Harare, Zimbabwe, 26 January 2005: A reduction in the rate of software piracy, a greater number of strategic solutions deployed in the growing enterprise market and a significant raising of the profile of technology in education. These are just some of the intentions for the year ahead as global software developer, Microsoft, expands its presence across West, East and Central Africa (WECA) – and, specifically, Zimbabwe.
The company has renewed its commercial and socio-economic development activity in the country this year with the signing of a new market development partner. It has also outlined its strategy and the value it plans to bring to businesses and consumers in Zimbabwe.
“From a pan-African point of view, we have offices in Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius and Namibia. Collectively, these operations serve the software needs of nearly 50 countries,” explains Zelina Wasterfall, the market development partner for Microsoft in Zimbabwe.
“From a local standpoint, we have a solid business foundation in Zimbabwe. We are finding that customers look to us for easy-to-implement, flexible and reliable solutions. We also have a broad base of skilled support specialists for these customers.
“Combined with the fact that a national information and communication technology (ICT) policy is about to be launched, technology import duties are down to 5% and government is looking to adopt more technology, the future here looks bright indeed.”
Doing business in Zimbabwe – much as with the rest of Africa – also brings its own challenges. The country’s delicate economic climate has resulted in a pervasive shortage of foreign exchange – a major problem given that computer software is predominantly a forex-based product.
Economic factors are also creating more pressure on many companies’ IT systems. Technology is expected to assist in improving the efficiency of operations and lowering costs. Of course, this has to be done within the confines of ever-shrinking budgets.
“We are seeing many local IT executives being remarkably vigilant about their expenditure … they are focusing on the ‘must haves’ [such as Active Directory, MS Exchange, MS Office and Microsoft business solutions] rather than the ‘nice to haves’,” continues Wasterfall.
“That’s why we have created a ‘go-to-market’ model based around operational efficiency. When procuring software, there are costs involved. However, if deployed and utilised in the most effective manner, the total cost of ownership can be lowered and the tangible value of the solution is demonstrated.”
Raising the level of compliance with software licensing regulations is another challenge. Microsoft maintains an intense focus on the retail side of the software business; a large proportion of its customers are those buying productivity application suites for their home or small office computers. While potentially great for sales, the issues of grey market, counterfeit software and piracy come into play here.
The use of unlicensed software is of grave concern across Zimbabwe and, indeed, Africa. According to surveys conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) - of which Microsoft is a core member internationally – over 80% of the software in use on the continent is illegal. The question is, how can this situation be changed?"We're focusing on educating the business market, the end-users and our partners about intellectual property and the need to pay appropriately for the products that are used. We're also leveraging the lessons learnt in our work with copyright commissions in other African countries. What we don’t want to do is take the hard line and immediately threaten legal action over non-compliance."
One of the areas firmly fixed on Microsoft's Zimbabwean radar is technology in education. The company has a programme - Partners in Learning (PiL) - which includes the ‘Fresh Start for Donated Computers’ and the ‘Unlimited Potential’ programmes.
"PiL is an inextricable part of our African business strategy ... it’s our effort to help students gain experience in ICT and to support schools in their endeavours to provide this," says Wasterfall.
With PiL, Microsoft focuses on training and developing the ICT skills of teachers. Once that is completed, they will be equipped to lead training and prepared to enhance the experience had by students. The company works closely with teachers and other educational leaders - such as SchoolNet - to help develop curricula which ensure that technology plays a greater role. And it offers the support and resources necessary to underpin success in the classroom.
One of those resources is Fresh Start for Donated Computers - a programme designed to provide licenced copies of the Windows 98 and Windows 2000 operating system to schools that are using Pentium II or older personal computers (PCs) donated to them.
"Donated PCs form a fundamental part of educational programmes around the world; it is estimated that there are around 60 000 such computers in schools across Africa. The challenge comes when the hardware is supplied without the legitimate operating system licence," says Wasterfall.
"To eliminate the confusion about the status of the operating system, we provide schools with the relevant licensing documentation. The Windows installation programme is then either downloaded from the Internet or from a CD provided - both of which are free of charge.”
With such a host of activities, Microsoft believes its commitment to Zimbabwe is absolute. The company views the country as one of its primary developing markets in Africa. As such, it has also made some significant local investments:
The process for setting up a Microsoft IT Academy at the National University of Science and Technology and University has been established:
| • | The establishment of a partner channel and the creation of the Microsoft Certified Partner Programme. This assists with building local businesses based around Microsoft technologies and creating a long-term positive impact on the economy; and |
| • | The revenue that is generated for the government of Zimbabwe through Microsoft’s presence in the country … be it sales tax on products sold, income tax from the company’s employees and partners, or import duties. |