Building Competitiveness and Business Performance with ICT

Foreword“ Information andCommunicationTechnologies arechanging ourworld.”Information and Communication Technologiesare changing our world. In an age of complexeconomic, societal and environmentalchallenges, those innovations, and how we usethem, could hold the key to European success.The EU’s Digital Agenda, launched in 2010,is about ensuring we can seize the digitalbenefits of the rapid technological change: soevery European can access new opportunities;every business boost its bottom line; everypublic authority offer more effective, efficientpublic services. Overall, this can deliver theinternational competitiveness that Europeneeds to stay ahead.We already know that ICT and the Internet canenhance growth, competitiveness, and jobs.And new emerging innovations – like the cloud,mobile solutions, and collaboration tools –promise a yet greater productivity boost. But toemerge from economic crisis, companies andgovernments need to identify how technologycan be most productive; and how it can besthelp Europe compete in a global race.The fact is, we need to fully understand whatemerging technologies mean for performance;and how to ensure that they bring most returnfor your euro. At the moment, it is moreimportant than ever to get the most out ofinvestment: whether public or private. Sowe need not just to make judicious decisionsabout new technologies, but also to build theenvironment where investment has the bestchance of success.I know that these benefits can be hinderedby complex and fragmented rules, high costs,or a lack of legal certainty and trust. And asEuropean Commissioner for the Digital Agenda,I strive to ensure Europeans benefit from thebest possible policy framework. For example:• We are reforming European DataProtection rules, including to make themmore fit for the cloud era;• Our European cloud strategy will helpbuild certainty and trust, consistentlyacross our single market;• We are cutting high roaming rates,including for data, and hence cutting thecost barriers to mobility solutions;• Our “Grand Coalition” for digital jobsand skills will help public authorities,educational institutions, and the privatesector work together to deliver theEuropean ICT talent we need— andimprove job prospects across thecontinent.Whatever the nature of your organisation, Ihope you find the insights in this report valuable.And I hope that, with these findings and withthe right policy framework, we can togetherenjoy the economic and social benefits of aconnected continent.Neelie KroesVice President of the European CommissionThat’s why this report by INSEAD, incollaboration with AT&T, is timely and welcome.It shows how businesses are jumping on boardemerging technologies, the huge opportunitiesthat appropriate ICT investment ICT candeliver, and the role that a sound public policyframework can play. I hope that the insightsin this study will aid European business andgovernments as they confront these questions.Building Business Performance and Competitiveness with ICT3