The IT industry can revive the economy

It can lessen the impact of recession

Last week at the Computing Awards for Excellence, I was honoured to receive the Editor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK IT.

The UK IT industry has been growing at an exceptional rate over the past decade and it has been a privilege to witness this through my work as director general of Intellect, the trade association for the UK high-tech industry. From the modernisation of government services to the evolution of the telecoms market to the convergence of media content, the UK technology industry has been the driving force at the heart of these developments.

The industry is in a relatively stable position and can be a major help to the UK economy in this time of recession. But there are three key challenges that the industry must address if it is to match the developments of the past 10 years. We need to:

• Get the public sector to love what we do for them.
• Use technology to slow, stop and reverse the damaging changes to our climate.
• Create a technology-powered economic engine to drive us out of recession as quickly as possible.

The question is: How? Answers on a postcard, please. However, while I’m waiting for the post bag to arrive, I’ll tell you what I think.

Why doesn’t the public sector love what they get from us? Partly because of what we have done and partly what we allow others to say about us. We already have a good story to tell and it will become a better story. So why is it not being told?
Of course, “plane lands safely” isn’t a story, but we have not done a good enough job of voicing our point of view. Industry must do better, I must do better and public sector leaders must do better. We must give our side of the story on the next late project, cost overrun or even data loss. We must take every opportunity to highlight our successes.

Regarding climate change, the government has just amended its emissions-reduction target from 60 per cent to 80 per cent by 2050. This is a bold and necessary step. We have two parts to play. In the short term ­ that means now ­ we need to limit the damage. Technology can help by optimising efficiency, enabling new ways of doing things and reducing consumption of resources.

Recent studies conclude that a tonne of carbon dioxide “spent” with us saves three to five tonnes elsewhere. In the longer term, we need technology to deliver alternative, low-carbon energy and transport solutions. Maybe we can use technology to reverse climate change. We surely won’t without it.

A leading economist said to me recently (and I paraphrase) “retail, property and financial services are in the sick bay; now your sector will become really important to the UK economy”. Let’s hope we can help save the patients. Of course we need some customers other than the public sector, but my economist friend had a good point ­ one we have been making for a while. Action must be taken to help us become more important and useful to the economy.

Public sector procurement needs to become cheaper and more accessible to small firms. The government needs to make a small number of significant investments to create high-tech goods and services that can be exploited in the domestic and export markets, and that will also create jobs. Utility computing, for example, and broadband infrastructure, climate change technologies, technologies to tackle fraud and data loss, a centre of excellence in financial services IT. Doubling or trebling the Technology Strategy Board’s funds would be a good start.

And how about offering a big cash prize to the UK region that creates the best plan to develop labour pools of particular skills and talent ­ and so attracts companies to invest in the region?

All ideas welcome. I’ll be checking the postbag.

John Higgins is director general of Intellect, the trade association for the UK’s IT industry. Read the Intellect blog at http://intellect.com puting.co.uk