-
General
When a 19th century romantic French writer by the name of Victor Hugo said “Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come” he obviously could not envision Pakistani bureaucracy. Not only can it reduce an idea to nothing more than its meager skeletal remains squirming in its own vile, it too often does.
Come 2004, the IT bubble is about to burst in a military run, democratic, American influenced politically independent subcontinent country by the name of Pakistan. It is here in our story that along comes an idea. It is a simple idea yet revolutionary in every way, the idea to prepare this country for the…
Read more →
-
Events General
The past whole week I was really excited about going to the exhibition on 5th and 6th at expo center Lahore since the theme read “home expo and super car expo”. I was counting on seeing some innovative home solutions, fancy cars and a lot of appliances for both. As I entered the arena, an ear piercing heavy bike engine race greeted me. Oh wow nice, we have bikes here too… and lots of them, but let’s see if we have the actual products that are expected.
First cars!! Honda Launched its new City Aspire at the event. This attracted a lot of young crowd who wanted to check it…
Read more →
-
General
NOTE: This is a sponsored post
Football. The most popular sport in the world. That may be hard to believe, we being a die-hard cricket nation, but there are many amongst us who get their blood pumping whenever our favorite team kicks some balls (pun intended). There’s excitement in the air, and the airwaves for that matter, when Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona are about to have a face-off on the field. Manchester United or Chelsea? The answer could incite either jeers or cheers, depending on who you’re surrounded by. It feels like you belong to an exclusive club really, not to mention how convenient it is to…
Read more →
-
Coffee Session General
There are two main things that are currently causing out growth in ICT to stall. One is the lack of original ideas, so most of the entrepreneurs either copy what is already around internationally or locally (same ideas of online shopping, online bidding) we still have not hit the jackpot with someone creating some thing like instagram or drawsomething and being acquired by one of the big names.
The second issue always lamented by entrepreneurs is lack of any funding sources in Pakistan. Over the years we have seen efforts being made to create funds which would help but what ended happening that most of these funds either did…
Read more →
-
Coffee Session General
We all know about the 7 layers of the OSI model. This is the framework by which computer networks are defined. Starting with the physical layer, going through the transport layer and finally culminating in the application layer where end user applications reside. I believe that this should be redefined to include and additional layer – the Social Layer. From the current vantage point, the Social Layer lies right above the Application layer – hence it is served by the Application layer.
The 90s witnessed a boom in what is now referred to as web 1.0. This consisted of static applications hosted over the web. Static applications meant that…
Read more →
-
General Mobile Apps Software & I.T.
Pakistani IT industry has been progressing rapidly over the last few years. It is heartening to see that the industry players are innovating and working in different areas to establish their expertise.
Recently, TenPearls, one of the leading IT companies of Pakistan, launched “Carumba!”, a 3D car racing game for iPhone and iPad. Carumba! has been designed and developed by TenPearls’ innovation labs. Launched as a free game, Carumba! allows users to earn coins during the race, and redeem them to unlock other cars and tracks or to get additional nitro boosts. It has also been integrated with Apple’s Game Center.
The game has received very good response from…
Read more →
-
Events General
‘Rethinking Pakistan’ [and my expression goes LOL and I will explain why] was the theme of the conference which took place at margalla hills Islamabad on March 31st 2011 organized by TEDx, lets just summarize here what TEDx is; before we further dig into the “theme” and happenings of this conference.
TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) and ’x’ denotes the independently organized events under the TED umbrella, mission is “Ideas worth spreading” and this events basically brings together individuals, communities and organizations with the opportunity to excite dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level (geographically). The programs combine live presenters, performers and pre-recorded talks from some of the most brilliant…
Read more →
-
Announcements Events General
ICT R&D Fund aims to provide graduating students a chance to really make their final projects counts. I have always felt that students in their final year some times product excellent products which due to lack of any infrastructure and proper guidance plus funding just go in the Universities Libraries.
