As we approach the upcoming Cloud Expo in cosmopolitan, worldly New York City, my thoughts turn again to the global dimension of IT and what IT means to the world.<\/p>\n
It seems axiomatic that IT drives a rising tide that lifts all boats, and the question to me is now who has the biggest boats today, but who will a couple of decades from now?<\/p>\n
This question helped spawn my Tau Index research about 18 months ago, in which I seek to create a relative measure of national IT expenditures. In doing so, I seek to find the most dynamic IT cultures; not the largest, and not necessarily the fastest growing by traditional, absolute measures.<\/p>\n
My rankings are based upon an integration of raw IT expenditures, per-person income, local cost-of-living, income disparity, and bandwidth. Several other societal and economic factors refine the numbers. The results can be surprising, but I think accurate in taking a look at present realities and future prospects.<\/p>\n
Which brings me to today’s topic: Greece. The country is in the news again as it struggles to form a new government and threatens to cause more disruption in the Eurozone. It seems that its economic problems will extend to the horizon and beyond.<\/p>\n
Keeping Up With the Neighbors
\nGreece does not do well in my rankings. Among 17 nations in \u201cwestern\u201d Europe that I surveyed, it finishes next to last, above only Italy. If categorized among the developing nations of Eastern and Central Europe, it fares even worse. Greece’s ranking is brought down by a relative lack of ICT expenditures, a high income disparity for its region, and relatively slow average Internet speeds. <\/p>\n
Contrast Greece with one of its neighbors, Bulgaria. Both have modest populations (about 11 and 7.5 million, respectively). Greece has a far larger economy \u2013 at about $330 billion, more than 6X of Bulgaria’s $50 billion. Greece’s per-person income is five times that of its neighbor; the country is still solidly considered to be a developed nation, while Bulgaria has a long way to go to achieve that distinction.<\/p>\n
In my rankings, Bulgaria does well in relative ICT expenditures and income disparity. Add to this one of the highest average Internet speeds in the world, and the infrastructure for a dynamic ICT and economic culture emerges. <\/p>\n
Which country has the brighter prospects? Which is more dynamic? Which do you think will be better off 20 years from now?<\/p>\n
I don’t mean to cajole or demean any of the countries in my research. My intent is to glean the diamonds from the rough, while also offering a comparative look at different regions and income tiers. In doing so, Bulgaria emerges as a superstar, trailing only South Korea in the overall world rankings, and leading all of Europe. <\/p>\n
Bulgaria has also committed itself to a number of ICT clusters and aggressively promotes its ICT capability \u2013 not a large factor in my research, but evidence of why and how it is emerging as a dynamic place.<\/p>\n
It’s certainly not too late for Greece and other laggards in my research to renovate their ICT cultures. I’m struck by how infrequently a more aggressive use of information technology is mentioned by world leaders as a key component of economic development. It seems to me that information technology should be the prime component. <\/p>\n
No More Jokes
\nIt’s far past time to move beyond lame jokes about how most world leaders \u201ccan’t open Facebook\u201d or \u201cask their teenager\u201d to help them with the modern tools of technology. Widespread use of ICT in all its forms increasingly distinguishes the world’s economic winners from its losers. <\/p>\n
It’s time to get serious about looking at it in a relative, productive way, rather than to relegate it to the nerd ghetto in economic discussions. <\/p>\n
I’m glad to share details of my rankings with anyone who’s interested.<\/p>\n