Locally designed and developed software systems are among the best in the world and are best able to meet the often unique demands of South African companies, says Mike Leeuwen, a director of PM Tech.
Most significantly, the licence fee revenue they generate remains within SA and contributes to job creation, training and education and upliftment programmes.
Leeuwen says software developed in SA is often more suited to local conditions and better supported from a technical perspective than competitive offerings from overseas.
Local colonisation: SA software shines
South African designed and developed software systems are not only among the best in the world, but because of their local flavour, are best able to meet the often unique demands of South African companies.
Most significantly, the licence fee revenue they generate remains within SA and contributes to job creation, training and education and upliftment programmes.
This is the view of Mike Leeuwen, a Director of PM Tech, a business solutions specialist and "Proudly South African" endorsed local software developer.
Leeuwen says software developed in SA is often more suited to local conditions and better supported from a technical perspective than competitive offerings from overseas.
He highlights the strides made in the enterprise management arena as typical of the buoyancy of the local software market.
"Five years ago, enterprise management systems were almost exclusively sourced from international companies," he says. "Today, the local market in this space is growing exponentially.
"The local offerings have been tried and tested - often in the most demanding of circumstances - and have been proven to provide all the features associated with international software as demanded by the most discerning local users.
"These include the use of graphical user interfaces, the provision of macro views of all business facets, process management functionality, identity management, immediate warning of potential problems, security and others - all at a cost advantage compared to imported software."
Leeuwen says there is a new breed of innovators making their mark in the local software market: "They are following the open source avenue to realise success in a marketplace that has for many years been dominated by proprietary solutions.
"That they are able to do this is the result of a new `open mindedness` among South African software buyers and decision-makers, who for so long have believed in the `security` of an internationally branded software solution."
Leeuwen says these buyers have come to realise that job security today is not dependent on their choice of brand name but in the real returns that a business solution can deliver to their companies in terms of cost savings, efficiency enhancements, faster development, better maintenance and on-your-doorstep support when required.
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