Seems ICT R & D fund is giving these students a chance to take their projects to the next level by acquiring funding, if you are a final year student doing a project all you need is to get this form filled and submitted through your head of department .
Last date for submission for forms is 31st…
Read more →
-
Coffee Session General
I wanted to discuss the Thiel Fellowship and sort of run the idea among our readership to figure out if it was justified or not. Bay Area hedge fund manager Peter Thiel started a Fellowship program in his name about a year ago trying to capitalize not on start ups, but the smart kids who may actually come up with the next billion dollar idea.
Let there be no mistake. Innovation solves problems. Bankers, lawyers and hot shot executives are good for only one thing: managing an existing infrastructure. It is the innovators who turn existing ideas on to their heads and enable breakthroughs. Considering the point above, it…
Read more →
Twitter
Facebook
Delicious
Digg
Stumble
Reddit
12:17 pm
umm.. Saad doesn’t your post actually PROVE that rumors were indeed true!
“…I recently talked to a couple of their management guys and they told me that they initially did ask the employees to leave, if they wish, as the payments for the project had been delayed…. ”
A company can be very profitable, but if it doesn’t have cash – it can go bankrupt! Technically this is what Inov8 was going to be as they could not meet their financial liabilities. In fact their business model is downright unethical: keep hiring and keep delaying salaries. Inov8! If you cannot pay salaries, LAY OFF people (you are exploiting people just for “good workforce strength”.
Government needs to take action against such firms and there should be strong protections of the employees. Inov8 should be paying interest on the salaries they delayed.
Lastly, employees are “hired” as employees not as partners. They do not have to share the owners’ risk about payments. If payments are delayed, owners should take loans and pay the salaries. If they can’t afford to keep employees or pay interest over loans, just clear the liabilities and lay-off employees and operate a smaller and more efficient company.
9:58 am
well said asim .. i totally agree with you !!
7:20 pm
Nice reply Asim. It’s good to see tech workers are not ill treated as textile companies’ workers most of the time, this is a bad exception. I won’t recommend anyone to companies like Invo8.
8:26 pm
Actually every time i see this article, my blood boils! I am sorry Saad, but I have no idea why Osama asked you to write on G&W!
The post starts with:
“Inov8 Ltd. has quashed rumors about the company’s financial performance …”
QUASHED!!??!! please open a dictionary to see the meaning of QUASHED..
Grrrr…
Osama, please take notice!
10:57 am
Hi Asim,
the rumors floating were that innov8 is going towards bankruptcy and will be closed down or sold out. I think Saad meant they have removed those rumors and are in business.
He has admitted that they have delayed the payments and due to which some people have left the company. but we need to hear both sides of the story. they did ultimately pay out the dues if delayed. with companies facing every thing from slow business to electricity nightmares. they still went out and paid the employees even the ones who left them. we have had worse examples in our industry of companies outrightly rejecting employees dues.
11:07 am
Hi Asim… I’m looking into it – there’s inevitably going to be some period of adjustment with the high level of standards of the community.
But do let me know if you dont see if improving over time – osama@greenwhite.org
11:32 am
Hi Asim,
I appreciate your comments. FYI, quashed can be used in many connotations especially in the case of rumors, even NYT and WSJ use it frequently. Still, I would be careful in future.
GnW is an open community and everyone can contribute so you have an open invitation to start sharing your ‘valuable’ thoughts.
Saad
1:08 pm
Asim:
quash – put down by force or intimidation; “The government quashes any attempt of an uprising”; “China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently”; “The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land”
–
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/quashed
i suggest you dont flame people, not to mention the editor, without a bit of research.
6:00 pm
Hi all, sorry about the strong comments. May be ahsan is right however I understood the post to have a different meaning than the intended.
1:21 pm
This should quash the rumors, this mail was sent yesterday:
“Dear All,
The salary for the month of Oct – 08 has been transferred to your respective accounts. Salary slips are available at the Accounts & Finance Department.
