The German Information, Communications, and Technology Industry
Utilizing the Atlas of Economic Complexity to analyze Germany’s economic structure, market dynamics, and strategy space, I was able to learn about Germany’s economic growth and what sectors their economy is dependent on. A couple things that surprised me were that Germany has one of the most complex economies in the world and that their annual growth rate is projected to be about 2%, being one of the slowest growing economies. Unless Germany innovates and invents new products, the German economy is slow. A sector that stood out to me was the services sector and within that, the Information and Communications Technology industry (ICT).
According to the German Business Portal, knowledge driven services including IT-services, research and development as well as the logistics and communications industries drive 30% of the economy and are a source for future growth. The site also states that “Germany ranks second among the service exporting nations worldwide and first in the skill-intensive services like technical services, IT-services, financial services and environmental services.” A barrier to the service industry is language and national regulations that hinder exporting of these types of knowledge driven services.
The ICT industry has become a priority industry for the German government as it has the largest potential to grow the economy and for them to lead in this industry in the EU. The Digital Agenda of the BMWK addresses the need to grow and support digital infrastructure, digital economy, digital workplaces, innovative public administration, digital environments in society, education, research, science, culture and media, security, protection and confidence for society and business. The industry is not only expected to grow for the private sector but also as the public sector transitions to digitize their economy.
