Quo Vadis IT? - The next upswing will be digital
IT and telecommunications technology will increase productivity and reduce carbon footprintFinland and Bavaria – two European regions that have achieved significant success with telecommunications and information technology. What can Finns and Germans learn from each other, particularly in light of the challenges facing Europe during and after the current economic and financial crisis?
In mid-January, the Finnish Embassy in Germany and the German Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) organized an event to try to find some answers. Addressing the issues was a panel of top experts including Carsten Rossbach, Partner in Roland Berger's InfoCom Competence Center, Henning Kagermann (ex-SAP, President of Acatech, the German Academy of Science and Engineering), Erkki Ormala (Nokia and President of DIGITALEUROPE, an umbrella organization representing the European ICT industry) and Sabine Fischer (Tieto).Combining ICT and industrial strengthsThe panel agreed that ICT technology will make a strong contribution in the future to increased efficiency in the service industry, public administration and energy consumption. In so doing, it will also boost overall productivity. ICT has significant potential for the European economies, especially when combined with Europe's traditional industrial strengths such as embedded systems in machinery and plant engineering.
Information technology is also crucial for our carbon footprint. It contributes to more efficient energy consumption, energy transmission and the use of renewables. However, the experts were of the opinion that governments must step up their long-term involvement here. Once the current economic and financial crisis is over, it will be down to individual European countries to lead by example, putting Europe at the forefront through their activities.
In mid-January, the Finnish Embassy in Germany and the German Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) organized an event to try to find some answers. Addressing the issues was a panel of top experts including Carsten Rossbach, Partner in Roland Berger's InfoCom Competence Center, Henning Kagermann (ex-SAP, President of Acatech, the German Academy of Science and Engineering), Erkki Ormala (Nokia and President of DIGITALEUROPE, an umbrella organization representing the European ICT industry) and Sabine Fischer (Tieto).Combining ICT and industrial strengthsThe panel agreed that ICT technology will make a strong contribution in the future to increased efficiency in the service industry, public administration and energy consumption. In so doing, it will also boost overall productivity. ICT has significant potential for the European economies, especially when combined with Europe's traditional industrial strengths such as embedded systems in machinery and plant engineering.
Information technology is also crucial for our carbon footprint. It contributes to more efficient energy consumption, energy transmission and the use of renewables. However, the experts were of the opinion that governments must step up their long-term involvement here. Once the current economic and financial crisis is over, it will be down to individual European countries to lead by example, putting Europe at the forefront through their activities.
C. Rossbach and his audience
ICT industry will recover quickly
Carsten Rossbach believes that the ICT industry will recover rather quickly from the recession. "The collapse in industry figures was less severe and much shorter than in the last ICT crisis, the dot-com crash." Order books are not looking so bad, either: "The IT outsourcing business is experiencing a boom, but IT project services are also benefiting more than was generally expected from consolidation in the industry," says Rossbach.
Nevertheless, the European IT industry needs to clean up its backyard in the coming years. Drastic reductions are required in the complexity of ICT architecture, and the quality and reliability of systems must increase. "ICT applications need to experience a quality revolution. Users are still having to deal with regular breakdowns and other problems," says Rossbach. "If it was your car, for example, it would be simply unacceptable to have to call the user helpdesk every two weeks." Rossbach called for companies to make full use of their technological capabilities and proactively develop innovations.
Example: Finland
Regulation and governance are important drivers for the ICT industry. Governments have a key impact on the development of the industry through their own activities in the area of e-government. They also regulate the industry, create the environment in which it operates, and can effectively promote specific technologies and applications.
Finland is a good example. In Finland, the government cooperates systematically with information technology companies – and has done for some time. As an example of this new mindset, Erkki Ormala and Finnish Ambassador Harry Helenius drew attention to the recently founded Aalto University in Finland, where the barriers between government, enterprise and research have been practically eliminated.
Carsten Rossbach believes that the ICT industry will recover rather quickly from the recession. "The collapse in industry figures was less severe and much shorter than in the last ICT crisis, the dot-com crash." Order books are not looking so bad, either: "The IT outsourcing business is experiencing a boom, but IT project services are also benefiting more than was generally expected from consolidation in the industry," says Rossbach.
Nevertheless, the European IT industry needs to clean up its backyard in the coming years. Drastic reductions are required in the complexity of ICT architecture, and the quality and reliability of systems must increase. "ICT applications need to experience a quality revolution. Users are still having to deal with regular breakdowns and other problems," says Rossbach. "If it was your car, for example, it would be simply unacceptable to have to call the user helpdesk every two weeks." Rossbach called for companies to make full use of their technological capabilities and proactively develop innovations.
Example: Finland
Regulation and governance are important drivers for the ICT industry. Governments have a key impact on the development of the industry through their own activities in the area of e-government. They also regulate the industry, create the environment in which it operates, and can effectively promote specific technologies and applications.
Finland is a good example. In Finland, the government cooperates systematically with information technology companies – and has done for some time. As an example of this new mindset, Erkki Ormala and Finnish Ambassador Harry Helenius drew attention to the recently founded Aalto University in Finland, where the barriers between government, enterprise and research have been practically eliminated.
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Carsten Rossbach
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