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Welcome Ahmed to our Live Dialog.
Let's start with the obvious question then: how far has the programming community gone in the Arab world? Are they ready to take on the international software market?
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The programming community has matured considerably over the last few years. "Take on the int'l S/W market" maybe an aggressive immediate target but should not be ruled out of future planning.
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You have completed your master degree in the US. How different did you find that from the kind of education programmers are getting in different parts of the Arab world?
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In my personal opinion, the main difference lies in the approach. US approach is about more stimulation to the student's research capabilities. A subject is taught in concept and then specific implementation is accepted in the creative ways students can have. The main approach by contrast in the Arab world is to teach the concept, build specific scenarios and test based on this specific set. In today's fast progressing world, we really need to encourage the potential.
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Having worked in a number of companies over the years and consequently dealt with programmers with a range of backgrounds, how do programmers in Egypt and the Arab world compare with their colleagues in other parts of the world?
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I remember the first time I had an assignment abroad. It was in Germany and I thought I was going to be challenged significantly. To my surprise, it was the opposite and I impressed my coworkers. However, the lesson I learnt in the month to follow was about the difference between the whole and the sum of the parts. One individual from Egypt or the Arab world on the average will have better skills and knowledge. The real difference is in teamwork. This where the whole (the collective team strength) is actually more than the sum of the parts in other parts of the world. We need to do a lot with our youth around teamwork and processes.
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How would you rank the Arab countries with regards to the size of their programming community and their ability to stay ahead with the technology on the market?
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I'd say we're somewhere in the middle. We're not at the top but we're definitely better than many. The key differentiator, in my opinion, is the passion that usually comes with our communities. When given a chance, programmers from our part of the world do shine. However, we need to do much more around the word "Community". Most of our community work is actually participation in "other" communities. This is why I personally consider a mandate for my team to look for good local communities and support them in every way we can.
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You are an obvious example of someone who has gone abroad to gain more experience and education in this specialized field but then returned to work in Egypt. The Arab world is still suffering from brain drain, however, with more technical people (programmers and others) leaving for the west than those returning from it. How do you see this brain drain can be turned in brain gain?
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I beg to differ. Brain drain is not a very negative phenomenon. Actually, it is a good thing to have (only with a different name :-) ). In effect, when you have good talents going back and forth between you and other cultures and knowledge, you get much more. For once, those who do come back, and these are a lot, do the physical know-how transfer like no program can deliver. Another thing to consider here is the fact that you can't survive in isolation. If you're going to grow the business allowing for export, you are going to need to cross cultures, methodologies and be able to connect with people and business elsewhere. This can not be done without the people who moved, settled and are willing to help and contribute.
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The Middle East Developers Conference has been held in Egypt for several years now to communicate with those programmers writing software using Microsoft tools and to keep them up to date with what's on the market. What do you see Microsoft's role is in the coming decade in nurturing the software development environment in Egypt?
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In Microsoft, everything we do, we do it through an ecosystem. This is how the company started and how every process works. Developers are the key to this ecosystem. Whether they are in academia, local companies, customer or the community, it is developers who bridge the gap between technology and final value. Hence, our role in nurturing software development in Egypt, and the region, is a never-ending role. We do whatever it takes to make sure latest technolgies and tools are available, to help them if they are start-up businesses or already-large companies and to bridge the gap between skills and jobs. As tough as it sounds, this is what we plan for and execute against.
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Most companies in the Arab world seem to be focused on producing customized software for the business world, or are subcontracted parts of projects from major software houses especially in the West. Why don't we see more Arab companies producing off-the-shelf products for everyday computer users?
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Specialization is key. Once we focus on a few things, do them well and be able to compete globally on them, the next natural step is to diversify and get into more areas. On another note, services are considered the growth potential for most businesses. While delivering products is important, the skills/capabilities needed to do this effeciently can only be acquired through years of experience. Luckily, we do have some companies in the region who are already at this level and are already producing high-quality off-the-shelf products. We need both but to fix problems like unemployment, services are the more labour-intensive business.
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Gaming is a serious multi-billion dollar international business with a growing number of companies trying to compete for player interest worldwide. Do we see any companies in the Arab world producing games at any level? And does there seem to be interest in the Arab market for games produced particularly for it by Arab programmers?
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This is a very interesting subject to me on the personal level. There is a need/market. There are local companies in this domain. However, there aren't any local companies who stepped up to serious game development. To set the stage right, we have to consider that gaming is about the hardest type of development. It takes multi-desciplinary teams working together from graphics, animation, music, real-time programming, sophisticated physics engines and much more just to make a successful XBOX 360 game. However, we do have the talents to deliver on this. The real problem is a business one: "Piracy". With so much piracy in the arab world, it doesn't make sense even for international companies to launch their game consoles and business operations in the region. It is back to the community where basic ethical practices actually link to the community's ability to compete.
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Ali
- Egypt
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The small and medium sized companies in Egypt, do they have to be CMMI certified to be able to compete in the outsourcing business?
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Good question. The answer is yes. Egypt now has 18 companies who are between L3 and L5 CMMI. Some of these companies are small companies (depending on the definition of large of course). Outsourcing is a growing business and it is methodology (whether CMMI or agile...) that makes for success in this business. Skills too are important but without methodology, lots of businesses would decline doing (or repeating) business with a company. This is why we're so proud of our cooperation with the government in Egypt to support small and medium companies with not only the tools but also methodology and process training.
