The Software Industry: A Key Driver for Economic Growth in Europe

The Chairman of the European Software Association, Jeremy Roche, today outlined the crucial role of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and the software industry in driving competitiveness and growth in Europe. According to analysts, the IT sector will generate an additional 2 million jobs and €160 billion in tax revenues over the next five years. While software licence revenue represents only 20% of total IT spending, it drives over half of the employment in the IT sector.

The Association, which has a membership of 32 companies across 14 European countries, argues that small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Europe lag behind in the uptake of many technologies which could help solve core competitive and business management issues. Properly deployed, ICT can put a tiny business on an equal footing with a multinational, and can enable partnering and collaboration up and down the supply chain.

Addressing an audience of key European policymakers and business leaders at the European Business Summit in Brussels, Mr Roche said:

But, he continued, “The EU must assist and involve the software industry. A conducive regulatory framework needs to be in place to allow the software industry to deliver these benefits.”

In particular, Mr Roche, on behalf of the European Software Association, argued for the creation of a European data interchange and an interoperability standard for business systems which takes into account the needs of the software industry and users. The Association believes that a lack of common standards for interoperability and data interchange for business systems is a barrier for Europe’s SMEs, and that the industry is unable to deliver these on its own. As a result, the Association has called for the EU to take the lead in helping to drive the development of standards and give European software companies a competitive advantage over the rest of the world.

Jeremy Roche’s comments were given during the panel ‘SMEs and ICT: from confusion to diffusion’ with Commissioner Viviane Reding (Commissioner for Information Society and Media), Dr Fabio Colasanti (Director General, Information Society and Media), Mr Christian Morales (General Manager, Intel EMEA) and Mr Lieven Danneels (Managing Director of Televic).

About the European Software Association

Created in October 2005, the European Software Association is the voice of the European Independent Software Vendor (ISV) community. ISV members of the Association work with EU policy makers and other European stakeholders to foster an environment that supports innovation and competitiveness within the European software industry, and that supports the needs of other European business communities.

Links to the member companies can be found on the Association’s website www.europeansoftware.org.