South African software developers are a busy lot at the moment. Customised software development is swinging towards the provision of services and away from the traditional standalone application. Compliance is generating a great deal of work and new areas such as mobile, the web and open source provide enormous opportunities.

According to a recent Savant survey, the South African software development industry is expected to grow to R21 billion by 2009 at a CAGR of ten percent. There has always been a strong tradition of do-it-yourself in South Africa, and applications software represents nearly 40 percent of this total, according to the survey.