Digital Planet - Executive Summary v1 - WITSA

Figure 1Worldwide ICT Spending by Segment8007006005004003002001000Telecommunications Spending1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997(US $B)2,0001,8001,6001,400Worldwide ICT Spending300250200150100500IT Services Spending1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997IT Hardware Spending3503002502001501005001992 1993 1994 1995 1996 19971,2001,00080060040012010080604020Software Spending01992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997Internal IT Spending3503002502001501005001992 1993 1994 1995 1996 199720001992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997PeriodOffice EquipmentIT Software SpendingIT Services SpendingInternal SpendingIT Hardware SpendingTelecommunications30252015105Office Equipment Spending01992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997Note: All amounts are in US$B values.Source: WITSA, ITU, International Data Corporation, 1998Does ICT spending growth affect overall economic growth,or vice versa? Does ICT spending create jobs — good,high-paying career opportunities that drive per-capitawealth? Does ICT translate to increased productivity forbusinesses and other organizations? Can ICT really providea level playing field for all citizens anywhere in the world?Several clear patterns emerge from the data. Spending oninformation and communications technology is a key accelerator,catalyst, and multiplier of a wide variety of social andeconomic measures. It drives company growth and jobgrowth. It increases access to information across geographical(north/south) and economic (rich/poor) boundaries.The Web has the potential to create a level playing field iftwo challenges are addressed: establishing an extensivetelecommunications backbone and satisfying the increaseddemands of the rapidly increasing user base. Analysis of thedata reveals a series of beneficial effects of ICT spending onnational economies and the world economy.• Company Starts. Investments in ICT create newcompanies — a net increase of 90,000 companies inUnited States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom,Italy, France, Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden since1992. In the United States alone, an average of 7,200new tax-paying and employing ICT companies havebeen added in each of the past five years.• Job creation. Employment in the U.S. “software andservices” segments alone has increased by over 380,000in the past five years. Canada, France, and Finlandhave seen similar expansion with increases of 51,000,7,200, and 1,200 jobs respectively.Page 2Digital Planet — The Global Information Economy