Panacea Mobile co-founder and senior Systems Architect, Donald Jackson is one of the leading minds in the SMS industry. Passionate about what he does and about innovations in the mobile market, Donald is also actively involved the Kannel Foundation, an open-source project used across the globe in the development of WAP and SMS gateways. Since his relatively humble beginnings, Jackson has consulted for some of the top SMS aggregators in the world and is now, with his partner Stefano Sessa, heading up Panacea Mobile in Cape Town, a force to be reckoned with indeed.

I sat down with Donald to find out what makes him tick and what he thinks are some of the most exciting developments in the industry at present. Here’s what he had to say:

How did you land up in the field of mobile advertising?

While I was studying [Computer Science] in Port Elizabeth, I did freelance projects after hours. One of those projects had to do with an interactive mobile campaign management system and ever since then, I’ve known it would be an area I would want to be involved in.

And how did Panacea Mobile come about?

After doing enterprise consulting for a while, I realised that there was a significant need for reliable and robust software in the mobile messaging industry. I developed a gateway taking into account prior experience and teamed up with Stefano Sessa to make a business out of it.

What is the most rewarding part of working for yourself?

Donald Jackson at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year

I enjoy having the ability to choose the direction that I want to take myself or the business in, and the rewards associated with making a good choice in that regard.

What is a typical day in the life of a programmer at your level?

I’m a firm believer in planning, so I spend a large amount of my day planning architecture and processes before I even begin. Once I’m done with my planning, I delegate some tasks, and others I do myself.

What do you love most about what you do?

I love preparing a new system, implementing it and then testing it to find that it works exactly as I designed it to.

What programming tools do you use?

I develop on a Macbook Pro using Eclipse and a CentOS Linux virtual machine for compilation and testing.

Describe your programming style in three words.

Simple but effective.

Do you ever think about taking your talents overseas with you? Why?

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. I like the idea of living and working in Silicon Valley with all the technological innovations that are accessible there.

When you’re not programming, what are you doing?

I’m a sports nut. If I’m not watching sport, I’m playing it.

What, in your opinion, is the most exciting development in the mobile market at the moment?

The emergence of near field communication technology on new mobile phones is going to open the door to a host of innovations that I can’t wait to see.

What mobile phone do you have?

I have an HTC Desire Z running Android 2.2.1.

What, according to you, does the future of computer programming hold?

I think new technologies and languages will emerge as being able to cater for the increasing need for web-based applications.

What advice can you give to young, up-and-coming programmers out there?

I would definitely advise them to have an understanding of mobile development, whether that be web or application based. Oh, and don’t take short cuts – ever.

Hannah Moore is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa.