The software engineering assessment and accreditation Center (SECC) at the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA) organized a round table on the best international practices to raise the performance of IT institutions and software companies, headed by the integrated quality benefit model known as CMMI, in the presence of Eng. Ahmed Al-Zaher, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Authority, Eng. Khalid Ibrahim, chairman of the board of Directors of the Chamber of information and Communications Technology Industry, Dr. Haitham Hamza, acting head of SECC and a number of destinations Beneficiaries of the center’s services.
The Round Table events held at the digital Egypt Innovation Center in Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace included many discussions on the effectiveness of adopting the integrated quality benefit model (CMMI) and its implications for improving and raising the efficiency of operations at IT companies. During the meeting, a number of topics related to ways to promote the growth of the technology companies Sector, future visions and challenges faced by companies were discussed.
Ahmed Al-Zaher stressed the authority’s keenness to communicate constructively with information technology companies and software companies and get acquainted with various visions, which reflects positively on the development of the information technology industry, pointing out that the authority is working to enhance the efforts of developing the local industry by raising the efficiency of companies and helping them to be present in international markets, through supporting and developing the software industry in Egypt, and upgrading software engineering to become more competitive.
Al-Zaher stressed that the increased demand for professional skills specialized in the software and software products industry is a great attraction factor for the Egyptian market, as it provides professional skills, creative solutions and products that will open foreign markets, regionally and globally, generating income for the Egyptian economy in foreign currency.
The meeting discussed the role of the authority to expand the circle of companies benefiting from international accreditations and certificates by highlighting the success stories, experiences and expertise of companies that have received international accreditation from the software engineering assessment and accreditation Center (SECC) at the authority, and highlighting the impact, positive return and performance results after the adoption of the CMMI global model and the most important areas of improvement in companies.
The CEO of the authority stressed the need for local companies to keep abreast of global trends and the latest information technology applications in order to enhance their export capabilities and continue to compete globally, which contributes to consolidating Egypt’s position in the field of cross-border IT services industry and enhancing its attractiveness as a leading global destination in this field.
Al-Zaher added that the authority is looking forward through continuous meetings with partner companies and organizations to draw a new map of capacity-building programs and international accreditations that the authority intends to support and make available to the local industry at the request of the global market, pointing to the positive role played by the internationally accredited experts at SECC in the transfer of modern technology and global frameworks and practices and put them at the disposal of companies working in the field of Information Technology in Egypt, and help them implement and apply.
It is worth mentioning that the software engineering assessment and accreditation Center (SECC) has provided consultations, evaluations and accreditation of the integrated quality benefit model for development and services to about 200 companies since 2007 in Egypt, Bangladesh, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, including 75 local companies and 113 international companies.
The cooperation between the software engineering assessment and accreditation Center (SECC) and the CIT ICT chamber was also highlighted, as the chamber provides support to companies at a rate of 50% of the cost of each company obtaining a certificate of quality entitlement model integrated in the areas of development or services, known as Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development (CMMI-DEV/SVC), which is provided by the software engineering assessment and accreditation Center (SECC).
This cooperation aims to enhance the competitiveness of Egyptian IT companies, develop the capabilities of the chamber’s member companies, raise their efficiency and the quality of their products, qualify them for export and enter new markets by upgrading the level of software engineering and making them more professional.
The integrated quality benefit model prepared by the American Institute” CMMI – CMMI Institute ” of the Information Systems Audit and control association (ISACA) is a proven set of best practices that improve business performance and is one of the most famous standards adopted to measure the level of integration and maturity in leading procedures in the field of software development and service management.
The software engineering assessment and accreditation Center (SECC) provides consulting services to companies and sectors in the fields of information technology, as well as evaluation services based on international standards, models and famous frameworks to help them identify and improve their capabilities and enhance their performance, quality and profits, training and accreditation services by providing efficient and high-quality programs to help ICT specialists to enhance their skills and expertise; and to upgrade their careers.
The center, which was launched in 2001 as part of the Ministry of communications and Information Technology and then merged with the Information Technology Industry Development Authority in 2005, is one of the leading Egyptian bodies in the field of information and Communication Technology, where it works as an expertise House and an internationally accredited destination to provide technical consulting and accreditation services to software companies in order to upgrade the level of software development processes and enable them to apply standard procedures and standards for software engineering.
