Since its establishment in 2001, the Software Engineering Competence Center (SECC) is by all means a substantial leap towards promoting and supporting the development of the software industry in Egypt. SECC is committed to exerting every possible effort towards raising the standards of the Egyptian software industry in a way that allows the local industry to become highly competitive worldwide. Our long-term objective is to allow the industry to become a key player in promoting widespread information technology in society, as well as a significant contributor to the Egyptian national income.
The spirit of cooperation and constructive efforts that we experience with the governmental and non- governmental entities, along with key software stakeholders in the country and international organizations gave us confidence that SECC is on the right track. In few years, SECC was able to make substantial achievements primarily in adopting standards, promoting professionalism, raising awareness and working with businesses towards adopting state of the art methodologies and better practices.
In 2005, SECC got affiliated to the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA). In January 2006, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie Mellon University in the USA has approved SECC as the first partner in the Middle East and Africa to provide Introduction to (CMMI) Training Courses and SCAMPI Appraisal Services commercially worldwide, except in the USA.
Through its six business units namely: Standards, Training, Consultation & Assessment, Research & Development, Software Testing and Business Development, SECC is actively deep rooting standards within the local industry, providing state of the art training to both business management and technical staff, guiding through professional consultations, as well as allowing companies to assess their existing status. SECC was able to help fifteen Egyptian software companies achieve the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) accreditation levels from level- 2 to level- 5 which is the highest level in this model that was developed by the SEI.
Out of its believe in utilizing high-quality resources, SECC relies on both highly qualified local staff and consultants, along with international renowned professionals in the field. SECC also has existing agreements with International key player organizations in the field, which allows it to adopt state of the art practices. The Center succeeded in qualifying two of its high caliber staff to be authorized SEI instructors to deliver "Introduction to CMMI" course worldwide, except in the USA.
Pursuing its long-term objective, SECC is planning a new ambitious project, namely, the Software Testing Center as a means of guaranteeing the quality of locally produced software. Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)s capture SECC attention to a great extent. SECC is currently focusing on developing SMEs and providing them with the best practices to build their capacities to be able to have better business opportunity. It is also currently working on developing the contact/call centers operating in Egypt with the support of the ITIDA.
The strengthening of Egypt's private software industry and SECC's partnership with the SEI are major accomplishments for the country, and will position Egypt as a prime destination for the IT business.
Dr.Gamal M. Aly
SECC Chairman
Chairman Statement 