The Evolution of Nigeria’s SystemSpecs

This is good news for Nigeria. The most successful software company in the history of Nigeria, SystemSpecs, has ended its partnership with America-based Infor. Simply, SystemSpecs has got the confidence to attack the market with the bravado  only runaway success could bring. It means from now on, we can address it as a fully indigenous software giant.

To consolidate its position as a fully indigenous brand, SystemSpecs, one of Africa’s leading financial technology firms, has announced the end of its role as Country Partner of the US-based enterprise software company, Infor.

SystemSpecs and Systems Union, erstwhile owners of SunSystems before its acquisition by Infor in 2006, had partnered to provide leading corporate organisations across Nigeria with software services that guarantee end-to-end accountability for success and improved returns on investment….

“We are encouraged by the success of our homegrown brands, Humanmanager and Remita, and have chosen to devote our efforts to consolidate these,” Uzugbo added.

Make no mistake, SystemSpecs knows that Nigeria is not even enough for it. It has got world-class products in Human Manager, Remita and other products. But with Remita, where it has found glory, it does not need to live on anyone’s shadows. The implication is that the journey to a pan-African brand will be embarked from Lagos, with products designed and produced by SystemSpecs. Three things are on play here:

• SystemSpecs wants to own all its identity as truly African. It does not want that flaw of reselling software made by another firm. It wants to be all-SystemSpecs.
• It wants to control its destiny with no worries on managing foreign exchange crises when it earns money in Naira and have to settle foreign partners in hard currency.
• It will automatically hit the top of the local content chart with its solutions created in Nigeria. It is already a known entity. This action will make it even more beloved. There is no business problem in the typical asset management sub-sector that SystemSpecs cannot make for clients. It has grown as a big boy, in Nigeria, just as Infor is to America.

This is the way the future of Nigerian software industry should evolve. This is how opportunities will abound in the land. This is how the industry should be developed.  I do hope that customers, especially the financial sector, will give local players like SystemSpecs the opportunities to serve them.  We need to substitute Oracle, Microsoft and all these foreign firms by competing ferociously through indigenous innovation.

But do not be too excited: another Lagos company is possibly negotiating with Infor, to represent it. There is nothing wrong with that. It is a free enterprise nation. But for all I know, with forex related issues, if the local firms deliver, clients will call them before those that sell foreign solutions.That interplay is how knowledge will be transferred from foreign firms to local ones, It is the nexus on how nations develop especially in the technology sector.

You may not know already: Nigerian software industry is emerging. The biggest challenge is that government has not got the memo with its focus on foreign made software, over local ones. Until we can get government to put its money where its policy is, the smoke will not turn into fire.

I wish SystemSpecs good luck on this sole voyage. It is good to see boys grow. It is now a man.

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