Torbjörn Fredriksson
Chief, ICT Analysis Section, UNCTAD-DTL Marlborough House
London, UK 28 November 2012
INFORMATION ECONOMY REPORT 2012
The Software Industry and Developing Countries
EMBARGO
Must not be quoted or summarized in the print, broadcast or electronic media before
Software is Everywhere
The growing emphasis on ICTs in the delivery of government, healthcare, education and other goods and services demands customized applications. Countries therefore
need the capacity to adopt, adapt and develop relevant software.
BAN Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General
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Software Sector Opportunities
Low capital barriers to entry
Generator of employment – not least for the skilled youth
o Some 10 million people work in computer software and services
Source of innovation
o Software top recipient of venture capital in the US
Source of export revenue
o Top exporters from the South: India, China, Philippines, Singapore
Key to sustain productive ICT use in society
o Software increasingly important for the functionality of both goods and services
Developing Countries Spend Little on Software
The Mobile Revolution
o Least developed countries (LDCs): from 9 to 41
subscriptions per 100 people between 2006 and 2011 o Only five economies have penetration below 10:
• Eritrea • Marshall Islands • Myanmar • North Korea • Somalia Source: ITU
Local Demand for Software is Expanding
Mobile applications
More use of mobile phones – more demand for mobile “apps”
2011: first time more smartphones than PCs were shipped
Global mobile app industry expected to be worth $38 billion by 2014
Mobile apps development adapted to local needs, cultures and languages also rising in developing countries
Diverse content: from news and entertainment to patient care and government services apps
Mobile Apps: The Case of Sri Lanka
Rank Name of app Description
1
SETT Sinhala/Tamil web browser
The only Sinhala/Tamil-enabled web browser for Android
2
SETT Hindi web
browser Renders Hindi Unicode within the app 3 Tamil SMS Allows users to send SMS in Tamil 4
Sinhala Tamil-English
dictionary First such dictionary on Android Market 5
Sinhala Dictionary offline
Sinhala-English-Sinhala dictionary for Android 2.1 and above
6 Sri Lanka Radio Live
Free radio with more than 10 live stations
7
Helakuru Sinhala Keyboard
First phonetic Sinhala keyboard for mobiles
8
Sri Lanka Train Schedule
Train schedules, traffic information, prices
9 Bhasha Puvath Trilingual news reader
10 Lankadeepa Breaking news on Android mobiles
Most popular locally developed apps in the Android App Market in Sri Lanka, March 2012
The developer of the No 1 app, Mr Dhanika Perera, is a 25 year old
university student from a rural village in southern Sri Lanka. Since January 2011, he has developed another six apps for the Android market.
Growing Demand for Software
Social media, online work and cloud computing Broadband enables new forms of software development
Use of social media creates demand for new applications
o End 2011: 481 million Facebook users; ~75% outside of North America o Mobile version widely used in developing countries
Online software freelancing rising fast
o Elance: programmers from 150 (!) countries involved o Bangladesh: some 10,000 freelance programmers
Cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS)
o Brazil and China among fastest adopters of cloud computing o Trend is also visible in Africa and other parts of the world
Free and Open Source Software
Gaining Market Shares in Many SegmentsSource: UNCTAD, Center for Strategic and International Studies, NetCraft, StatCounter.
Top five Internet browsers, share of all users, 2008-2012
Growth areas •Servers (Linux) •Mobile operating systems (Android)
•Internet name system (BIND)
•Web servers (Apache) •Web browsers (Firefox, Chrome)
•Big data (Linux) •Mobile apps Internet Explorer
Firefox
FOSS Offers Several Advantages to Users
Promotion of local learning Lower costs and more local value creation
Less dependence on proprietary software
National security considerations
Opportunities for local business development
Policies are becoming more friendly to FOSS
o Europe leading the way
o Among developing regions, Asia is the front-runner Source: UNCTAD, Center for Strategic and International Studies, NetCraft, StatCounter.
Software Strategies Spreading
Software strategies put in place in many countries, e.g.,
o Bangladesh, China, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa and Sri Lanka
Should be integrated in broader ICT development plans
Need to be adapted to each situation
Should involve dialogue with private sector, university and developer community
Barriers to Software Growth
According to national IT/software associationsShare (%) of respondents mentioning factor
Areas for Policy Intervention
Affordable ICT infrastructure – especially broadband
Availability of skilled workforce
Public procurement as strategic tool to create local demand
Foster local software industry capabilities
o Business environment
o Encourage relevant quality certification o Access to finance
Strengthening legal framework
A Role for International Partners
Capacity-building
Training
Application development
Strengthen legal and regulatory frameworks
Create demand by using software expertise in developing countries when developing software applications for their development projects
Conclusion
Importance of software capabilities rising
Greater opportunities for engaging in software projects…
…and seizing them requires active involvement by
Governments and their partners
Strategies should seek to balance exports and domestic sales…
… and leverage partnerships with other stakeholders
Goal: to move from passive adopters of foreign technology to developers of relevant local applications
Companies in every industry need to assume that a software revolution is coming.
Marc Andreessen, Wall Street Journal, 20 August 2011
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INFORMATION ECONOMY REPORT 2012 can be downloaded free of charge at
