Durban opens African ISV centre

By Warwick Ashford for Microsoft

Johannesburg, 07 Jun 2005

The eThekwini Municipality has launched an African Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Centre in public private partnership with Microsoft SA.

The African ISV Centre is to be based at Durban`s SmartXchange IT incubation hub and is aimed at equipping ISVs locally and throughout Africa to design and build software products using technologies, training and technical expertise from Microsoft.

"The facility will provide the opportunity for software developers to test applications as if they were deployed in a live customer environment," says Dr Mike Sutcliffe, eThekwini Municipality city manager.

"By taking this initiative, the eThekwini Municipality aims to inspire other local authorities to follow suit in creating an environment to support the development of the ICT sector in their regions," says Sutcliffe.

The African ISV Centre is part of Durban`s "Smart City" initiative, which Sutcliffe says is aimed at fostering an African software development process that will produce applications uniquely suited to the needs of local authorities and other organisations on the continent.

Already under development at the SmartXchange hub is a financial management system aimed at local government in Africa, called LogoSoft.

"On the successful completion of LogoSoft, Microsoft will look to certify the Windows version as a preferred product on a global basis," says Danny Naidoo, developer and platforms group director for Microsoft SA.

"Although not exclusively for use in the Windows operating environment, LogoSoft will benefit from the software product development and marketing expertise of Microsoft," explains Sutcliffe.

In addition to investment in the African ISV Centre, Microsoft has announced further investment in the SmartXchange hub through providing a software platform and tools to enable local companies to build their own applications.

Microsoft has also announced the opening of an office in Durban and the imminent availability of an isiZulu version of its Windows operating system.

"This first South African language version of Windows is aimed at boosting productivity and confidence by removing language and cultural barriers for local users," says Naidoo.

"Partnerships, such as the one between Microsoft and the eThekwini Municipality, are key to effective capacity building and economic development," says visiting Microsoft EMEA CEO Jean‑Phillipe Courtois.