Malaysia eyes 5% of global software testing market by 2020

A staff testing the software to see if it meets clients' requirement.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia aims to capture at least 5% of the US$90bil (RM367.6bil) global software testing market by 2020, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

He said the industry was expected to create 30,000 jobs for Malaysians  over the next four years.

“This industry offers a monthly income of between RM5,000 and RM10,000, which is higher compared with the average of other industries, “ he told reporters after officiating Softec Asia 2016 in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

Abdul Rahman, who is in charge of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), said the software testing industry was a niche market with huge potential for Malaysia as the country had the expertise and the right workforce.

“Our country is well-positioned, with IT-related policies in place, as well as, and there is good collaboration between the public and private sectors to help the industry expand at a faster rate.

“I will give more focus to this industry as I believe it will provide opportunities for Malaysian youths with IT background to start their own business or become part of this lucrative industry’s workforce,” said Abdul Rahman. 

He said EPU would be working together with the Malaysian Software Testing Board to ensure local universities produce graduates with specific industry knowledge and skills.

Earlier, Abdul Rahman said beginning next year, all government IT systems and software projects, categorised as critical and high impact, would be subject to formal software quality assurance processes.

“This is to ensure that systems and software deployed for the benefit of the people possess the quality level that is acceptable according to international standards,” he said.

Abdul Rahman said the requirement was also intended at minimising the risk of delay, cost overruns and security breaches in the delivery of government IT projects.

“Effectively, we are raising the bar with regards to quality. This, will in turn, raise the service quality of suppliers, thereby making them more competitive in the international market,” he added.

Themed “ROI of Testing”, the three-day conference features various sessions covering technical, management and business aspects of software testing as well as exhibition by local and international software testing service providers. - Bernama