Oct 11

Can you and  your company afford to be left behind?

Are you and your staff up to date with the latest technologies?

The UK is the fifth most competitive IT market in the world, but the lack of sufficiently qualified IT professionals is still a major concern, according to the 2011 IT Industry Competitiveness Index produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The report, which looked into the state of the IT sector in 66 countries, uses criteria such as overall business environment, IT infrastructure, human capital, research and development (R&D) environment, legal environment, and support for IT industry development.

In the 2011 edition of the research, which was commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the UK is ranked as the fifth most competitive IT market in the world, behind the US, Finland, Singapore and Sweden.

The UK scored top marks in R&D environment, where it moved up one place to 11th. It also climbed one position in the overall ranking from the previous report published in 2009.

“As the global economy starts to recover, it is more important than ever for governments to take a long-term view of IT industry development. Policy and business decision makers cannot just look at this issue on an annual basis, or they risk being left behind. They must assess the next seven to nine years, and invest accordingly, in order to make substantive gains in IT competitiveness.”

Read the article at http://www.computerweekly.com