Johannesburg, 28 Jul 2008
Microsoft has installed a software development laboratory in the Bandwidth Barn innovation hub that is currently the only one that offers open source developers the opportunity to test their software running on a proprietary system.
Called the Microsoft Innovation Centre and Interoperability Laboratory, it will combine various software approaches to assist in developing solutions for various sectors within the local economy. The initiative is also aimed at start-ups and incubators that want to take their products and services to market in the near future.
David Ives, Microsoft's group lead developer and platform strategy director, says the laboratory means a total investment of about R700 000, including five high-end desktop Dell PCs with Microsoft Vista and two high-end Dell servers with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 installed.
"After some discussion with the Cape IT Initiative, we realised that many open source developers were struggling to get their software to run on various Microsoft products such as Exchange, so we decided to do this installation to help," Ives says.
Microsoft has two similar laboratories already. One is at Durban's SmartXchange innovation hub and the other is located at the Johannesburg Center for Software Engineering.
"Those two laboratories are aimed specifically for developing Microsoft applications, while the one in the Bandwidth Barn is aimed at helping the development of open source applications," Ives says.
Viola Manuel, CITI executive director says that last year's census of the Western Cape ICT industry highlighted the lack of access of small companies to ongoing research and development opportunities as they develop software, and the MIC Lab has the potential to make a change here.
"We support the Lab because it brings the community together and encourages collaboration. Its technology-neutral approach gives users far greater choices in their use of IT, and makes technology access far easier to SMMEs across a range of industries," Manuel says.
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