Entries RSS · Attract software developers and boost your GDP
Dubai isn’t dumb when it comes to economic policy. Some economists there have noticed software giants (Google, Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, SAP, IBM, BEA, Yahoo!, etc.) acquired companies on a valuation related to the number of software developers such preys accounted. A few years ago, it was commonly agreed that a software giant would be willing to ‘acquire’ each software developer for something like US$ 1m. In other words, a 12 developers-strong software startup would be worth something like US$ 12m. Nowadays, I would say it gets closer to EUR 1m per developer though (EUR 1 = US$ 1.37).
Dubai has noticed the trend and has started to build gated communities for software developers – very near Dubai Internet City. In terms of ROI, a relatively small initial investment (it is no secret that Dubai employs thousands of slaves from rural India, Indonesia and Pakistan to get the construction job done) for roads and houses that are soon to be refunded by individuals and taxes anyways, plus a massive communication effort in hand with both the software and IT service multinationals willing to invest in the area to attract software development talents from South America, Russia and South East Asia, will mechanically generate tremendous per capita GDP and create value for the local economy.
What if software development was a true booster for the World Economy? I wish more politicians got to know about Dubai’s measures to increase GDP. It all boils down to this: attract and train the best software development talents.
PS: many thanks to Raphaël Fétique, from eCommerce consultancy Converteo, for the info 
Like
Related posts:
- Developers, developers, developers, …
- Peter's Principle applied to software start ups
- 5 reasons SaaS developers enjoy their job
- My call: software companies can't take off well in financial centers
- Microsoft IDEAS software startups web 2.0-style
.NET (C#), Apple, Asia, Clusters, Economics, Education, Globalization, Google, HP, IBM, Java, MNC, Microsoft, Organization, Outsourcing, Project Management, Public policy, Software, USA, operations
The idea is very interesting, but will it work? One thing seems to be quite clear: There is a global “war for talents” rising (not only in software development).
To better understand the Dubai phenomenon, one has to keep in mind that the United Arab Emirates have been founded by * a man with a vision * : back in the early 70′s, Sheikh Zayed wanted his country to gain the leadership in the Gulf region and beyond, by switching its economic model from an oil provider to a tourism & financial place at the edge of the 21st Century. The Ruler of the UAE made it, thanks to a unique willingness to reach that very goal (and to our own money, of course
.
Now that the UAE are recognized as the new Eldorado for investors and (ad)venture seekers, with all those giant projects and constructions from Dubai to Abu Dhabi everywhere, the Government faces new threats, from cousin emirates such as Qatar and Bahrain. To continue to attract investments and people, the UAE need to add new revenue generation tools to their already appealing portfolio. R&D is one, soon to be followed by Manufacturing.
Silicon Oasis in one realization in the Electronics/Telecoms sector. Software is the natural sequel. Then, once you get the right resources/know-how/capacities in Components and in Software, you can start producing entire systems. Hence my bet : by 2015 the latest, there will be an Intel R&D and Manufacturing plant in Dubai (most probably Jebel Ali), providing components and systems to the whole region (means Africa and India too).
Keep in mind : to fight global warming, industries have to think global but produce local…
ps to Jeremy : sorry for being silent since a while, however i do read your excellent posts quite regularly. Keep going !