Jamaica's IT sector 'not far behind the rest of the world', according to pioneer programmer.

THE Jamaica Computer Society (JCS) last Thursday night recognised Winston Atkinson for his 38 years of service to the field of Information Technology (IT).

Atkinson was one of the first programmers to operate a computer locally, and has been credited with programming possibly the first computer in Jamaica in 1965, at the West Indies Sugar Company.

The JCS, which he helped to establish, presented him with a citation that reflected his outstanding contribution to the IT sector, during its recent 20th annual Information Technology and Management Showcase at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios.

"I feel extremely honoured and humbled. It's just quite overwhelming to believe that my peers really think that way of me. I mean, all I was doing over the years was really doing what I think I ought to do, responding to needs and requests," Atkinson told the Observer.

At the same time, Atkinson commented that more Jamaicans and local companies could be using IT to drive the development process.

"I would have liked Information Technology to be more widespread in Jamaica. We need more companies to be more fully reliant on IT as the basis for development. However, as a country we are not far behind the rest of the world," he said.

But more than any other single individual, Atkinson was the person who defined, to some extent, how Information Technology training was undertaken locally. And although not a teacher, the bulk of his contribution was made in the classroom.

Under the IT banner, Atkinson lecturedthe University of Technology, the Institute of Management and Production and MIND; chaired the JCS committee to develop the IT curriculum for the Caribbean Examination Council; and developed various standards for IT competencies at a number of levels.

He was also the British Computer Society's (BCS) coordinator for Jamaica at a time when the JCS felt that the BCS examination should be the criterion for measuring persons in IT competence.

Shortly after graduating from the University of the West Indies in 1965 with a BA (Hons) degree, Atkinson was recruited by the sugar company. This signalled the start of his involvement in an industry that was foreign to Jamaica.

Atkinson was still working at West Indies Sugar in 1967 when it set up a company called Computer Services and Programming (CSP), which acted as a service bureau to sugar estates. This company later became a cornerstone of the early development of IT in Jamaica.

By 1970, Atkinson was promoted to Data Processing Manager, but left the following year to take up a position at the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS).

At BNS, he was responsible for the design and implementation of all systems that ran the Bank' s operations. This included the design, development and implementation of a major demand deposit accounting system and the successful implementation of the automated consumer loan package at the bank's 45 branches. He was also responsible for developing the business cases for the entire software and hardware investment for the bank throughout his tenure, which lasted 19 years.

Atkinson's involvement with the JCS dates back to 1975, when he and other IT practitioners saw the need to establish an umbrella organisation for computing professionals. With the help of the BCS, the group established the JCS.

"Because of their vision, ladies and gentlemen, we are here this evening," Hugh Campbell, conference chairman, said as he outlined Atkinson's involvement in the industry.

"Winston was totally involved with, and committed to the JCS. He chaired the committee that established the aims and objectives of the Society, which has guided them throughout the years; was President from 1991 to 1993; was vice president of education; was treasurer and was council member for many years. He also served on the board of the JCS 'Education Foundation and chaired its management committee," Campbell added.

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