Europe’s global competitiveness depends on a vibrant high-tech sector. Technology plays a crucial role for nearly every industry, particularly as machines and products get smarter and intelligent networks that coordinate the efficient use of resources spread rapidly. A healthy high-tech sector is an engine for innovation that is a prerequisite for giving European companies a leg up in a highly competitive environment.
A new study by A.T. Kearney, Rebooting the European High-Tech Industry, highlights that already today little more than 10 per cent of the global ICT revenues of the top 100 information and communications technology (ICT) companies are generated by European companies. Only nine of the top 100 ICT companies worldwide have headquarters in Europe, a number that has dwindled in recent years in the wake of both M&A and faster growth by Asian and U.S. companies. Many European industries are dependent on non-European high-tech players—in terms of both production and research and innovation. The European Commission has officially recognized technology’s importance to Europe’s future growth, competitiveness, and mastery of upcoming social challenges, but policy makers’ efforts have not done enough so far to stop the decline of the European high-tech sector.
Key Findings
- Europe’s role in high tech sector is endangered, though it is essential for Europe’s overall competitiveness
- Only nine of the global top 100 high-tech firms are still headquartered in Europe, says A.T. Kearney study
- Europe is losing ground due to shifting demands, fragmented markets, shortages of funding and skilled labor, a lack of strategic foresight, and a lack of a coordinated effort across Europe
- A.T. Kearney calls for a three planked approach for Europe—Enable,
Focus, Excel—where it puts the enablers in place, rallies around a
focused European master plan for high-tech growth, and excels in execution with foresight, innovation and partnership
Read the full article here: http://www.atkearney.be/news-media/news-releases/news-release/-/asset_publisher/00OIL7Jc67KL/content/europe-must-reboot-ailing-high-tech-sector-to-drive-wider-competitiveness-says-new-study/10192
