The Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) brought together the largest gathering of software professionals, experts and enthusiasts for Softech.PH: The Philippine Software Engineering Conference, held at the SMX Aura, in Taguig last June 26. The conference, in partnership with the DOST Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO), is aligned with the IT-BPM sector’s goal of reaching US$ 25 billion in target revenues by 2016.
“We have a big pool of talented developers in the country and we have to nourish this talent pool because this is the future of the software industry — especially now that the Philippines is seen as a leading provider of software development services to the global market, being ranked as the Top 2 Global Outsourcing Destination by Tholons 2014, outstripping India’s Mumbai,” said PSIA President and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Hall of Famer Joey Gurango.
Over 500 individuals from 123 software companies, global in-house centers and schools were one in discussing the Internet of Things, under which there were three main topics, namely “Agile,” “Tools,” and “Architecture.”
The country prides itself for its English-speaking and highly educated talent pool. In 2012, the country’s software industry provided jobs to nearly 60,000 software professionals. Every year, the IT-BPM industry could tap at least half a million fresh college graduates with some 10% of them with degrees in computer, IT, engineering and other science-related courses, based on a report from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
“SOFTECH.PH is the answer to the industry’s call for excellence. We want to expose our Filipino software engineers to the brightest people who will openly share their best practices with the attendees of this conference,” stated Gurango.
About half of the participants were managers, architects and devs, with some of them coming in from as far as Cebu, Davao, Naga, Cabanatuan, and Cagayan de Oro to attend the one-day event.
The speakers and panelists at the event were composed of a mix of about 30 Filipino and foreign software experts with long, storied careers in creating, building and maintaining software systems and companies.
Cross Platform Mobile Development Tools and Technologies was one of the delegates’ track favorites. Moderated by Microsoft Director Alvin Gendrano with Accenture Mobility Capability Lead Manager Eugene Lozada, C# Evangelist Nishanth Anil from Xamarin, and Marku Kerro, CEO of Job and Esther Technologies as panelists, this track discussed the technologies and approaches for cross platform mobile software development across Android, Windows, and iOS platforms- one of the hottest global trends in software technology.
The Agile topic focused on Kanban: Why It Works was also very well-received. It delved on the tricks and tips in managing software development by dissecting methods such as Scrum, XP, Kanban, Lean, among others. Orange and Bronze Vice-President for Service Delivery Lorenzo Dee headed this track.
Furthermore, Data Scientist Russell Shepherd shared how social news network Rappler has successfully utilized different software technologies to solve challenges associated with online media, including audience analytics and engagement in the Opening Plenary of SOFTECH.PH.
“The SOFTECH.PH delegate turnout is proof that we have a vibrant software talent thirsty for the most advanced technology. We want to continuously give them that,” closed Gurango.