If there is any query, then kindly contact within two days to Accounts & Finance Department.
Thanks & Regards,
Finance Controller
Inov8 Limited”
12:08 pm
Asslam O Alaikum to All;
Well reading out the worthy Comments of all of the people I got little bit confused because i m going to Join INOV8 in a couple of months Does all these rumours are TRUE???
Anyone who is curently or was an Emloyee of INOV8 plzz let me know abt the True story…
Regards,
Shayan
5:22 pm
Shayan, there’s nothing to worry about now… things go up and down in companies and its good to see that things are looking up.
10:27 am
There is a mailing thread going on at “sahics_all” yahoo group (FAST Alumni group)with the subject: “Impact of global credit crunch on IT Busineses in Pakistan” and one of the response was :
“I think Inov8 got badly impacted due to the worldwide economical disaster. It’s funding has been stopped. They have not paid salaries to the employees from last 5 months .They also terminated many of their employees without even clearing their dues. Employees and their families are suffering because of them and struggling for their dues and new jobs. One should be highly careful while joining any such company in future.”
When i confirmed this with some of the inov8 employees (old as well as currently working), i came to know that Inov8 has only paid to them who are currently working at inov8. But those who resigned or terminated by inov8 are still waiting for their salaries. The situation is still worse for those who are terminated by Inov8 without even clearing their dues. Employers are also exploiting them because they are jobless and got nothing by inov8 since after June 2008. They are forced to join at very low packages.
This is very sad for me
11:18 am
Naeem you are right they have not paid the salaries and other dues of those who r no more part of Inov8. When those ex-employees ask for payments they say they dont know when to clear but they also say that they have got a loan worth in Crores and millions in terms of project signing from some one. The ex-employees are facing lot of financial issues due to these pending payments. I personally know a couple of ex-employees there who have borrowed a big money during that bad time and now they have nothing to pay that loan back as a big amount is pending on Inov8.
So Inov8 management must consider the poor condition of their ex-employees and clear their dues. If not then it wont b possible for them to servive in market for a longer period of time. Also their partners i.e. Mobilink, PTCL, SNGPL, SSGCL, LESCO, KESC, HBL, KASB, Atlas bank etc must force them to clear the dues and should not work with a company behaving in such manner with its employees.
1:20 am
The mail attached by “inov8 on November 6th” is for the employees who r still there in Inov8 not for ones who r no more with Inov8. NO SALARY HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED TO THE ACCOUNTS OF EX-EMPLOYEES. This mail by Inov8 management is just to show the world that Inov8 has become an “Angel”. This is status of today that no salary has been transferred for the Ex-Employees of Inov8 and the higher management saya that they can’t say when they will transfer the dues.
10:03 am
Well i don’t know the internal details, but people i Know from the company even the ones who have left have been paid their dues, again this is from the people i know, I am not sure if there are a minority out there who has not been paid.
11:27 am
Hi Qazi, i have reconfirmed again, Inov8 trying to call some of its Ex-employees to rejoin and says that “We will pay all of your dues only if you rejoin us”. This is nothing but clear blackmailing. Only a couple of ex-employees joined them and left again when they got their salaries. But remaining people still struggling for their dues.
Situation is worse for those who were terminated by Inov8 and NO ONE HAS BEEN PAID YET.
Another recent news for you is that 4 more employees have resigned this month including their PM.
11:44 am
Onething more, Qazi can you please name someone who resigned from the company or terminated by Inov8 and got his dues? Please name anybody so that other people may know him as well.
9:18 pm
My brother used to work for Inov8. They terminated him without clearing his dues. Its been a couple of months and Inov8 still is not paying for the previous 5 months. The only people to be blamed are the ones running the show, the duo of two cousins. All the people affected should go to Labor Court and file a case against Inov8.
1:19 pm
I think all the infected persons should go to media (press club) and record a protest against this disgraceful act of Inov8 CEO.
