World Software Industry and Software Engineering: Opportunities and Constraints for Newly Industrialized Economies

摘要

The paper reviews the major trends in the global software industry, taking into account the changing nature of the competition in a relatively young industry that is rapidly growing and changing. The paper investigates the sources of competitive advantage in software production. The impact of new technologies on the process through which software is engineered is analyzed in terms of changing requirements--for capital outlays, labor, and skills--and in terms of the constraints and opportunities these present to newly industrialized economies (NIE) software firms. While new technologies are beginning to be widely used in software production, other developments are beginning to play an important part in the competitiveness of firms. One of these is the importance of organization and management of software production. Another is the importance of alliances to help penetrate the world software market and deliver competitive advantage. The prospects of the NIEs will depend a great deal on the way software firms mature organizationally and technologically, as well as on ways in which firms can build alliances with foreign partners. (Copyright (c) 1989 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.)