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

Fri Sep 21 13:55:05 EAT 2012

Dear listers

SAP training is a gift that has been given to kenyan graduates. But remember that this gift comes with limits.
we cannot open to view the gift, ie we can only look at the shinny wrapper and brag to everybody that we have been given a gift.if we open it, we cannot hang it on the wall to match the deco of our own home since the colour and the photos are those of the previous owners deco. we can only explore this gift from the descretion of the owners.I think we ought to be careful what startegy we use to attain the vision 2030, taking shortcuts will lead us there but we will only be digging one hole to fill the other.

--- On Fri, 9/21/12, Evans Ikua <ikua.evans at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Evans Ikua <ikua.evans at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] [Skunkworks] SAP and Kenya ICT Board Partner on Skills Develeopment
To: memakunat at yahoo.com
Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Date: Friday, September 21, 2012, 2:37 AM

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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