Usually, it's either in sports, beauty pageants and entertainment that we realized that Filipino talents are world-class.  It's because most of the time - media outfits report achievements in these areas.  Brains, beauty and skills are the three most common areas where people become known or popular.  Given our nation's poverty line, most Filipinos put their hopes to attain fame and fortune in beauty and skills.  Education seems to be exclusive for the haves and a rarity to the haves not.

If there's any consolation, Filipinos also excel in the area of software development.  We Filipinos are not only recognized as one of the best in the world but are also respected in other countries. 

Last May 10, 2006, I visited the recently concluded Software Innovations Philippines 2006.  A three-day exhibition and mini-conference showcasing practical technology innovation in the country, of which a number are locally developed.  The event promotes the Philippine software industry, now among the most dynamic of the high-growth IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) sector. The exhibition demonstrated practical, real-world solutions by Filipino software developers and highlight "best of breed" applications tailored to deliver better value in today's enterprises.  Microsoft Philippines spearheaded the event.

I visited the entire conference which is divided into three Pavilions: Business, Lifestyle, and Mobile.  What really caught my attention was the Business Pavilion where some of the latest software application were displayed.  The applications are as follows:

An online booking system (integrated Airline Reservation and Ticketing System) developed by stag Philippines Inc. for domestic carrier South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR).  The system enables small and medium-sized airline carriers here and abroad to computerize and centralize their reservation, ticketing, and check-in procedures, thus allowing for a more streamlined and automated flight booking and reservation process. Individuals with access to the Internet and a web browser can use the system from anywhere in the world.

Another application was ELMER (Elaborate Mobile Information Retriever) that allows a company's sales, marketing, and other field personnel to access company information and services through their mobile phones.  There was also Pocket WISE - a Handheld Application for transmission of data wirelessly via GPRS. It makes use of Handheld devices such as the Pocket PC, Symbian and Palm OS.  Pocket Wise can be used for Sales Order Entry, Call Monitoring, Customer Service, Contact Management, Package Tracking, Inventory Management and much more.  The two applications was developed by e-Science Corporation.

Jupiter Systems Inc. paraded its flagship product called Enterprise Resource Information and Control System (ERIC) which is a fully integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.  ERIC is an integrated financial, distribution, manufacturing, and personnel software application. ERIC has extended its scope to include mobile and internet-based applications, making it available at the workplace to the internet and on the road.  And talking about global prominence, Jupiter Systems Inc. has established its presence in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand.

There was also an online voting system displayed during the event developed by Mega Data Corp.  I had my picture taken and my information entered in their system.  In less than Three (3) minutes, my I.D. was printed which I think can be used for our unified I.D. system.  Then I tried their online voting system.  All I did was I swiped my newly printed ID and I was ready to vote.  The positions at stake and the candidates were shown in the touch-screen monitor.  I finished voting in less than 10 minutes and the ballot containing my selection was printed.  A system COMELEC should look at rather than going to other countries to observe how an electronic voting should be done.

Other local companies who showed their innovations includes: Gurango Software, Innerworks, IOM Phils, Inc., DB Wizards, Innove and Globe (G-Cash), Navigator Systems, Geodata, and more.

If there's one common denominator among all these companies is that they are all local companies developing world-class software solution/application.  But the event was not able to generate as much interest as it should be.  One executive I talked to said the problem lies in two areas:  1. the non-cooperation of some of the local developers and 2. the promotion may not be enough or the packaging may not have the right appeal to consumers.

I will not comment on the second reason since it is the responsibility of the organizing committee or the event management group to promote the event.  I will simply comment on the first reason.  The Philippines is a haven for computer talents.  If we are to rank the world's best software developers - I would dare say that Filipino software developers will be ranked among the Top 5 best developers in the world.  What we don't have is FOCUS and COOPERATION.

For the Philippines to become a software development super power, we should have a grand plan.  A clear strategy to market our talents.  We should find our niche on what applications should we be concentrating on.  The government should pool in our talents and market it as one.  Inviting companies to invest in the Philippines is good, but building entrepreneurs among our developers is better.  And most of all, the government should allocate some budget as well.

For the Philippine software companies, competing against each other is a natural thing to do.  But I am sure you know that no one among you has a monopoly of expertise in all fields.  So collaborating and cooperating with each other will make you even more competitive and effective at the same time.  The battle is not among you my friends, it is us against the world.  Think about it.

It's not late for us to achieve this dream, we still have the edge among the competition.  But just remember that our Asian neighbors are beefing up their arsenals and it won't be long that they too will become a super power in the software development arena.

Am logging off.  Stay cool and God Bless us all!

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