AMMAN -- Jordan should do more to combat piracy in order to make the Kingdom a regional hub for information and communications technology (ICT), according to Microsoft Jordan.
The piracy rate in Jordan was 58 per cent in 2008, compared to 59 per cent regionally, Microsoft Country Manager Rula Ammuri said, noting that this was the first time the percentage fell below the regional average.
"The drop is thanks to the government's hard work in fighting piracy and its adoption of strong and comprehensive intellectual property (IP) laws," Ammuri said, adding that she expected the piracy rate for 2009 to fall to 56 per cent.
However, she noted that around 90 per cent of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Kingdom do not use licensed Microsoft software programmes, noting that lost revenues in Jordan due to piracy stood at $24 million last year.
During a meeting with the press on Thursday, Ammuri said Microsoft is committed to fighting software piracy and is working with the government, the Business Software Alliance, partners and other international and local IP stakeholders in the Kingdom to ensure that IP laws are properly enforced.
In the coming weeks, Microsoft Jordan is expecting to renew its enterprise agreement with the government which covers maintenance of PCs at more than 120 government entities, she said.
In November 2009, Microsoft Jordan renewed its strategic partnership agreement (SPA) with the government, which includes supporting various projects for the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.
Ammuri said the SPA addresses all pillars in the National ICT Strategy by providing Internet access, online services and knowledge transfer of content creation.
She described as realistic the objectives of the national strategy, which aims at increasing Internet penetration to 50 per cent, ICT sector employment to 35,000 and the IT sector's contribution to the Kingdom's gross domestic product to JD3 billion by the end of 2011, saying Microsoft Jordan will continue to play a key role.
In 2008, Internet penetration in Jordan reached 26 per cent, while revenues of the sector, which employed 22,000 people, stood at $2.1 billion.
Ammuri highlighted Microsoft's efforts to improve the IT capabilities of the health and educational sectors, noting that it will work with public and private sector entities to cater to the IT needs of schools, universities, hospitals, clinics and other related institutions.
"These two sectors need to modernise their IT infrastructure in order to better serve the citizens of Jordan and we will work alongside the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to develop solutions that will help improve the processes, accessibility and provision of information," she noted.
By Omar Obeidat
© Jordan Times 2010