SubscribeJamaican Software Entrepreneurs Land Police Crime Management Technology Contract
Some men see things as they are and say "Why?" I dream of things that never were and say "Why not?" - George Bernard Shaw
Law Enforcement Management Software
Their inimitable vision is to transform Jamaica into the world's next software development nucleus, and among their first order of business is using their software innovations to tame Jamaica's escalating crime problem.
Joseph Livingstone and Kevin Blake of Enterprise Technology International Limited (E-Tech), one of Jamaica's newest software development companies, are the face of the new, bright, brash Jamaican tech generation. Together these astute young Jamaicans have developed and built SardonyxCIMS, a law enforcement management software solution, for the Jamaica Constabulary Force. "One of the main things that motivated us to design a crime intelligence management system was the serious crime situation facing Jamaica today," said Livingstone, E-Tech's managing director and chief software architect.
Joseph Livingstone (L) hard at work with one of E-Tech's employees
Referring to their product simply as 'CIMS', he said that it is a very expansive system, and is one of the very few which can automate the entire constabulary system.
E-Tech was recently awarded a contract to supply its CIMS product to the Jamaica Constabulary Force - the project itself being funded by the European Union. This, coupled with a burning desire to use their talents to design a product to alleviate Jamaica's crime situation, constituted the fuel which drove E-Tech to break through new frontiers of creativity and to surpass internationally established software development companies in the quest for this supply contract to the JCF.
"E-Tech has finalized island wide implementation of CIMS; and we had to endure rigorous scrutiny to acquire the EU funding for this venture. As a small three-year old company, it wasn't easy but we won in the end over our competitors," explained Livingstone.
Having an understanding of the local crime problem, and being powered by exceptional skills and talent, may have made the difference for the E-Tech dynamo duo in giving them the edge. "Our good rapport with senior law enforcement officers formed the foundation upon which we were able to successfully develop and implement the system," explained Blake.
Police Management Software: Intelligence, Border Security and Crime
According to the two professionals, Deputy Police Commissioner, Owen Ellington, was highly instrumental in helping with the design of the SardonyxCIMS law enforcement police management software, which is loaded with features tailored for the entire public safety domain covering areas of crime management, intelligence management, border security and law enforcement resource management.
E-Tech's SardonyxCIMS, they said, had a successful test run at Cricket World Cup 2007 at the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre, which had responsibility for the sharing of security intelligence throughout the region.
According to Livingstone, "CIMS was used for intelligence sharing during the event." He said that this application is presently a permanent fixture throughout CARICOM.
Jamaican Software Development
"Within the next five years, ten per cent of our staff should be able to branch off to form their own companies," stated a confident Livingstone. "And we are looking forward to the prospect," he said. "We see Jamaica as the hub of all things related to software development. We have the skill-sets and the creativity that that requires."
"We are sure of this because their company seeks to develop its employees in such a way that they can survive on their own. We are committed to creating software developers, not software programmers who are merely focused on merely writing source code. Our team should be able to work independently and creatively to develop software," he stated.
He dreams of the local software development industry mushrooming with as much fervor and tenacity as E-Tech, and strongly believes that Jamaica Trade and Invest will continue to be the strong wind beneath the wings of this vision to transform Jamaica into the hub of software development.
Part of the E-Tech team discussing software development issues
"Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI) has consistently demonstrated its willingness to facilitate us in getting to the destination of wealth creation and generation. They provided advice, helped to get us into conferences related to the industry, showed us what's new and helped us to get into trade shows - the whole works," he said, explaining that JTI gave them access to valuable markets.
"JTI and E-Tech are now moving this relationship to one in which every other software company in Jamaica can enjoy these benefits in a more wholistic manner." In elaborating, Livingstone hinted at a software association which would constitute all Jamaican software creators - a high-impact grouping that would allow for greater standardization of software development practices and provide a platform for the formation and shaping of policies specific to the industry.
"With this association, I think we would be able to voice E-Tech's vision on a broader level," Livingstone said.
E-Tech's technical director, Kevin Blake, has had his fair share of challenges, which he prefers to see as a source of motivation. Said Blake, "It gives us the momentum to show other companies like ours that there is much potential in a local company, and that they can make a difference, and that great things can come out of Jamaica. We want entrepreneurs out there to understand that if you focus on your core competencies everything else will fall in place."
Using the latest software engineering techniques and communications technologies, E-Tech develops, markets and sells cutting edge business management and law enforcement software applications, and also offers business process consultation services.