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For years Microsoft has been recruiting programmers from top universities in the Arab world to join their development teams at their headquarters in Seattle. What role have Arab programmers played in writing some of the more famous software packages like Windows Vista, Microsoft Office 2007, or .Net tools for programmers? Do Arab programmers make up any percentage amongst the software development community at Microsoft?
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This is one great example we take pride in. Many Egyptians and Arabs are getting recruited by Microsoft, and other multinational companies for the matter, for their talents and skills. The story only gets better from that point. We do have great success stories in Microsoft about both individuals and communities. There many Arab developers who are an essential members in core parts of most Microsoft products. It's hard to disclose percentages but I personally know many Egyptians and Arabs in Microsoft research and product development groups who are shining examples of success.
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Do you perceive a time when software development in the Arab world would become a major source of income to Arab states the same way it does now in countries like India and China? Why are such countries ahead of the Arab world and receive a much greater share of the international software development pie?
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Yes. It can happen and I believe we're more and more in the right direction. For example, Egypt currently has an estimated 8000 students graduating each year in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This number is even growing each year and software companies are growing in number and size. There are many efforts that need to be done to boost exports more and more. However, if you look five years back, you'll find that huge progress and growth have been achieved. The reason why these countries are ahead is that they (1) started earlier. much earlier. (2) They had a successful model where all strategies (education, infrastructure, business environment...) targetted this business and collaborated to make it succeed. I see this determination in Egypt and many Arab countries and hopefully, this will deliver the needed results.
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There is often the complaint coming from Egyptian University graduates that after their year-long efforts working on their graduation projects (some of which turn out to be innovative and cutting edge) that little attention is give to them and their work. How can the brain child of a graduating programmer team be taken care of and adopted by the right market players in order to make both their business and the students' efforts worthwhile?
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This is a great question. This, in essence, is the difference between us and the western world. Whenever you hear about university grads in the US who had innovative and cutting edge ideas in their graduation projects, the rest of the story is usually that they started a business and their company grew to be a large one while they get the benefits of that. My advise to any student who's in this situation is: If you really believe in your idea, go in business and get the benefits of it. Why let someone else get it? However, this doesn't say having a good idea but not the will to go in business is bad. Actually, many of our partners look for this. If it isn't the idea they'll like, it will be the skills and talent.
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Amr
- Egypt
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Here's another question on Gaming..
1- Is it really that expensive to fund an Arab serious gaming project?
2- Another question if you please.. does it require a Microsoft licensee to produce a game that is compatible with Windows OS?.. If yes, so how can we produce our own games that will clash with the American political values indeed? (In case we're going to release it commercially worldwide?)
I'm just thinking of communicating our messages through videogames.
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Thanks for the questions.
(1)A game is a commercial product. The usual model is that a business sees a game idea as a viable business that it can profit from. If funding is needed with no commercial profit at the end, it will not be a sustainable business which is what we should aim for.
(2) No license is actually needed. You can use the normal development tools to do this or if you want to take it both windows and XBOX, you can use XNA which has free versions on the internet.
One last comment: a game, to be successful, should be an experience that is nice to interact with for anybody no matter where they live.
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There had been attempts in the past to create a programming language in Arabic so that none English speaking Arabs could have a shot at programming in their native tongue. As far you can see, have such efforts born any fruit and would such a step help to increase or enhance the programming abilities of programmers in the Arab world? Are all programming languages based exclusively on the English language or have some countries developed their own language-based syntax?
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Unfortunately no. As far as I know, if there is a programming language not based on English, it wouldn't be the most popular one. This was a debate about 10-15 years ago. I really believe we all need to focus on bridging the technological gap through focusing more on the content and the Arabic final programs. This can deliver more usage of technology in our part of the world where the penetration rates of computers, connectivity and IT are a barrier.
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When one looks at the prices of software on the international market it seems quite hard to imagine people in poorer developing nations to be able to afford acquiring such programs for personal use. Some resort to piracy citing the high pricing as an excuse while others discover the open source alternative (available for free)if they have the appropriate technical background. Do you see software prices produced by big software houses like Microsoft becoming tangible to poorer computer users around the world?
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There are lots of ways for people to get legal computers with legal software. Piracy should never be an option. For example, currently in Egypt, Government-led programs like "A PC for each home" are delivering PCs with legal software to citizens at very low monthly installments. If anybody is a student, they have access to all Microsoft software through MSDN AA. Companies small and large have programs to get Microsoft software and much more value for their businesses. The whole thing has to be looked at from an ecosystem perspective. Software (and technology) is not a cost. It is an enabler. Enabler to get a better job, enabler to do more business... Its value is in what I can do with it.
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In the years following September 11, 2001 a considerable number of software companies based in Egypt shut down because of political tensions. Although later the number of companies increased again and more and more business seems to take place between US and Arab companies yet some fear that the international environment surrounding the war on terror might continue to overshadow cooperation between both sides. How far do you think the Arab programming market is vulnerable to such future events, and what can Arab companies do to avoid such a downfall?
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Software development is like any industry. It gets affected by international events and disasters. This is the same for tourism, export...etc. In business, you mitigate risks by hedging or diversifying. While local market demand is important (hence, again and again piracy is self-wounding), export business should have many destination to be able to balance.
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Finally, we would like to thank Mr. Ahmed Adel for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you luck on your future work with software developers in the region.
