1 Ihab Jabari CEO Palestine An effective solution to your IT needs

Palestinian IT Association of Companies (PITA) أعضاء الاتحاد PITA members Specialties: Software development, Hardware, IT training and capacity building, Telecom services, Education, and Outsourcing.

ICT in Palestine Around 300 enterprises – small and medium doing ICT related jobs Palestinian companies with track record: Experienced companies capable of delivering specialized ICT services 1. 37% of ICT companies have at least 12 years of business experience 2. 12% of ICT companies have at least 20 years of business experience 3. 44% of ICT employees have programming and software engineering skills- 15% with 10+ years of experience 4. 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 Sector Employment In the ICT Sector: Value Added Per Paid Employee: $ 31,770 Compared to whole economy: $ 17,000 ICT Sector 3,200 Total Economy 10,000 Total Economy 10,000 Economic Development Healthcare Education Exports (USD million ) 3510 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 Companies a clear distinctive advantage ICT as a tool of economic development

ICT Outsourcing One Time Zone, Real-time Cost Base English- Arabic -Hebrew language skill s Trained Resources Companies with Track record Business Environment

Israel $3,500 – 7,000+ $4,500 – 8,000+ India $1,500 – 4,200 $2,500 – 4,800 Palestine $1,500 - $2000 $2, ,000 Developer Team Leader/ Project Manager Cost Advantage

Palestinian Authority $1,500 $2, ,000 Developer Team Leader/ Project Manager LowPrices 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

Languages More than 85% of managers and developers speak English Around 10% speak Hebrew Government The 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 $ MB upload Free- $50ADSL 1 MB TDM 1 MB Lease line $300Free - $500Wireless –one –to-one 1 MBPS MB upload Free - $50ADSL 2 MB The Palestinian ICT Sector

VPNs VPNs are very common in Palestine There are several internal and international VPNs running Connectivity and Internet access The Palestinian ICT Sector

Taxes Tax 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 Instability Real 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, Growing Opportunities

Significant financial and operational benefits for both sides Great potential for cooperation Huge benefits in outsourcing to Palestine

Relevant Strengths Competitive 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

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