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Press room The Software Industry: A Key Driver for Economic Growth in Europe Brussels, 16 March 2006 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 euros in tax revenues over the next five years. While software license 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 up-take of many technologies which could help to solve core competitive and business management issues. Properly deployed, ICT can put a tiny business on an equal footing with a multi-national 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: “In Europe, we need to move from a state of weak ICT uptake and poor understanding by SMEs to a state of strong ICT uptake and good understanding. Software in particular can help to drive how ICT is used, making it more accessible and applicable for business of all sizes. Delivered the right way, software can contribute proportionally even greater benefits to SMEs than to large businesses.” But, he continued, “The EU must assist and involve the software industry. A conducive regulatory framework needs to be in place to allow for 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). Notes to Editors
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. Current members include: 1C (Russia), Beta Systems Software AG (Germany), Bizitek (Turkey), Business Objects S.A. (France), Cartesis S.A. (France), CCS, S.A. (Spain), CEGID (France), CODA Group (UK), Coretech (Turkey), Dassault Systèmes (France), Fenestrae B.V. (The Netherlands), Hogia AB (Sweden), KTW (Austria), Lexware GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), LogicaCMG (The Netherlands), Logo Yazilim A.S. (Turkey), Mamut ASA (Norway), Microsoft (France), msg systems ag (Germany), Northgate Information Solutions (UK), Oracle Corporation, Sage Group plc (UK), SAP (Germany), Selligent (Belgium), S.C. Info World S.R.L. (Romania), SkyRecon Systems (France), Totalsoft (Romania), Unicom (Czech Republic), Unit 4 Agresso (The Netherlands), Update Software AG (Austria), Version One (UK), @Road (UK). Links to the member companies can be found on the Association's website www.europeansoftware.org. Or contact:
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