A big byte
IT General Manager Anis Ahmed says Express has traditionally been a tech-driven organisation
IT General Manager Anis Ahmed says Express has traditionally been a tech-driven organisation. STOCK IMAGE
LAHORE:
Responsible for keeping The Express Tribune’s operations systems running, the IT department, headed by Director Technical and IT Riffat Bajwa, is the heart of the organisation.
According to IT General Manager Anis Ahmed who is based in Lahore and has been with the organisation for 17 years, it was a tough decision to launch a new English newspaper, and the IT department was there to give support from the first day. “Express has traditionally been a tech-driven organisation, said Ahmed, adding The Express Tribune has grown immensely in the past five years.
The IT office in Karachi is staffed by 20 people and led by Senior Manager Syed Aabid Ali. According to Ali, Express Group is the first organisation in the country to implement the data-flow system through which news and photographs from news agencies are made available to editorial sections of print and electronic media in real time.
Ali has been with the organisation since 1999. He said the newspaper has carved a space for itself in a very short time. “The Express Tribune started out hiring young people for its newsroom. I think that was a very good idea,” he said. Commenting on the universal love-hate relationship between staff and IT, kind of like the one between non-techies and tech in general, Ali says a lot with few words. “Systems will malfunction, whether you work for NASA or The Express Tribune, it’s just about being patient and letting IT do its job.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2015.
Responsible for keeping The Express Tribune’s operations systems running, the IT department, headed by Director Technical and IT Riffat Bajwa, is the heart of the organisation.
According to IT General Manager Anis Ahmed who is based in Lahore and has been with the organisation for 17 years, it was a tough decision to launch a new English newspaper, and the IT department was there to give support from the first day. “Express has traditionally been a tech-driven organisation, said Ahmed, adding The Express Tribune has grown immensely in the past five years.
The IT office in Karachi is staffed by 20 people and led by Senior Manager Syed Aabid Ali. According to Ali, Express Group is the first organisation in the country to implement the data-flow system through which news and photographs from news agencies are made available to editorial sections of print and electronic media in real time.
Ali has been with the organisation since 1999. He said the newspaper has carved a space for itself in a very short time. “The Express Tribune started out hiring young people for its newsroom. I think that was a very good idea,” he said. Commenting on the universal love-hate relationship between staff and IT, kind of like the one between non-techies and tech in general, Ali says a lot with few words. “Systems will malfunction, whether you work for NASA or The Express Tribune, it’s just about being patient and letting IT do its job.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2015.