Mahboob Zaman signed up for an IT business in 1998, when the use of computers was still at a nascent stage in Bangladesh.

The journey began with only Tk 10 lakh in paid-up capital. He was always firm in his conviction that the people of Bangladesh are logical, analytical and the country should tap the potential for IT.

Today, DataSoft Systems Bangladesh has an annual turnover of Tk 42 crore, employing 348 software engineers. It continues to expand its mission to take Bangladesh to a higher level and play a bigger role in the global economy.

“I don't see DataSoft as merely a business. This is a mission to bring changes in the country,” Zaman, managing director of the company, said in an interview with The Daily Star.

Zaman was honoured as an ICT pioneer by The Daily Star and Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services on October 28.

Since its inception, DataSoft has delivered 847 projects to both private and public sector agencies. The tasks include automation of Chittagong Customs House and providing solutions for land registration.

DataSoft also provides core banking solutions to nine banks, and services to more than 4,500 branches of 100 microfinance institutions.

However, the journey was not always smooth and there were a lot of hurdles to overcome, said Zaman.

DataSoft is CMMi level 5 certified, which indicates that it is a top level software development process company.

It looks to explore business potential in Japan and exploit a new technology termed the 'internet of things'. The company also plans to go public this fiscal year to raise capital.

The internet of things is the proposed development of the internet where everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.

Zaman, also a former president of the BASIS, said just recently, the internet was used for human interaction, but now a machine interacts with another machine, a mobile phone interacts with an air conditioner.

“We have a good prospect if we can take our industry to work on the internet of things. We have to take the industry to a new level. We should all go for this mission. We can take our economy to a much higher level if we can exploit its potential.”

For this, he said, it is necessary to deepen industry and academia relations with the objective to include computing in the educational system.

Zaman lauded the recent developments in the ICT sector that took place in the country.