Actually, there are three types of software companies in Syria: small, mid and big. The small ones support private sector and have accounting works for small institutes. The mid ones which are very active in Syria have the same work but with more space because it can offer small and mid programmes to be exported. The big companies are few in Syria with very limited capabilities because there are rare big tenders. As software companies, our experience in big tenders is very limited and technical conditions are not enough .

Today we need organization through state's demand for healthy tenders from companies , classifying software companies in a good way and government's (the biggest client) order for suitable standards and high quality . Due to the absence of these standards the big companies' programmes can not be sold abroad.

what is the relation between the forum and the Syrian Computer Society (SCS) and sponsors?

The SCS is the best supporter for the forum and it is interested in this industry. We trust it.

The society backs the forum's expenditures.. subscription in local and international exhibitions. Our participation in Shaamexpo is semi-free. The society gives us the area free and this is an advantage because it shores up small companies to introduce themselves in the exposition at a token fee. Recently, we are witnessing the appearance of developing companies and the society is doing the best to back software industry.

The Syrian software companies lost a lot because they were depending on the government's promises which were not kept. But today, we have strong coordination with the government. For the first time in Syria history, the forum coordinates with Ministries of Industry, Economy and Telecommunication to draw up framework for this industry. This late step was urgent because the framework will gather the public and private sectors and will solve the forum's legal problems in the market to push industry forwards.

The Software industry has two main problems: the first is financing and investment in Syria. As the government is the biggest client , it does not pump enough money to develop this market. The government is in urgent need for developing its systems.

The second is laws which make no difference between software industry and other industries. There are same laws for all industries and this does not help develop in this regard. We need government's support. We need a special law for software industry. But we can say now that the government is moving in the right direction.

what is the change between the software forum's participation in Shaamexpo2007 and 2008?

There is no change at technology level because the software companies and government's demands have not changed . The government does not impose the high technology which requires big amounts. Generally speaking, the companies have not developed except those work with private sector and those work not for the Syrian market. The number of companies has not been increased and specialists are immigrating because demand for software industry is limited and government's pump of money for this industry has reduced.

What is the total number of the Forum's companies? And how many ones will take part in Shaamexpo 2008?

The Forum includes 40 companies. Around 14 of them are taking part in the exposition.

what is the area specified for software industry forum in the expo?

How does the software forum see the future of software industry in Syria?

Hope is the only reason behind the continuity of the software companies' work in Syria despite big losses and unorganized market. If the situation is not changed, surely we will close the companies and open shops. But if the government develops this industry, the companies' number will be increased, and if our problems are solved we will lay the foundation stone for a suitable climate for the software industry.

How do you evaluate the forum's participation in Gitex ? and what about your participation in 2008?

Our participation in Gitex is useful as we promote the companies and proves that the Syrian software market is not absent. In Gitex 2008, we will not participate because we wanted to boost our participation through cooperation with the forum , the SCS and the Ministry. We adjourned our participation for next year because we need the government's support to organize our participation.