PREFACE: How technology sectors grow: Benchmarking IT industry competitiveness 2008 is an Economist Intelligence Unit white paper, sponsored by the Business Software Alliance.

The Economist Intelligence Unit bears sole responsibility for the content of this report. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s editorial team built the index model, conducted the analysis and wrote the report. The findings and views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor.

Our research drew on two main initiatives:
● We updated our benchmarking model, the “IT industry competitiveness index”, which compares 66 countries on the extent to which they support the competitiveness of information technology (IT) firms.
● We also conducted in-depth interviews with 15 senior executives of IT firms and independent experts knowledgeable about the drivers of IT competitiveness.

The author of the report was Kim Thomas and the editor was Denis McCauley. Mike Kenny was responsible for design and layout.

Our sincere thanks go to the interviewees for sharing their insights on this topic.

Download How Technology Sectors Grow: Benchmarking IT Industry Competitiveness 2008

PDF format, 153KB, 30Pages. Provided by BSA.

How technology sectors grow
Benchmarking IT industry competitiveness 2008
A report from the Economist Intelligence Unit
September 2008

Executive Summary:

Tougher times lie ahead for information technology (IT) producers as an economic slowdown brings weaker IT spending in the US, western Europe and Japan. Even amid shifting market conditions, however, the fundamentals of IT industry competitiveness remain constant. Thanks to their established strengths in making skills, finance and infrastructure available to local IT producers and in stimulating innovation, the identity of the top 20 countries in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2008 IT industry competitiveness index remains unchanged from last year.

However, this year’s results show that there is no room for complacency among the front runners, with three new countries moving into the top five.

The US again ranks top of the index as the world’s most supportive environment for IT firms, notwithstanding its current macroeconomic problems. As an incubator of high-tech start-ups and technology innovation and as a developer of talent, the US remains a pace-setter. However, the gap is narrowing as IT industry environments in Europe and Asia—including in emerging markets—are becoming more competitive.

Also through its strengths in research and development (R&D) and nurturing technology talent, Taiwan rises to second spot in 2008. The UK, Sweden and Denmark—west European countries with strong and open business environments, well-developed infrastructure and robust legal protection for intellectual property—round out the index top five. ...

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