BASIS SOFT EXPO A LOOK BACK

BASIS has constantly supported and pushed for improvements in the tech scene of Bangladesh and helped local developers and engineers break through various barriers. BASIS' efforts have been integral in helping Bangladesh come into the 21st century as a country that is capable of meeting the technological challenges that form the foundations of the modern world. BASIS Soft Expo is about to hit its 20th year and on this occasion, it is worth remembering the various iterations of this event over the years and how they have helped to develop the legacy of BASIS and ensure that its performance continues long into the future.

2003 saw 50,000+ visitors participate in the event that had, among other things, an IT Job Fair as well as a gorgeous opening/closing ceremony. The event was heralded as a new landmark in the IT sector of the country and helped bridge the gap between our expectations of IT and its reality.

The 2004 edition was much grander than its predecessor and featured entrepreneurship programs and over 20 seminars. It was attended by Mr. Forkan Bin Quasem and featured many foreign guests.

Software Showcasing became an event from the 2005 event onwards and that trend continued in 2006, creating a trend that would continue for all the years to follow. Additionally, to encourage entrepreneurship and activities related to business, seminars and IT Business events were organized.

SME Software zones and ICT for Development became events that marked the 2009 and 2010 events, further absorbing the idea of using tech for growth and inclusive business. All of this was on top of the themes established in the previous years and previous editions. These events also featured roundtable discussions and technical sessions. A CEO's Night was held to increase networking between different top-level executives working in this field so that the networks of likeminded people in this country would be bolstered.

E-Commerce Zones and BPO Zones became addition to the events from 2011 and 2012 events and this would be continued for years to come. The years that came afterwards included these events as well. CodeWarrior Challenge- a coding competition for the young programmers of the country, was started during this time.  This event also featured multifarious events such as Business Software Application Zone, Multimedia and Animation Zone, Communication and Cloud Zone etc.

During this time, BASIS reflected the digitization route that the entire country was going through and reflected this by encouraging business and enterprise through the use of software and IT. During this time, heavy focus was given on SME as well as MME. As a result of this, there was a heavy rise in outsourcing and IT jobs in the country.

2018 saw the rise of Mobile Innovation Zone as focus shifted towards mobile technology and as a result of this more work was done regarding the use of Android and iOS programming platforms. Business to Business (B2B) was a big component of 2018 events as we saw B2B Local and B2B International. This also saw a growth of the local demand and supply. This particular expo participants reported a huge response from local FMCG. e-Governance, e-health, e-education, e/m commerce, women in IT and access to finance were some of the highlights of 2018 too.

This constant focus on innovation and creativity has always been a hallmark of BASIS and has led the way for everything that BASIS has become over the years as well as creating leadership and breaking new grounds on what innovation can be in Bangladesh. Truth be told, few other organizations have had the impact that BASIS has had on the tech scene of this fledgling country.