The Means To Compete: Benchmarking It Industry Competitiveness

Producing information technology (IT) matters to an economy. In countries where software, hardware or IT services are generated in abundance, the contribution to gross domestic product is upwards of 5%.1 In many countries, the IT sector has also been a major source of labor productivity growth. No wonder, then, that many governments have invested considerable energy in recent years to encourage the growth of local IT-producing industries. Not all countries possess the factors necessary to support a thriving IT sector, however. As reflected in the Economist Intelligence Unit's IT industry competitiveness index, a domestic industry's growth potential rests on the existence of favorable conditions in several interrelated areas.