6:15 pm
Its ‘ABC’ .Can’t show my identity here but I have worked for inov8 and left it early this year. So thats y i know a number of people there and still have good terms with most of them. I know that whole scenario but after reading lot of comments on this forum I today explicitly called and chatted a few guys who are no more with inov8 due to this issue and they have confirmed that after May they have only received one salary that of June on 30th september i.e. 29th Ramazan. They told me that they are waiting for remaining salaries and dues. When they call any one there CEO, HR, Accounts etc then they say they are planning for it but can’t give the exact date. They are saying this since first week of October but had done nothing. Inov8 have got loan in “Crores†from a bank and as per my estimate they need maximum 3-4 millions to clear the old guys. So they should do that immediately and get “Dua†from these guys and their families instead of “Bad-Duaâ€. So if any one from Inov8 management read this then he should advice the management of the firm to clear the dues.
5:47 pm
Hi ABC – we need to remain civil here so I had to moderate your comment slightly… no need to bring in the family or point to specific people. I think the general management or shareholders all can be notified or communicated to equally.
11:10 am
Hi Osama. I dont think there is any thing un-civil in my comments. ************* MODERATED *************** they misbehave lot of times with their employess. I have spent a reasonable time with them and i know what the hell they speak with their employees. One example is that when they transferred the salaries of resources which are with them then one of them (Hasnain or Bashir) used the following words in the presence of females: “get your ass back to your work”. Is this the behaviour of a civilized person? Never ever. At the end the basic purpose to put my comments here is to convince the Inov8 management to clear all the dues of their ex employees
12:10 pm
ABC – rude language doesn’t really imply anything about their family and background.
I’ve worked in the US for a good while and unfortunately language like this is often a part of the corporate culture there.
I think their use of words like that should be linked to them having worked in the US for a while.
I’ll have to moderate your commetn again – I still dont see how its fair to make assumptions about their family’s mindset or background based on just that one statement.
I’m sure you have more examples, and you can email them to me to clarify… but lets just leave this where it is on this forum.
P.S. I dont know them personally.
12:00 am
this moderation idiocracy has to stop so we can really understand the matter clearly rather then the moderator stupidifying it’s mindset over the topic.
12:21 am
xyz – fortunately, comment on this site is a priviledge WE provide to you since the site is owned by us.
If you dont trust our moderation, you’re welcome to go read other news sites.
I dont see how we’re obliged to break the rules of teh community just for a few peoples’ desire… the rules say no personal attacks that arent relevant to the story. Deal with it?
3:42 pm
Hello, the November salary of employees still working with inov8 has been transferred yesterday but not a single coin for ex employee.
6:39 pm
ABC, stop being such a sissy. You’re tearing someone down at a personal level because they said, “get your ass back to work?” Big frickin deal. Maybe the employee in question should have gotten their ass back to work. I have nothing to do with inov8, but I’ve seen the employee culture at many Pakistani tech companies. In many cases employees behave as if they were passengers on the Entitlement Express. Give me a peon to go get my coffee. Give me a good looking foyer so i can invite my friends and show off. Give me respect even when i don’t deserve it. Give me a total lack of accountability for my actions, but allow me to tear other people down when I’m not getting my ass back to work.
Yeah, well, whatevva!!! I am IN NO WAY supportive of Inov8′s salary practices and the fact that they haven’t paid employees, blah blah blah. However, at the same time, I do sympathize with entrepreneurs that bust THEIR ass trying to build a business in Pk and have to deal with the china-doll, misplaced sensitivities of folks like you who think people deserve respect even when they haven’t earned it. That’s not the way it works. Try bumming around at a US startup and see how long that’ll last. Telling you to get your ass back to work will seem like a kiss on the cheek. They’ll terminate you on the spot without bothering for a second about your H1-B and get your ass out of the country, my friend.
Ever wonder why there aren’t any great product companies out of Pakistan? A big reason why is because instead of getting their ass back to work when they should, tech employees are apparently wasting their time peddling their bruised egos on discussion forums. You think you can do a better job? Go build your own company.
