I read a few postings in this domain and i must say the idea that the nigerian software industry is growing is only a mirage. Do we really think we are improving? A situation whereby a so-called big software company cannot leave the "initial" stage of the software capability maturity model for years is nothing but share stagnancy and an illusion of growth.

How many companies actually write software? (Yes i know what i am saying!) Assembling software parts is not software development; i has gone far beyond that. How many write engineering softwares, how many write mission-critical ones?

How many actually write solutions? If we had solution-oriented software companies, all the non-effective,over-priced banking softwares that are being sold would make bank workers close early from work(but the reverse is the case)!!! I think the industry is filled with hungry, impatient developers(we should accept it) who are just out to exploit the market.

Consolidation, mergers, takeovers, and regulatory authorities (not the ineffiecient NCS and COANs and ISPONs, or whatever) are needed in the industry.

For how long do we continue this way, It will not profit the up-and-coming youngsters, and we'll forever complain of how hard it is to survive as software developers. Think about it!

Seun, the summary of what I'm saying is that we should get our acts together.

The Nigerian software industry will develop naturally as the demand for what they have to offer grows. Alternatively, if the telecoms system of the country can be further developed such that the cost of high speed Internet access is very low, then software outsourcing will become profitable and the demand for software talents by foreign companies will spur the local software industry to greater heights.

The truth is that consumer software has become a commodity. Thanks to Linux and the worldwide open source movement, you can get 99% of what you need for your personal computer free and from the Internet. This is an advantage in disguise, because we won't have to waste our time reinventing these software products for the Nigerian market - we would only have to go to FreshMeat.net and download . So there is little or no demand in the area off-the-shelf software and it's ok if the Nigerian software industry doesn't get involved in it.

When it comes to custom software development, the poor performance of PHCN (NEPA!) is making it unwise for small and medium scale businesses to use software to automate their operations. So the only place where a reasonable of demand for local software exists is in large multinational corporations and government agencies. And that is what the few software companies in the country are focussed on. Getting multi-million naira contracts from a handful of institutions. Obviously, the software people will not be able to gain a lot of experience by serving such a tiny market.

The only way forward that I see for this industry is for telecoms and power supply services to become inexpensive and reliable, so that software outsourcing operations and development of software for SMEs will become much more viable.

Talking about sofware development in Nigeria, be it computer Software or custom software development, its a pitty that our leaders has guided us the other way round, by forbiding what is right and enjoining what is wrong in the software development, I dont mean to say our leaders are guiding us wrong but only in the aspect of sofware development, take for instance, how many universities in Nigeria has a dedicated course for software development? any college for it? kudos to International institutions like APTECH, NIIT and others. The've really opened our eyes.

All hail we Nigerian youths, you can't imagine where a student was been thought a,b,c and when the teacher decided to go ahead to d,e,f find out that the student has gotten to w,x,y and ready to pick the z, thats Nigerian brain for you. Imagine someone thought of how to download free software by his teacher and the next time the teacher met the student on net, he was downloading licensed software and ready to crack it. Imagine someone studied couses like Business Admin, Economic, Even Laguage and within few months, he became a webmaster, programmer and the likes, like Seun Osewa, Oleku Konko, Ola White (WhitesoftX) and the host of others. Thats Nigerian brain for you.

Nigerian (Full Time) Programmers and Developers are not been given chances to do their thing, instead, companies gun for foreign software and services, why won't we then neglet the software development and look for other ways out.

Just like what Seun said, "The only way forward that I see for this industry is for telecoms and power supply services to become inexpensive and reliable, so that software outsourcing operations and development of software for SMEs will become much more viable".

We have a long way to go!

With respect to banking solutions, iwont agree with you ogrika.
Actually, there are companies like www.etranzact.com, www.interswitch-ng.com and systemspecs, these companies are building good solutions that aren't even available in places like UK and USA.I am sure because this was told to us when we wanted to sell our solution to a UK company, they are actuallybegging us now to bring in our solution into the UK as fast as possible.

As for real softwares like IDEs,media players, engineering solutions e.g autocad,things like microsft office tools, , i will ask, "who will buy it now?
The market aint ripe for it yet, this not saying that they aren't people already making this kind of solutions, 4 a fact, a friend of mine just made a media player and a very "special" one 4 that matter.

The thing is patience, we will get there.
we are even moving very fast compared to people that started decades b4 us.

so contrbute.

The greatest hinderance to software developement is a lack of easy Internet access.  As a web application developer, I can't imagine working without having 24/7 Internet access.  If I can't remember how to use a function for example, I can pull up the answer in seconds with a quick search engine search.  A Nigerian at home in my position probably has to wait till his next visit to the Internet cafe.  I just completed a custom accounting software, and it only took about 6 months to write from the ground up.  That is remarkable.

Although one can install all required development tools on a computer, and even download all manuals, nothing takes the place of the Internet as a resource.  There are forums where you can post any question any time, and get answers in minutes.  Nigerians currently lack that luxury.  That makes it really tough to keep pace with the rest of the world.

