MANILA, Philippines -- Sun Microsystems is placing its faith in the potential of Filipino software developers to create applications that would further revolutionize the Internet.
"There is a world of difference in the software ecosystem in the Philippines right now compared to maybe seven years ago when we first started our Java program here," said Matt Thompson, Sun Microsystems senior director for open source and technology outreach.
Java is a programming language created by Sun and used by developers to create software applications on the Web.
Thompson is in Manila for Tech Days, an annual event wherein Sun showcases its latest innovations on Java and other developer tools. More than 1,600 developers attended Wednesday's sessions, according to Sun, with a mix of students and professional developers participating.
"The software work coming from here (Philippines) has gone from being good regionally to being world-class. We want to see the next Google, Facebook or Yahoo come from here," Thompson said during a press briefing.
"We're seeing jobs (from overseas) move to the Philippines and we see that accelerating further in the next few years," he added.
Thompson, who heads Sun's open source developer programs, believes the local software industry's strengths lie in having a good mix of schools with skilled developers and likewise companies "willing to take risks" with Java.
Over the years, Sun has invested significantly in its Java programs in the Philippines. A program called JEDI (Java Education and Development Initiative) trains teachers and students. The program started in the Philippines and has been expanded and adopted in many countries.
"The Philippines is in the top four countries in terms of our investments in Jedi. The ROI (return on investment) for us here is extremely high," Thompson said.
He said Sun is exploring ways to expand the program further and add more courses related to creating Web 2.0 applications.
"A class I want to teach is how they (developers) can develop something like Facebook or eBay. How do we take this new generation of developers and move from arming them with technical and entrepreneurial skills," Thompson said. "That's going to be our strategy for the next 12 months."
