Quo Vadis IT?

Finland and Bavaria – two European regions that have achieved significant success with telecommunications and information technology. What can Finns and Germans learn from each other, particularly in light of the challenges facing Europe during and after the current economic and financial crisis?

Combining ICT and industrial strengths

The panel agreed that ICT technology will make a strong contribution in the future to increased efficiency in the service industry, public administration and energy consumption. In so doing, it will also boost overall productivity. ICT has significant potential for the European economies, especially when combined with Europe's traditional industrial strengths such as embedded systems in machinery and plant engineering.

Information technology is also crucial for our carbon footprint. It contributes to more efficient energy consumption, energy transmission and the use of renewables. However, the experts were of the opinion that governments must step up their long-term involvement here. Once the current economic and financial crisis is over, it will be down to individual European countries to lead by example, putting Europe at the forefront through their activities.