British IT directors rate skills, security and Government investment as key to UK competitiveness.
The British Computer Society (BCS) has disclosed the results of a new survey that indicate that good professional skills, security technology and strong investment are essential factors for the UK to become more competitive within the global IT market.
Conducted between June and August among 319 British IT managers and directors who are BCS members, the survey also reveals that nearly 70pc of respondents feel that government investment in the sector is inadequate or not applied efficiently.
The survey results are being announced in advance of the BCS IT Professional Awards 2004 on October 19, at which excellence, professionalism and innovation among IT professionals in the UK will be honoured. David Clarke, CEO of the BCS, said: “These findings underscore how important it is to recognise British companies who are setting standards in developing leading edge technology or encouraging the development of well honed technical and business skills,"” said . “"It is clear that the industry itself believes these to be vital for its success. All of this brings even more weight and relevance to the upcoming IT Professional Awards."”
Key findings
Findings of the survey include: security technology is viewed as crucial to the UK industry’s development. About 75pc of respondents believe that providing solutions for security, or adopting security technologies in their products, will be key to the UK’s competitiveness in the global market. A further 53pc believe that the adoption or supply of personal computing products will hold similar success, while 36pc make the case for application software. IT Investment priorities in the next twelve months include: security products (26pc); application software (20pc) and personal (mobile) computing products (11pc) such as laptops and PDAs.