9:24 am
@TiredOfMollyCoddling, I am surprised at the immaturity of the comment! So employees should “get their asses back to work” for bosses who don’t seem to know how to run their business and how to pay off the liabilities? I see somewhere a reference made to why it’s okay to use expressions like ‘get your ass back to work’ as it being a regular norm in the US; however stopping salaries is not a norm. And if it was US, employees would have sued the firm and it would have been out of business.
In any case, the point wasn’t the expression but the fact that they werent/arent clearing dues and then using expressions such as these to show that they have some sort of slaves working under them.
Regarding innovative products, it’s not because of the employees, it’s because of the short-sighted and unprofessional leaders that we don’t have great products. Bondage labor does not produce great products!
“.. You think you can do a better job? Go build your own company.” I have already done this and I have Alhamdo’Lillah a very successful firm and I want firms such as Innov8 out of market who are misusing the resources in a market where there is already a lack of resources!
Please stop sympathizing with unprofessional entrepreneurs who don’t know how to run a business! Also every employee and employer has a right to respect, you don’t have to “earn” it. This is the professional way of doing things. There rules of engagement that are meant to be followed by both employers and employees.
Lastly, please don’t give examples about US startups as they are not really applicable and take the entire argument out of context.
3:01 pm
Hi Buddys.
You know that inov8 has told one of their previous employees that as you were not terminated by us and resigned yourself and you were in contract period so we will not pay you salaries for 3 months….and same case is for others who left the company their self. Now some one tell them that where was your contract when these poor employees sit for lot of months without salaries…….Shame on u the owners.
3:15 am
As an entrepreneur from the good ol’ Pakistan, I am saddened by the events at Inov8. I hope they can still get back on their feet soon!
I can understand the anger of the people stuck in this (from the getting paid perspective) but you need to look at the trouble the pay-masters must be going through! They are literally seeing their “baby” die here!
(baby, in the literal sense)
12:19 pm
Hi All,
Another news about Inov8, they offer a bonus salary to employees who will join them. This offer is made to one of my friend and he argued: Your repo is very bad right now as you have stopped 3 to 4 months salaries of employees and has not cleared them yet, how can I join you in this situation with a contract of 1 year. Can you guess what the reply of Inov8 HR was: She remain silent and could answer this question
Inov8 is doing the same bad things again to hire people on high salaries, I would recomend all pls do not join Inov8 even on double salary as they might wind up their business in 3 to 4 months or same situation will occur again.
I know management of Inov8 very well as I have worked with them
You know what Management of Inov8 thinks:
We can hire any number of resources on high pay, people will join us only for high salaries:
They think they can buy employees not hire them
Remember, this can only happens once not every time
8:59 pm
inov8 owners!! ab to sharam karo … kion logon ki bad duaien le rahay ho? kion logon k paisay nai de detay?
1:39 am
Latest news is one more main employee has resign and gone from inov8.the owners should close the company if they do not know how to run the company and keep people.the loan money will finish soon what will they do then?again not pay for 6 month and try find more money.
6:39 pm
I am a friend of one of the ex-employees of inov8 who left when inov8 did not pay its employees the salaries for few (3-4) months. And still inov8 has not cleared the salaries plus dues to employees who left at that time. Now inov8 is trying their best to blackmail those employees who were very important to them, by sending them false legal notices. Mr Hasnain Sheikh (CEO of Inov8) has come from USA but in nature he is a pure ‘UJJAD’, he has even threatened the employees that he can snatch his employees from their homes if he wants. This was the very rude an unethical behavior of the CEOs (Hasnain and Bashir) that when the development manager of Inov8 left in the start of year 2008, what he did in anger that he completely destroyed the CVS code repository of Inov8. I am very disappointed of those employees who are still working with Inov8, I will say they are equal participants in the cruelty the inov8 is doing with their employees who left them. I will recommend all IT people to avoid joining inov8 otherwise on their own risk.