"Most of our clients are in the leisure, travel, and tour industry," Livingstone said, noting that their business management applications are provided to clients ranging in size from small companies to large multi-corporations for the retail trade industry for small companies.
Motivated by a pressing desire to satiate their entrepreneurial spirit by marketing and selling their own software applications, both young men, who have known each other since adolescence, quit their jobs on the brink of the new millennium, and launched out into the clear blue - buoyed by confidence in their competencies and in the exciting possibilities that they envisioned for their brainchild.
Having had over a decade's experience in the software development business, they carried in their wake a strong coalition of clients - most of whom are positioned in the hotel industry - who had benefited from the high level of expertise and sophistication that both Blake and Livingstone had brought to their former jobs and believed in the reliability of their products. Blake and Livingstone highlighted Point Village Resort, Negril Cabins, Couples (Negril and Ocho Rios), Negril Gardens, Enchanted Gardens, Club Jamaica, and Terra Nova All Suites Hotel as some of the chief beneficiaries of their avant-garde software services.
"One thing that made it easy for us to establish themselves independently, especially in the tourist industry, was our precise understanding of the industry due to experience in our previous jobs," said Blake. "Strategically, we are using this as an opportunity to benefit from the competitive advantage that Jamaica has in the area of tourism."
Tour and Retail Management software
The year 2001 was a significant milestone in E-Tech's development. This was the year in which they completed the first implementation and sale of their tour management software, which is tailored specifically for the leisure, travel and tour industry. In 2004, the year in which E-Tech was officially incorporated as a business, they made the decision to brand all applications Sardonyx the namesake of a colourful gemstone known for its strength, healing properties, and mystical powers.
They created and designed applications for hire and purchase retail management, small scale manufacturing applications, developing tour management software (Sardonyx TMS) solutions for various stakeholders in the leisure, travel and tour industry.
"Between 2004 and 2005, TMS took off to the extent that there was need for extra staff and office space. There was no need for marketing." Livingstone said that instead, the company flew based on references and word of mouth from there onwards. "At times, clients signed contracts with them right after demos were done - even before viewing the full implementation of the applications."
Leading tour companies such as Dolphin Cove in St. Ann, and Chukka Caribbean Adventures - the largest tour company in the English-speaking Caribbean - continue to rely on them for the generation of critical software solutions. And these are only a few of the factors which served to nourish their innovative spirit.
They hailed Clive Sterling, financial controller at Point Village Resort, as a lifeline during their foundation years.
"We were operating in a harsh business environment where companies were outright resistant to the idea of a local company providing software applications to solve Y2K-related software problems," said Livingstone.
"Clive provided valuable support when we were faced with these challenges. He was one of the 'outsiders' who invested confidence in us in implementing hardware and software solutions and Y2K conversion solutions. While we were previously employed, he had witnessed our performance in terms of providing technical support and on other software related tasks and he had confidence in our ability to implement full-scale software development."
Apart from Sterling, other helpers whom they acknowledged were Alexander Melvin (one of the owners of Chukka Caribbean Adventures) and Stafford Burrows (owner of Dolphin Cove). These persons, they said, expressed and demonstrated confidence that E-Tech was sufficiently able to provide their companies with software solutions and provided opportunities for them to demonstrate their expertise. Referrals made to other prospective clients served to further cement their confidence and success.
Software Solution Development
In 2005, Microsoft presented E-Tec with an award for Most Innovative Software in the ISV (Independent Software Vendor) category. Kevin Blake, who is currently doing his doctorate with research specific to the area of law enforcement and public safety, has received numerous invitations from the University of London and other players in the international academia to do presentations based on innovations arising from his research and from his experiences in the field of software solution development.
Both Blake and Livingstone, who were formerly employed at the same software development company, gleaned expertise in building and managing a similar sort of business, primarily via their own critical observation of daily business processes. This, coupled with innovation, research into best practices in the field of software development, and raw determination to make their idea workable, helped to spawn E-Tech, which has already established its name in Hawaii and the Caribbean region, with offices located in North America under the name E-Tech Global LLC.
With dazzling tempo, E-Tech is being propelled by Livingstone and Blake, the young governors and strategists of this young company, which has established itself as a leader in the world of software developers. Intellectually nimble and intrinsically motivated, the two are indeed ready to position Jamaica as the Caribbean nucleus for global software development.
11 January 2007