Booz: Netherlands in top 5 Information Technology countries
Finland is the world leader in the IT sector. Last year, Finland was still in third place, but this year switched places with neighboring Sweden. Singapore remained in second place. Netherlands is in fourth place, two places higher than last year. That concludes Booz & Company in the report 'The Networked Readiness Index 2013', prepared in collaboration with INSEAD, Cornell and the World Economic Forum.
The researchers note that the traditional Western economic powers are still far ahead in the field of ICT. Besides Finland other countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Great Britain, Denmark and the United States are in the Top 10. "These countries have succeeded in creating an environment in which ICT can be utilized in the most optimal way" the consultants say. Emerging economies, according to the report, however, are faced with weak ecosystems for digital trends and innovation, with the result that they have a huge backlog. A map of the worldwide scores:
Europe
The researchers suggest that the euro crisis has had a remarkable effect on the development of the IT sector in the European region. "There is an increasing difference observed in the performance of the Western European countries and the southern markets" is emphasized. "The use of information technology for economic growth in southern countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece is clearly hampered by political and structural instability".
The Netherlands
The Dutch ICT infrastructure structurally scores high on all investigated ICT dimensions. The only exception is the pillar 'Affordability'. This has to do with the fact that IT services are costly in relation to the average income level. Also, the government is still lagging behind in the implementation of ICT.