Preparing for Export
CMMI key for exporting software and services
CMMI was developed for the US government and industry by the Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in Pittsburgh to assist companies from a host of sectors to improve their development processes. This in turn improves the organisation’s ability to manage the risks associated with software development.
A maturity rating against the CMMI model is increasingly becoming a pre-requisite for winning overseas tenders. Countries like India, China and Russia have all embraced process improvement, moving themselves from being smaller players on the global software development stage to countries which are having a significant impact.
South Africa needs to consider what it needs to do to join its peers in having the same kind of impact. Mandisi Mpahlwa, Minister of Trade and Industry (DTI), cites a 2004 report from the DTI’s electro-technical unit which identified CMMI was as a critical intervention for the local sector.
“South Africa’s software development sector is lagging behind other countries which are using CMMI to position themselves internationally,” he said. “We should see this as an opportunity to grow our own software development sector which currently has an estimated value of R13 billion. CMMI will be a critical success factor to increase exports and thereby assist in growing the industry,” he says.
South African Electrotechnical Export Council
For more information for companies hoping to export their software and services internationally, visit the South African Electrotechnical Export Council’s website at http://www.saeec.org.za/
JCSE and SAEEC: Teaming up to Build and Export World-class Software
The JCSE and the SAEEC are teaming up to promote the building and exporting of World-class Software Solutions. Together the two organisations have created a Joint Partnership Programme offering incentives for members of either association to join the other.
To register for this programme, send an e-mail to: marketing@jcse.org.za