Tag Archive: Business Development


PERSPECTIVE: 8 Reasons why we do not have software industry in Jordan

Filed under: PERSPECTIVES by abuhijleh — 1 Comment
April 4, 2009

istock_000005614684xsmallJordan , as we claim, has a decent pool of talented resources in different disciplines including software development.  We export software, as well as, computer and software expertise – mainly to Arab Gulf countries – .
Sounds promising! Not really, after more than a decade of endeavors in software, I do not see the picture bright!
I do not dare to claim, that there are no serious endeavors. Some Jordanians companies made real breakthroughs and they are competing with big names in the market.
However, in light of our capacity and talented resources pool, I believe we are way behind the schedule for the following reasons:

  1. Lack of real technical expertise: sounds strange, yet true.  Due to the dominating culture, employees in management are paid more than technicians.  Results are:
    1. Technicians tend to invest in building managerial skills more than technical skills, and faster that it should be.
    2. Technicians expect to end up in a managerial position in a 5 years or so, if not they consider it a failure, which usually affects their morale.
    3. Good talents ends up in managerial positions rather than keep building  on their solid technical knowledge, that in a way or another could have participated in creating a real software industry.
  2. Projects Nature: software developed in Jordan is usually tailored to match the size and needs of the client! The development process is usually driven by the user and not by the business. Hence, every new project is a new separate experience of achieving the needs of that specific client! Projects are a property of the client rather than the developing entity.Also, most projects are small or of simple nature, hence less challenges and experiences. Using real estate notation, one can say, we have thousands of civil engineers, but none have knowledge in building skyscrapers!
  3. Quick ROI: again, the dominating culture. In Jordan , investors believe that the best project is the one that gets you the quickest ROI. Unfortunately, Software industry does not fall under this category. I believe, it is long term investment that needs persistency and patience.
  4. Belief in investment: Investors are still conservative to invest in technology. They believe more in traditional investments like real estate and FMCG. Those investments have tangible assets and ROI can be done with simple math!
  5. Poor or no methodologies: well known software development methodologies are not or poorly adopted in software houses in Jordan . This adversely affects the quality, the ability to deliver on time and the experience.
  6. IT infrastructure: Unreliable slow and expensive internet connection is a real hinder to software industry in Jordan .  This mainly affects offshore offices in Jordan and makes life harder to coordinate and work with offices and companies world wide.
  7. Lack of creativity: Even when somebody is considering investing in software industry, it’s just about opening another project based software shop! There are no real creativity in exploring new ideas and business models.
  8. Absence of a comprehensive perspective: In Jordan, I believe, we need to have a non profit organization to develop a comprehensive and integral perspective to software industry. An entity to analyze global market needs and to suggest directions. An entity to coordinate and encourage join ventures.  An entity to encourage knowledge and experiences sharing.

Though, I believe we should have achieved more, I believe it is not too late.  Jordan has a decent pool of resources with a great capacity. However, we need to act fast and take real corrective actions, before we loose a real chance of being the leaders in the area of having a real world class software industry.

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PERSPECTIVE: Why SaaS?

Filed under: PERSPECTIVES by abuhijleh — 1 Comment
March 7, 2009

3000 new companies a day are signing up world wide. More than 10 million active users in more than 500,000 companies are currently using it. For only $50/individual/annum, it gives you the ability to handle e-mail, Web hosting, calendars, instant messaging, and standard business applications like word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. It is Google apps.

Don’t get me wrong! I am not marketing Google apps – and I am not paid to do this! – I am just referring to it as a successful implementation of “Software as a Service” or SaaS

SaaS is the newest business model – some prefers to call it deployment model – in software industry. As the name implies, SaaS is about providing software as a service! The provider is responsible of hosting, maintaining, and owning the application while clients leverage the service without any over heads.

SaaS proved to be a successful business model. A lot of software companies, including Microsoft are striving to provide their applications as services; As SaaS is a win-win solution for both service provider and service consumer. SaaS gives the service provider the freedom to:

  1. Transparently modify the infrastructure without  acknowledging clients to adjust.
  2. Transparently maintain the code, adding features and upgrading the application features and  components.
  3. No more compatibility issues between different applications and components versions. It is all managed by the service provider
  4. Ability to continuously upgrade the application, clients do not have to wait for the next version to see the features they asked for and they’ll be seeing the application develop on weekly, if not daily basis
  5. Less  maintenance time, no need to send batches to each client. No hassle in coordinating batches installation with client system administrators
  6. Less embarrassment! If  a client found an issue, the service provider can fix it once and for all, with out the need to send batches to all clients and justify the need for the fix – unless there are consequences they should be aware of.
  7. Less installation time, clients can register on-line and you’ll directly get money
  8. No fear of piracy and unregistered versions of your application! The code is under the custody of the provider.
  9. Ability to  vertically and horizontally build on the application. Providers can add more features to existing components or even add complete components. It is easier to convince existing client to buy more services. e.g. You’re a travel agent management system provider. You can add an accounting component that is seamlessly integrated with other components.
  10. Establishing a community of common interests, This  helps providers to  build further on that. I.e. for a travel agent management system, the provider creates a portal for traveling, and enable registered agents to host content, advertisements, and promotions on it. Having a good content will get  traffic to the portal, and traffic is usually translated into money.

Now for the client:

  1. No need to worry about maintenance, defects might be solved on the spot.
  2. No need to worry about installation , operating system and/or hardware upgrades
  3. Less cost. SaaS services, usually come at lower cost. Google apps  cost $50/individual/annum, which is nothing compared to the value it adds to companies. Also clients won’t  need  an in-house system administrator
  4. No need to worry about scalability of the system. The provider will take care of this.
  5. It’s a matter of some clicks – and maybe credit card no. :) - to add new services, features or components.

It is worth mentioning that, Google was not the originator SaaS, many companies have realized the  opportunity in SaaS and took advantage of it, before Google.
Finally, if you’re considering starting your own start up. or if you’re client considering your alternatives,  I advise you to go with SaaS , and if you’re still not sure about it, ask Google!.

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