Indians are making billions each year in outsourcing dollars in software development.  We should have a piece of that pie too, if only the atmosphere were right for software development.  As always, the problem goes back to our impotent government.

I quite agree with your points, in addition to that i will say the problems should be nipped in the bud instead of just consoling ourselves on the great(albeit little) achievements we are making.
I seriously feel there should be a strong symbiotic relationship between the universities (and other institutions of higher learning) and the industry, so that there is a good correlation between what is produced and what is needed. Presently, the institutions are not churning out well trained computer graduates(most well trained programming graduates are made via self effort).
Sadly, some graduates have never written a computer program.
The University Curriculum should be reviewed, revised and monitored on a regular basis and there should be an interaction between on-field professionals, companies and the academia. This way extinct programing languages and curriculum will be removed and students will be made to focus on core relevant courses.
Another important issue is the issue of Research and Development, Government should bring up policies and funds for the actualisation of our common goals.
Or what do you feel,

Whichever way you look at it, it always goes back to the government, doesn't it? The government has all the money, and hence calls the shots.

Individuals can do their part with whatever resources they have. However, for any change to have a significant impact, the government must step in. It's all about the government, government, government,

No, the government can only act as a catalyst and nothing more. Government does not have all the money. The little money they have is tied up in a lot of under-funded projects like education, prison reforms, salaries for civil servants, national security, et cetera. The rest is in our hands, and all government has to do is get out of the way and let us, the entrepreneurs, do what we do best.

No, the government can only act as a catalyst and nothing more. Government does not have all the money. The little money they have is tied up in a lot of under-funded projects like education, prison reforms, salaries for civil servants, national security, et cetera. The rest is in our hands, and all government has to do is get out of the way and let us, the entrepreneurs, do what we do best.

I don't know what planet you're living in, but most of your money is never well spent.

Plateau state governor is currently being investigated for stealing N700m. https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=7040.msg213342#msg213342

All in all, an estimated $400 billion has been stolen from you. http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog-e/2005/06/nigerias-corruption-totals-400-billion.htm

Yet you say the government doesn't have the money? Are my eyes deceiving me, or am I really reading this from you?

When you give up an industry to government control (like oil), you end up with a situation where anyone that doesn't have friends in high places won't be able to do business in that industry, and I don't want that for the computer software industry so small boys can continue chopping.

I think we shouldn't judge the industry by the big players (I'm not going to call names). If you look carefully they are only targeting the banks and the
financial institutions. That means they have left the greater part of the market untapped. Look at the number of people owning laptops now. A rough estimate tells me that at least on in every 20 university students owns a laptop now. Think of the profit you will make if you come up with a killer application that targets Nigerian university student. Make the price of your product so low that every student can afford, put enough security features that will make difficult to pirate. Don't just look at the big spenders, instead look at the greater number of small spenders.

Software developers must also be able to do their initial research well e.g how much pain the product will take away, how to deliver it to the target customers, how you get paid by your customers, how you give support to your customers e.t.c.

It seems to me a lot of programmers in Nigeria are underestimating their end-users IT knowledge and kept creating low quality software.
Another reason why we never see the made in Nigeria software is because most of them are custom-developed for organizations and not pre-packaged products you will see in the market.

One area I agree ogra2k2 is that the future of Nigerian software is not in the hands of those big software companies with programmers that look more like bankers or lawyers. The future is in the hands of the small time programmers with small teams that write software on contract for those big companies.

what are our young dynamic programmers doing to salvage nigeria software industry?

lekside44:

what are our young dynamic programmers doing to salvage nigeria software industry?

This one cant be salavaged . we need a fast internet and constant electricity

blacksta:

This one cant be salavaged . we need a fast internet and constant electricity

An inverter backup system can help you with steady electricity.

Any 3G internet connection is fair enough for most of the tasks that would require internet access. At roughly N300.00 a day (for 24hrs access) I believe it is fair enough for any serious minded person.

we do not even need to be conected to the net to have a good programed software. the program could reside in your desktop

which is the best software to work with in nigeria?

I have been in this Industry as an entrepreneur and a Programmer!
The thing is Bespoke software can be used by any organization, but how many organizations can afford it?
We have therefore trimmed Industry participants to Government and Big organizations that's either funded by a lot of hard work, or funds stolen by the Government officials.
Anyways, Money is needed for good software to be produced. Who is ready to pay? Who would value your solution enough to pay that huge sum?
My point is, Government, who controls bulk of the economic activity in this country has to be ready to spend the right amount of time, energy and money into Software Development, and we're not talking about super inflating the contracts here!

rocame:

I have been in this Industry as an entrepreneur and a Programmer!
The thing is Bespoke software can be used by any organization, but how many organizations can afford it?
We have therefore trimmed Industry participants to Government and Big organizations that's either funded by a lot of hard work, or funds stolen by the Government officials.
Anyways, Money is needed for good software to be produced. Who is ready to pay? Who would value your solution enough to pay that huge sum?
My point is, Government, who controls bulk of the economic activity in this country has to be ready to spend the right amount of time, energy and money into Software Development, and we're not talking about super inflating the contracts here!

must be ready to play the ball or else,