Determined to promote and improve the skills of software developers in the country, the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) recently partnered with We Are I.T. Philippines, Inc. (WIT) and satellite broadband provider IPSTAR in providing high-speed Internet connectivity to the first and only Microsoft interoperability lab in the country.

The lab, which began operations in September 2008, houses a Microsoft platform which developers can use to test their open-source applications. In its 9-month run, it has already churned out two promising programs—a mobile messaging application developed by local firm D3, and a Maven plugin developed by Exist Global which enables Visual Studio developers to integrate with a Java environment.

“Through this partnership, we are providing the [lab] with satellite-based connection … so developers will have access to huge amounts of data and information faster, helping them work more efficiently,” said Jose Maddatu, president and CEO, WIT.

IPSTAR said the satellite connection will provide the lab with 1MB/512kbps Internet speeds. This, among many others, the company said, will aid in faster and more efficient development of open-source applications in the country.

“Our open-source awareness is contained mainly on consumption, so the interoperability lab will make sure that we do our part in contributing to the open-source software market,” said Albert dela Cruz, platform strategy manager, Microsoft Philippines. Dela Cruz added that through the satellite connection, the Philippine lab can now communicate with other Microsoft interoperability labs in other countries.

The CICT, a big user of open-source software itself, welcomed the lab development, which encourage local developers to come up with more open-source applications to be used in the industry. “We are very happy that Microsoft has open-source initiatives, which make ICT more accessible to the market,” said Ray Anthony Roxas Chua, secretary, CICT.

Interested groups and companies can contact the CICT to use the facility for free. In the near future, users can log on to an online portal to see updates about the lab and secure a schedule for the lab’s use, dela Cruz said.