compiled a list of Top Cloud Data Centres in Pakistan with a comprehensive list of important features that you should consider before making a decision. Sandboxing is a software management strategy that isolates applications from critical system resources and other programs. It provides an extra layer of security that prevents malware or harmful applications from negatively affecting your system. Micro-Segmentation is a method of creating secure zones in data centres and cloud deployments that allows companies to isolate workloads from one another and secure them individually. It’s aimed at making network security more granular. Two-factor authentication is an extra security check where a user has to provide another passcode using the provided key generator or encrypted App on their phone. Generation of random number every time as a second password makes systems impenetrable. Advanced threat protection is a security solution that would defend the data center against sophisticated attacks such as malware, ransomware and hackers. This system is a combination of threat protection systems and agents to correlate alerts and manage defenses. Endpoint detection and response is an emerging technology that addresses the need for continuous monitoring and response to advanced threats. One could even make the argument that endpoint detection and response is a form of advanced threat protection. SOC or Security operations centers is a facility that houses an information security team responsible for monitoring and analyzing a data center’s security position on an ongoing basis. The SOC team’s goal is to detect, analyze, and respond to cyber-security incidents using a combination of technology solutions and a strong set of processes. Web applications firewall filter and monitor HTTP request between your web application and public internet. For companies hosting their cloud application for customers, this is a very integral security check. It typically protects web applications from attacks such as cross-site forgery, cross-site-scripting (XSS), file inclusion, and SQL injection, among others. Blockchain uses the data centre in a different manner. It does not use a central server, it is distributed among decentralized servers instead (hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of servers or computers). These are often referred to as nodes and master nodes. Every full node contains a full copy of the entire blockchain history. SIEM or Security Information and Event Management is a solution that aggregates and analyzes activity from many different resources across your entire IT infrastructure in a data center. Top Cloud Service Providers in Pakistan PTCL A semi-government body PTCL (Pakistan Telecom Company Limited) has one of the largest data centers in Pakistan in terms of size. They host data of government organizations and their own mostly. The size and multiple locations of the data center are where PTCL data centers excel. However, as with any government organization, bureaucracy and red tape is the norm which means that working with PTCL can be hectic due to unnecessary paperwork and slow human processing of requests. TallyMarks Cloud (TMC Cloud) A private organization having its data center in Pakistan. They provide IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) for Enterprise Cloud application with complete Managed Services and Disaster Recovery Services (DRaaS). Their vast experience in the implementation of enterprise applications in SAP, Qlik and Oracle gives them an edge in Initial Setups, Migrations and Support services. As a private company, you can sign a Service Level Agreement with them which opens doors to negotiations and saves the client a lot while not compromising on costing. Wateen Wateen private company have launched their data center after years of experience as one of the leading internet providers. They have experience in the Implementation and managing ERP system of telecommunication of their own company. However, Wateen support team has recently conveyed that they do not provide data center services even though they have an operating webpage. Rapid Compute Rapid Compute is a company by Cybernet. Cybernet is an ISP provider in Pakistan with years of experience in the management of ISP servers. Some solutions provided by RapidCompute such as Call Center, VoIP and others are outstanding. They also offer an Enterprise Class public cloud computing platform. View: WHY HAVING A CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE LOCATED WITHIN PAKISTAN IS IMPORTANT?
Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company Limited (PMIC) journey towards digital transformation with SAP & TallyMarks Consulting
Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company Limited (PMIC) is registered as an Investment Finance Company under NBFCs regulations with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). It is setup jointly by, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Department for International Development (DFID) through Karandaaz Pakistan and the German Development Bank (KFW). PMIC currently has a loan portfolio of more than PKR 20 billion in 65 districts of the country, which comprises of 86% women borrowers and 55% of the portfolio is deployed in the rural areas. The purpose of the Organization is to improve financial inclusion, employment and well-being of the poor by providing wholesale financing to the micro-finance service providers in the country. Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC) has officially kick started its journey towards digital transformation in partnership with SAP Pakistan & TallyMarks Consulting. This Kick-Off ceremony marks the start of the implementation of SAP S/4HANA & TRM automating the following business functions: Treasury & Risk Management Finance HR Procurement MF Plus PMIC provides financial and institutional services to strengthen and scale-up provision of sustainable and responsible access to finance to individuals, micro-entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises in Pakistan to enhance employment and income opportunity for economically poor and under-served citizens to improve the lives of the poor. Through the SAP S/4 HANA platform, PMIC will be able to ramp up its ability to serve its partners, beneficiaries and the communities at large. Click to view SAP Services and SAP S/4HANA Platform details
Cloud Hosting – Managed cloud for SAP S/4HANA
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Data Literacy Workshop at SKANS School of Accountancy
TallyMarks Consulting delivered a guest lecture on Data Literacy at Skans School of Accountancy ACCA Campus in Lahore. The purpose of the interactive lecture was to make the bright accountancy and business students aware of the fact that data is getting generated in a huge volume every passing minute. We need tools that store, analyze and process the data in order to have meaningful information out of it, that helps greatly in the decision making process. We shared with the participants that after spending a lot of time on the nuts and bolts of the analytics marketplace, we as Tallymarks Consulting harbor the view that the users should be empowered to load and build analytics with simple drag-and-drop simplicity. The participants were made aware of the fact that they do not require in-depth technical knowledge in order to analyze and visualize huge reams of data as Qlik (A data analytical BI tool) uses its strong and integrated cognitive and associative models to facilitate the business analysts to come up with the required analysis. The participants were also made aware of the fact that without generating the right kind of analysis what we get is only information, not intelligence. Therefore; in order to create a meaningful analysis, people should become data literate which means that they should gradually develop the ability to read, understand, create and communicate data as information. We concluded the session by highlighting in front of the participants the mission we are on and the goal of a data literacy program, which is to improve everyone’s ability to read, work with, analyze and argue with data. In order to meet our defined goal, we shared several techniques with the participants in order to help them in becoming data savvy. Do you want us to visit your institute or organization? Contact us now or visit Qlik Academy Website.
SAP Certification Exam
TMC (TallyMarks Consulting) an authorized SAP Training Partner along with SAP conducted the SAP Certification Exam in April 2019 in their Karachi office. Eight participants cleared the SAP certification exam with a great percentage. Rahim Shaukat Ali was the one to score an amazing 98% in FI (Financial Accounting) Module. These SAP professionals will be globally recognized for their SAP certifications and can work for multinational companies in respected departments. Here’s a list of the participants that cleared the SAP certification exam in April 2019. We congratulate them and wish them a bright future ahead in the world of SAP. Name Module Asfar Rahber Materials Management Muhammad Bilal Materials Management Syed Hussain Abbas Rizvi Materials Management Abdul Hanan Vohra SAP Basis Rahim Shaukat Ali Financial Accounting Syed Qamber Abbas Materials Management Muhammad Salik Qureshi SAP Basis Muhammad Umer Qaiser Samdani Materials Management Click here for the pictures album Want to get registered for SAP Training and Certification? For more details regarding the training sessions and modules being offered, click here.
Guest Lecture on Data Literacy at National University of Sciences and Technology Islamabad
TallyMarks Consulting delivered a guest lecture on Data Literacy at National University of Sciences and Technology Business School (NBS), Islamabad. The purpose of the interactive lecture was to make the bright business students aware of the fact that data is now coming at us from all the angles and as a result, an interactive dashboard is required to visualize the collected data. The students were taught that in order to create meaningful dashboards, they have to gradually develop the skill of data literacy that involves the ability to read, understand, create and communicate data as a piece of information. Students of NBS were also made to understand how Qlik is a user-friendly analytics tool as it requires a user to simply load data and build analytics with drag-and-drop simplicity. It was also demonstrated in front of the students that the effective use of analytics tool greatly helps in analyzing huge reams of data and finding patterns and correlations that would usually go unnoticed to human analysts. The session was concluded with an interactive brainstorming session with the students that once again focused on making the students understand that without learning data literacy skill, we will be playing with only vague data and information. To view the album: NUST Data Literacy Session