Experts Decry Low Patronage of Indigenous Software

Software experts in the country have decried emphasis organizations in the country lay on certification for locally made software rather than seeking the ability of such programmes to perform assigned task, which has led to low patronage of indigenous software.

This is coming against the backdrop of growing preference by big organizations and government agencies for foreign made software over indigenous developed ones on the ground that they have not attend certain foreign certification.

James Agada, CEO,  Computer Warehouse Group plc, while agreeing on the need to emphasis on competence, explained that certification is not meant for software product but the company that develops the software, stating that it is difficult to certify software.

“What software requires is quality, ‘can it do the work’, and user interface”. He cited instances of Microsoft word, mobile phone software among others that are not certified but are working for its purpose.

He added that software requires general recommendation such Cobit for control objective, he noted that certification issue apply in an environment where companies are doing contract software development such as in India to proof that they can do it.

Supporting Agada, Mr. Yele Okeremi, managing director, Precise Financial Systems, said that it is acknowledged that certification is a very good thing to have, particularly, those that have to do with assurance of quality. He added that, software houses all over the world should strive to obtain necessary certifications in order to guarantee a continuous improvement of their products and services.

“I will however like to state that just like the possession of a University certificate does not guarantee competence in the field, so does the possession of myriad of certifications by an organization not guarantee its competence and capacity. Remember, we have several examples of terribly failed project handled by companies with a bag full of certifications. In all, I will say that certification is one of those things a good software company should possess.”

“On the other hand, when I hear lazy and sometimes incompetent Chief Information Officers giving excuses of the non-possession of certifications as a means of disqualifying Nigerian software from projects, it confirms their laziness and incompetence because great companies emerge because the environment gives them opportunities to prove their mettle even when the companies are still at start-up stage. “

He noted that obtaining certification is not cheap either financially or in the area of human resource deployment.
 
“For a company to mature to the level of achieving certain levels of certifications there is a minimum level of capital that the company must have. Now in a situation like ours in Nigeria, where venture capital is not easy and bank financing are near impossible, you find a vicious cycle playing out in which, the company is unable to certify because it does not have resources to do so and it is also unable to get jobs, which could have provided the source of capital it needs because it is being discriminated against due to lack of certification. What smart economies do is therefore to provide some funding organization to help companies either by way of subsidy or matching grants to quickly get certified so that the vicious cycle can be broken and give way to a virtuous cycle of prosperity. That is what we have failed to do in Nigeria and I am very sad about that. It is the collective responsibility of all well-meaning Nigerians to rally round their indigenous companies and scale them to international standards,” he said.