The global information and communications technology (ICT) industry has provided the supporting infrastructure for economic growth across the world in the last decade. Despite the setbacks following the failure of dot com enterprises, the ICT industry continues to show enormous growth potential.

ICT is a vital component of the infrastructural support needed for the development of any economy. Global trends in telecommunications indicate a shift toward open access, creation of a healthy competitive environment, and a consequent drop in prices. Although companies are likely to continue outsourcing IT services mainly to India, they are also expected to increasingly witness lucrative bids from Russia, the Philippines, Ireland, Israel, and China.

ICT spending is likely to grow impressively, with emerging markets in eastern Europe and Asia Pacific leading the way. Shares of IT and telecommunications sectors are almost equally important in the total ICT spending, with governments and businesses accounting for more than three quarters of the spending. Citizen’s affluence and the globalization of enterprises directly influence ICT consumption. Volume and quality of the labor pool and level of labor costs are critical in the ICT industry. The establishment and maintenance of the country’s high-performance networking infrastructure is vital for ICT companies, since their enterprise applications and operations depend on it.

Although it trails the United States in terms of IT consumption, Germany ranks high among developed countries in terms of usage of ICT products and services and its spending on ICT has been higher than the average of western European countries. The broad diffusion of ICT products and services in the public and private sectors has become a major factor for innovation and competitiveness in the German society.

Despite the German education system not possessing advanced technical skills and training, there are many talented professionals in Germany. To overcome the shortage of IT specialists in Germany, the Federal Government has launched the ‘Green Card Initiative’ to attract foreign students who have specific skills and the required technical expertise. Germany has pioneered the provision of a wide variety of communications technologies and is well on its way toward building a knowledge-based society. In fact, it is among the top ten countries globally and ranks mostly above or around the European average with respect to a series of knowledge society performance indicators. The country is experiencing a rapid increase in broadband connectivity. ICT-enabled process integration is the highest in the banking and financial services sector, where Internet usage is substantial.

From a slow start in 2001, the Germany ICT industry witnessed rapid and stable expansion till 2006. However, the German education system does not impart high levels of technical skills and training and hence, many ICT professionals do not have any specialized training. The German ICT industry comprises the telecommunications and the IT industry; and the former has dominated the ICT industry in terms of revenues and growth rate.