Posts Tagged ‘Technology in microfinance’

By Bruce Meraviglia, Technology & Marketing Editor The 18th Century was considered the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, in which new forms of mechanical devices and machines were introduced to improve productivity, lower cost, and allow for the manufacture of products that otherwise were not practical to produce.  In the 20th Century, we witnessed the beginning of the Information Revolution, the revolution which, more than ... Full story

Bruce Meraviglia , Technology & Marketing Editor This month we begin a new technology column for Microfinance Focus.  This column will review current technologies that may offer benefits for MFI’s, either for internal use or for the benefit of their borrowers – perhaps even to serve as potential business concepts the MFI may choose to present to potential borrowers.  The technologies that will be reviewed will range from Information Technology (IT) to renewable energy, and such technologies in between that may be of interest to the MFI community.  Each column will be complemented by an online Technology Review blog by the author on the Microfinance Focus website that will allow for feedback from the readers of this magazine. For this month’s column, we will discuss the issue of computer software for use within the MFI itself.  In the field of software development, every organization has traditionally been faced with determining whether it is better off paying for its own IT personnel to develop software to meet a specific need (Build), or to purchase appropriate software from an outside vendor (Buy), including the potential cost of modifying the commercially available software to suit the specific requirements of the organization.  This has traditionally been referred to as the Build versus Buy decision; a decision that each IT manager must make, and then defend to the executive committee of his organization. Full story