As German IT Sector Grows, Bitkom Sees an Upturn

By: Kevin J. O'Brien

Published: March 14, 2007 in the International Herald Tribune

This article is about the growing IT sector in Germany. It discusses the German movement to increase government spending on computer and engineering education, so that their companies and their workers can compete in the era of globalization. Germany has the second largest IT sector in Europe, second only to Great Britain.

In the past, German IT sales have been restrained by the nation's “Mittelstand” layer of midsize companies. These companies generate about 80 percent of the nation’s economic growth and have had less appetite for hardware, software and IT services than service industries in Britain.

However, the pressures of globalization are beginning to reach these midsize and smaller German companies, and now, according to experts, many of those companies are finally turning to technology for cost-saving advantages.

This article is important because it shows that in order for countries to compete in the globalized world, education and investment in R&D is essential. This trend is global with increased spending in almost all developed countries in these two areas. The thinking is that in order to have competitive workers, now that the playing field is leveling, they must have the highest quality of education.