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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.
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You have basically stated what Jamaica industry has been like for the past 15 years. Very good job. Keep it up.
cool…but what will it take to move it pass this point. let’s talk solutions, breakthrough ideas.
time, money, time, talent, money time, talent,money (TMTTMTTM)
I really like your blog. I think is is really needed. Just need to make it more global.
what will make it work? honestly apart from (TMTTMTTM)it is team work. Your brain, your skill, your ability, your will, your drive + others = no limit. But as we get older we hardly trust and keep all our marbles to ourself. No one wants to play marble anymore or elastic band against the wall.
They all fear they will not have anymore marbles or elastic bands at the end of the day. I guess they have not heard of FOREX. They need to read your article.
Peaceful greetings. When enough capable, focused, ambitious young Jamaicans begin the ardous door-to-door campaign, armed with their laptops to show the innovative websites have created without the use of someone else’s design template, then we can begin to show Jamaican business owners, one by one, that there is a reason for them to have a web presence. The fact that so many businesses in Jamaica are owned and operated by people who are not tech savvy is one of the reasons that there are not more companies with a web presence. They just do not see the need for it. If you show a potential client that there is a true need and a justifiable benefit to them in having a well designed website, most of them are smart enough to realize they need to hire someone to design it for them. If you strive diligently to establish a reputation for excellence in your work and your work ethic, more and more people will hire you. This is true in my niche (installing and configuring point of sale software) as well as for web development.
Bless Up,
Lady Roots
Education. Caribbean companies and their managers need to be better educated about the importance of websites, realistic pricing and what they should be getting in return.
I hope to see seminars and conferences in various islands on the subject, sponsored by Ministries of Technology in each island.
After that, one company that agressively promotes their web dev skills with a focus on small companies. All you need is one person to start generating lots of publicity for a solid service comparable to outside the Caribbean and some are bound to follow.
Lady Roots, I agree with you totally !!
I think it will require a strategic approach. “TMTTMTTM” sounds like a good formula, unfortunately..only if we’re dreaming. Who has time and money these days?
So yeh, sometimes we have to look at it from a piece by piece approach as opposed to a wide scale “attack”.
Out of the hundreds of businesses per industry, there has to be a couple that have the “right” competitive mentality. Identify them, get them on board..(offer a discount or some other deal). The idea is to have them as allies almost. Once they’re on board.. you develop a great marketing pitch that ties in their industry and pitch it to their competitors. Essentially: ” Company B just got an innovative/professional web presense and their ROI went through the roof over x months…and umm, how many customers have you potentially lost in that same period?” type campaign.
Some of these businesses are just followers, half of them just trying to stay afloat and ironically see a web presense as a cost first..instead of a needed asset. Instead of stressing techno babble in proposals hype the ROI potential.
Of course there are all sorts of elements that may hev it as it is now, but I think an approach as stated above could chip a likkle rubble off the ignorance wall.
Rodney this is a great strategy! Right competitive mentality is important andphh yeah God knows…the majority of companies are followers and in Jamaica…most companies are reactive, they move only if there is a threat by a competitor, outsider coming in!
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