WWWorld economy boosted by the Internet

12th October 2012

Despite the global economic upheaval during the past few years, there is, according to an OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) report, one bright spot on the horizon: the Internet.

The explosion in communications networks, Wi-Fi, mobiles, smartphones etc, etc, etc, means that ICT (information and communications technology) is no longer simply a tool for industries to do their jobs more efficiently, it is driving growth and job creation across the globe as an industry in its own right.

In the report, OECD Internet Economy Outlook 2012, data shows that the top 250 ICT firms in the world (ranked by revenue) increased employment by 4% in 2010 and 6% in 2011.

Internet companies – where the largest increases in company employment (mainly Amazon and Google, both increasing staff by 50%) were – transcend national boundaries so when they expand, it’s good news for the world economy.

The report also notes that a squeeze on budgets in 2009 meant that ICT services, and the companies that can provide them, were in a stronger position to recover and return to growth (which they did early in 2010). And as manufacturing continues to move to countries where labour is cheap (and in some cases less well-regulated than the developed world), ICT, with its high skills base, is expected to remain buoyant within the OECD countries.

As more and more companies cut costs and trim budgets, ICT firms are ideally placed to advise on, and in many cases provide, these efficiencies. With smartphone and tablet use on the rise and mobile Internet networks set to become more sophisticated (4G), the demand for, and spending on, ICT services will increase.

So companies with the infrastructure (platform availability, software development, sales teams, training, support and more) to meet any increase in demand are certain to be, themselves, very much in demand.