TRANSFORMING THE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY INTO A PLATFORM FOR DEVELOPMENT: CASE OF EGYPT

摘要

During the 1960s, computing was introduced to Egypt. Its use and applications was limited to the government and the public sector throughout the 1970s. During the 1980s, the introduction and diffusion of information technology (IT) was diffused following the global personal computer evolution. Personal computers effectively affected business and organizational development and growth due to the continuous developments in the IT industry and caused by increasing hardware penetration, software innovations and creativity, research and development and the build-up of the telecommunications and information infrastructures. This paper assesses the recent developments in the software industry in Egypt. The focus is on the iterative and dynamic nature of the software industry with the evolving trends of outsourcing and offshoring and their growing active role as a contributor to development through a strong and much needed export-oriented software industry.