[kictanet] [Skunkworks] SAP and Kenya ICT Board Partner on Skills Develeopment

Fri Sep 21 13:13:55 EAT 2012

Ali you need a sense of humour.. That was with a light touch.

On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 1:03 PM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:

> Evans
>
> That's below the belt.
>
> I think there's room for open and proprietary software. And besides these
> services fees that will go to integration etc will be shared by both
> Germans & Kenyans....
>
> Can we agree that there's room for both schools of thought in this space?
>
> One thing for sure though. Whether you provide open or proprietary
> software if you suck at providing services then it won't matter...
>
> So can we focus on service excellence since we know that both open and
> proprietary software will have a role to play in our lives?
>
> Ali Hussein
>
> +254 773/713 601113
>
> Sent from my iPhone®
>
> On Sep 21, 2012, at 12:58 PM, Evans Ikua <ikua.evans at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Well, if I was German and SAP was German and the money would end up in
> Germany, I would think the same way.
>
> On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 12:43 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <
> andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
>
>> Honestly, guys - maybe it's because it's Friday and I'm a bit
>> undersugared, but what's the issue here? SAP will train 100 underprivileged
>> students in what I can see are marketable technical skills that will give
>> them a good foundation for a career. Boo!
>>
>> 100 out of, what - tens of thousands of kids? Hundreds of thousands of
>> kids? *Of course* this will not fix either youth employment or the state of
>> Kenya's ICT industry over night. It also won't fix the fact that Rhapta
>> Road seems to be crumbling, but then again, it doesn't have to. Doesn't
>> stop anyone from pursuing any other initiatives in the areas everyone put
>> forward. Well done, SAP, I think!
>>
>> On 21 September 2012 12:37, Evans Ikua <ikua.evans at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Mwendwa, this is where we have a disconnect. To build onto what you have
>>> pointed out, the Government would do good to actively support the
>>> development of the capacity of local developers who can be able to extend
>>> and develop local or open source ERPs, and any other systems. My big
>>> question here to Paul is, how much money do we lose in forex buying SAP and
>>> all the other software licenses annually, as a country? Can we get figures
>>> of how much a standard SAP implementation costs? How many are there in the
>>> country? How much of that money stays in the country and how much goes to
>>> Germany? Aren't we better off investing in our own developer skills so that
>>> we can keep some of this money within the country (and maybe pay teachers
>>> better)?
>>>
>>> The reason why rich countries stay rich is because they have positive
>>> balances of payments. A poor country like Kenya has a negative balance of
>>> payments. This basically tells us that we need to import as little as
>>> possible, and export as much as possible. Then vision 2030 becomes easier
>>> to achieve.
>>>
>>> Countries like Malaysia, Brazil, UK and Germany have come to this
>>> realization. They know what is in their best business interest and so they
>>> actively support local developer capacities, as opposed to having software
>>> engineers whose work is just to install packaged software from shiny discs.
>>>
>>> Brain drain? When we have a situation like I have just mentioned above,
>>> the really good developers will never have an incentive to stay in a
>>> country where all they do is install software. They will soon emigrate to
>>> Germany (or Silicon Valley) where they can be employed by SAP to get
>>> involved in the exciting world where they can actually do the development.
>>> With open source, they would stay in Kenya and still get to develop
>>> exciting applications
>>>
>>> On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 11:50 AM, lordmwesh <lordmwesh at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> This is a great debate, but we should not trivialize what the ICT
>>>> board is trying to do in helping build local SAP developers. Any
>>>> movement forward is welcomed.
>>>>
>>>> Although Great developers don't need any baby sitting, they will move
>>>> and work with any platform may it be proprietary closed or Free open
>>>> source.
>>>>
>>>> The debate of what software an enterprise should use should be decided
>>>> by the investors, after analysing all risks involved.
>>>>
>>>> SAP has seen an opportunity to develop local talent, great.
>>>>
>>>> Anybody who feels like me that local developers should also be taught
>>>> to integrate Open source ERPs should sponsor them too. A lot of talk
>>>> and no walk will not help anybody.
>>>>
>>>> Kudos KICTB, Any movement forward is welcomed.
>>>> ______________________
>>>> Mwendwa Kivuva
>>>> For
>>>> Business Development
>>>> Transworld Computer Channels
>>>> Cel: 0722402248
>>>> twitter.com/lordmwesh
>>>> transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing
>>>> kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> *----------------------------------------------------
>>> Kind Regards,
>>> Evans Ikua,*
>>> lanetconsulting.com,
>>> lpi-eastafrica.org,
>>> ict-innovation.fossfa.net,
>>> Skype: @ikuae
>>> Cell: +254-722-955831
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
>> Publisher
>> +254 720 960 322
>>
>> www.ratio-magazine.com
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> *----------------------------------------------------
> Kind Regards,
> Evans Ikua,*
> lanetconsulting.com,
> lpi-eastafrica.org,
> ict-innovation.fossfa.net,
> Skype: @ikuae
> Cell: +254-722-955831
>
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>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
>

-- 
*----------------------------------------------------
Kind Regards,
Evans Ikua,*
lanetconsulting.com,
lpi-eastafrica.org,
ict-innovation.fossfa.net,
Skype: @ikuae
Cell: +254-722-955831
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