UK ranked higher than Germany and France for IT industry competitiveness

Country comes fifth in global IT industry survey from the BSA

UK firms will outperform many of their European rivals, thanks to the country's embrace of technology.

The UK was placed fifth by the Business Software Alliance in its Global IT Industry Competitiveness Index 2011 published today, up one position on the previous index and outranking other large European economies such as Germany and France.

The good news for British businesses is that achieving a high ranking isn't just about making the country appealing for technology vendors, but creating a business environment that encourages IT-enabled business improvement, said Julian Swan, director of European compliance marketing at the BSA.

"Britain has invested in mobile and internet networks, which deliver benefits to every organisation," he told Computing.

Through its commitment to investing substantially in superfast broadband projects, the British government is laying the foundations for future international competitiveness, he added.

The release of the BSA index follows hot on the heels of other research highlighting the positive impact that investment on IT has for businesses.

A recent study by an economist at Oxford Economics predicted that European economies would receive a €760bn (£663bn) productivity boost by matching US levels of IT investment.

Elsewhere, the Council for Industry and Higher Education recently reported that the technology and content industries contribute £102bn to the UK's economy each year.

"It's becoming increasingly clear that investment in IT is becoming critical for the overall health of the UK economy," said Swan.

The BSA Global IT Industry Competitiveness Index assesses countries across six categories: overall business environment; IT infrastructure; human capital; R&D environment; legal environment; and support for IT industry development.