Australia most competitive IT industry in Asia-Pac
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17 September 2009
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Australia is the most competitive IT industry in the Asia-Pacific and is ranked as the seventh most competitive in the world, according to a new global survey.
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In its third annual study into IT sector competitiveness among 66 countries, the Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked Australia at 7th place for the second consecutive year, while the UK slipped from 3rd to 6th and the USA retains the top spot.
The study, sponsored by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), saw Finland, Sweden, Canada and The Netherlands all increase their position from last year to now rank 2nd - 5th respectively.
With regards to the Asia-Pacific economies, five are ranked among the Top 20 in the world in IT competitiveness – Australia (7th), Singapore (9th), Japan (12th), Taiwan (15th) and South Korea (16th).
The study assesses and compares the IT industry environments to determine the extent to which they enable IT sector competitiveness, examining key indicators including overall business environment, IT infrastructure, human capital, legal environment, R&D environment and support for IT industry development.
The index results are highlighted in a new report, Resilience amid turmoil: Benchmarking IT industry competitiveness 2009. One of the major conclusions of the report was that broadband networks are becoming increasingly essential to IT firms’ competitiveness.
The report noted that “economies where broadband is pervasive score highly in both the IT infrastructure category as well as the overall rankings. Australia, which falls within the overall top ten ranking, is among the world’s most prominent in developing broadband stimulus plans, showing how much importance their governments attach to improving broadband access”.
The report also pointed to an investment in skills development as a long-term imperative and recommended robust intellectual property protection was essential to IT sector competitiveness.
Denis McCauley, Director of Global Technology Research with the Economist Intelligence Unit said that globally, the IT sector has ridden out the crisis reasonably well, despite reduced technology spending.
"Rather than pushing short-term measures designed to expand sector output or support ailing technology firms, policymakers need to remain focused on strengthening the fundamental enablers of long-term sector competitiveness,” he said.
Jeffrey Hardee, BSA Vice President and Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, called upon governments in the region continue to support the growth of a strong technology sector, particularly in the current economic climate.
“The IT sector remains an important engine of economic growth, and economies in the region that are supporting innovation and taking steps to stimulate technology sector output are placing themselves in a strong position to accelerate economic recovery,” he said.
Victoria is at the centre of the Australian ICT industry. It generates $26.2 billion in annual revenue, exports over $2.4 billion and employs more than 84,000 people, accounting for about 34 per cent of national ICT employment.
The Victorian Government anticipated the imperative to invest in IT skills for the long-term and has a $1.85 million comprehensive ICT skills package in train, geared at boosting the number of ICT professionals in Victoria.
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