Web Development Industry in Jamaica heading for a shake up

Jamaica – Jamaica only has a 34% internet penetration rate. Top5jamaica.com has some 4000 site listings. Those two facts says a single powerful thing – we’ve got a long way to go in terms of a booming online culture here and a long way before web development(web dev) millions are made. In fact some of my tech industry colleagues believe we are 5 years behind the United States.

In terms of Web Dev as a business in Jamaica the competition has grown fierce in the past 18 months- we’re seeing cut throat cost cutting especially by one man startups; flaunting of global industry design and programming standards and the free template as custom design website shell game is rife. Add to that, marketing managers who are web virgins with unrealistic price and production time expectations; IT department techies without a business cause and Jamaican companies who take too long to decide and longer to pay- makes it all that much harder. Add a peppery pinch of self-praising programmer primadonnas who couldn’t hold their own with an Indian or Russian colleague and what you get – an industry rife for a shake up. But as many web dev company heads who’ve been in the business over 3 years will add- things have come along way.

So if there is seemingly not enough high end business in Jamaica to make a web dev business consistently viable, where can the money be made- two words-small businesses. Now while these two words may not be new to most, the question is…what are they being offered now? FACT: There are 49 web dev service providers listed on techjamaica.com. There are 25,000 small businesses in Jamaica and since the start of the year, 4,000 small and medium sized businesses were registered. They all need to have a web presence, so what’s going to be offered to them and more importantly by whom? There in lies a great business opportunity.