8:03 pm
GnW should also take note about the situation at competing companies. The news from Amaana is that they have not paid the employees for 4 months now. Saad and Osama it is your duty to your readers to get information from Amaana covered here too and get rid of the ever so evident Amaana bias that this blog has.
4:40 pm
BREAKING NEWS:::::::::::::::::
Some of the old employees of Inov8 have sent them a legal notice this week to clear their dues and they will file a case against them if Inov8 does not pay their dues within specified time.
BREAKING NEWS:::::::::::::::::
3:06 pm
Yes this news is true and i have confirmed it from inov8 that they have received the notice in the start of last week. So now what? A new game to start? I think both the parties should sit and clear the issue instead of involving in legal process. Now its upto inov8 i think.
4:03 pm
Still there is no update from Inov8 to pay the remaining amount. This is the statement of Inov8 HR Manager to those x-employees who has not sent legal notice to Inov8 “All things are final, documents are signed by Bashir and Hussnain only approval for sending documents is required from them”
Imagine still a approval is required from owners after Six months and amazing thing is that, they will send remaining amount documents not payment after six months, I recommend to all pls forward this message to all your friends
“DON’T JOIN INOV8, this can be happen with you as well”
Regards,
Bash
5:30 pm
:::::::::::::::::BREAKING NEWS:::::::::::::::::
INOV8 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER HAS RESIGNED
:::::::::::::::::BREAKING NEWS:::::::::::::::::
This is not confirmed where she is going but this news will be confirmed within two days
7:11 pm
Inov8 network manager has also resigned
9:37 am
Hi all,
I have some frightening facts for you all.
Inov8 is a bull shit Company ,they hire the resource with their contract conditions that in case if some one resigns in an years he has to pay the three months salaries ,but they never fulfill their part of conttract including bonus and rise in salary…..and some poor resource resigns from inov8 due to their bad attitude they not only send him the legal notices and threatend and pressurise him but also file case against him…
Hasnain sheikh is a real shit guy and all wt is said about is more than correct.
The Father of Bashir Sheikh (Director of inov8) has been the care taker minister for Law named Maqsood Sheikh …..he is a real corrupt man who has relations with the former chief minister of Punjab ..Pervez Elahi…
In short every one should rise voice against them…..these shitters are detroying the future of our young fellows….
DO NEVER JOIN THIS COMPNAY….
RATHER EVERY ONE SHOULD TO MARK THEM AS BLACK LIST COMPNAYY….
4:53 pm
Inov8 is the worse company in pak.and it will close very soon and the owners will be on streets.They deserved it.all employees please leave before your futures is damaged.
12:14 am
State bank has lifted the ban on inov8 mobile genie for only atlas bank.but the service cannot run because sb said they don’t allowed to handle financial money.
1:24 pm
Inov8 HR Manager is joining CamgridgeDocs as a Assistant. She is not joining there as Manager HR
She is also looking some resources for CambridgeDocs
3:33 pm
Yes the CEOs Hassnain Sheikh and Bashir Sheikh both have un-mannered, harsh and third class behavior with their employees, this shows the training their parents have given them and also shows what kind of this family is (un-mannered and third class people), its a chain of corrupt people who are exploiting people of Pakistan. I curse the CEOs of Inov8 limited, I will never forgive them as they have not paid my salaries. I will try my best to spread this news to all IT people so that they should not join Inov8.
11:05 am
Inov8 HR has joined CambridgeDocs on 16 February 2009
11:12 pm
yes.moti chali gaee!
5:27 pm
Next hearing of case filed by Inov8 ex-employees against Inov8 for their dues is March 01 2009
3:47 pm
News is that Inov8 lawyer did not appear on Monday’s (02 March) hearing. Think they are making delaying tactics. Now it shows who’s the culprit. On first 2 hearings their lawyer said that we need more time for preparation and now he did not appear in this hearing. So decide yourself. Now next hearing is on 20 March