Matrix - Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel

ICT Horizon Panel

ICT HORIZON PANEL

There is no doubt that ICT is one of the most significant - and growing - sectors of the Northern Ireland economy. Over the past ten years the sector has continued to develop, based largely on availability of appropriately skilled people. Today the sector employs some 11,000 people and retains significant future growth potential. This is a healthy situation by any standard.

However, I and the other ICT Horizon Panel members are concerned that the potential of the sector in Northern Ireland is not being maximised at present. The evidence indicates that the 11,000 employees working in ICT are spread thinly across about 750 businesses suggesting that the majority of companies in the region remain small and primarily centred on selling products and services to the Northern Ireland public sector. There is no doubt that we lag behind other leading ICT regions in several respects.

But that situation is changing and there is also no doubt that we can capitalise on the fact that the sector is maturing. ICT in Northern Ireland is now in a state of transition, moving away from low cost competitiveness towards specific niche and strategic capabilities and the development of higher value added products and services. It is a dynamic sector - we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Northern Ireland’s ICT firms have overcome marked disadvantages in terms of geography and size to become net exporters. This is quite a significant achievement, and suggests that there is genuine scope to build in Northern Ireland an ICT economic entity which – if focused on our real niche strengths and capabilities – can compete with the best anywhere in the UK, Ireland or across Europe. There are opportunities for commercial success in the ICT sector emerging over the short, medium and long term, and through the work of the ICT Horizon Panel – reporting to MATRIX – I am confident that we can create the context in which the ICT sector can make an increasingly significant contribution to the growth and success of the Northern Ireland economy.