The software development business has immense growth potential, with many opportunities embedded. The opportunities are daily being brightened by the fact that large and small businesses are increasingly seeking ways to upgrade their software systems in order to improve their efficiency.Therefore, the demand for software development professionals has shot up in the Information and Communications Technology industry.Prior to this time, most users of software packages were solely dependent on foreign suppliers. This, to a large extent, led to a situation where the Nigerian market was seen to be sustaining a large workforce abroad to the detriment of the local economy.But now, things are fast changing, especially with the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion making conscious moves towards promoting local content in the trade.The Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Ita Ewa, says NOTAP, which is under the supervision of the ministry, is committed to encouraging indigenous software development and utilisation in Nigeria.This is with a view to curtailing the amount of foreign exchange that is presently being expended as technology fees paid to foreign licensors of software used to run business operations in Nigeria, particularly in the banking and telecommunications sectors of the economy, the minister explains.He says from previous deliberations and recommendations, there had been the institutionalisation of standard fees of Annual Technical Support, introduction of local vendorship in software licensing and implementation to encourage the development of indigenous skills and capabilities in software, among others.Making a reference to resolutions from a workshop on the subject, titled, Status of Software Licensing and Development in Nigeria, Ewa says its been resolved that NOTAP should maintain existing software licence payment model, especially as it relates to ATS fees.According to him, it was also resolved that Nigerian software vendors should form consortia in order to bring down the cost of software and better coordinate the acquisition process, and that NOTAP and National Information Technology Development Agency should develop a policy framework to ensure that local vendors acquire competent skills to develop local software.All these efforts, therefore, are targeted at developing capacity in the trade, thereby giving enough opportunity for entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs to make good livelihood and further develop the Nigerian economy.The Director-General, NOTAP, Dr. Umar Bindir, says the office had organised workshops in the past in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, in which resolutions like the institutionalisation of standard fees of ATS, introduction of local vendor ship in software licensing and implementation to encourage the development of indigenous skills and capabilities in software were made.He stresses that businesses in Nigeria, be it in the manufacturing, banking services, insurance, hospitality, industries as well as governments, got caught up in the web of electronic trade, which led to massive importation of varied software to drive businesses and a corollary increases in the costs of software acquisition and implementation without the corresponding development in indigenous knowledge and skills to support them.He says the agency aims at developing a policy framework that will enable local vendors acquire competent skills to develop local software, thereby bringing down the huge cost of foreign software being incurred by Nigerian businesses.To ensure the realisation of the empowerment objective, Bindir recently called for strategic partnership among the relevant public institutions in the nation to solve the huge employment gap in the nation leveraging software development initiatives.He says with the huge intellectual resources the nation possesses, coupled with synergy in the relevant academic and wealth creating institutions, one million jobs can be created on a yearly basis.He adds that the vision of Nigerias leaders to see that the nation emerges among the top 20 economies of the world by the year 2020 is possible because Nigeria has indigenous capacity to develop seven global products and seven multinational companies within the next seven years.For existing and would-be entrepreneurs, who want to leverage on this opportunity to build capacity in the trade and increase their chances of benefiting from the much lucrative venture, creating a website is a vital part of making a web presence, experts say.On how to go about this and enjoy maximum exposure and benefits, Google Adworld advises, Your website should be neatly and cleanly laid out, with lists of the services you offer. A potential client, who is seeking a software developer, should be able to intuitively navigate your website to find all the information they are looking for.Having plenty of information about your services will capture a clients attention and make them feel certain that theyve discovered the right person.Regardless of what you are selling in your business - products or services, a seamless demonstration of what you offer captures the customers attention immediately. According to the business portal, online businesses need to demonstrate capabilities without ever having to actually talk to the customer.A high quality demo of your product or service is the trick. A free sneak-peak into your world of service urges the customer to seek more information, which will eventually lead to more queries. Post the demo link on various software development and niche market forums, where the concentration of your potential clients will be greater, it advises further.
Click here to read full news..
