Information and communication technologies Essay

Even though the ICT sector is itself worth between 6-8% of the EUs GDP in the last few years, ICTs argon much than more eventful than that foreshadow suggests, as they are central for the current situation and emergence of much more spheres of contemporary society as a whole and of palm of study economies in Europe in particular. Today ICTs play a completely-important(a) role in improving competitiveness without the providence in the face of globalisation, by boosting innovation, creativity and efficiency scientific and technological development in various areas (including medicine and physics) modernising sectors as diverse as education, security, aptitude and transport, and making Europes public sector more effective tackling affectionate challenges and improving quality of life and meeting the challenge of an develop society.The EU insurance polity framework for the information society and media i2010- besides promotes a European Information Society for all c itizens2. Actions implemented under this i2010 priority aim to ensure that the benefits of the information society can be enjoyed by everyone (e-Inclusion). Areas of eInclusion policy, as defined in i2010, are ageing, eAccessibility, wideband gap ( everyplacecoming the so called digital divide), inclusive eGovernment, digital literacy and culture.Actions under this priority also aim to encourage provision of better public service of process (eGovernment and eHealth). hither are the main spheres where ICTs have even bigger potential and are expect to develop in the short run Growth and competitiveness ICT is a driver for productivity. The gains from ICT stem commitly from investment in ICT, a fast growing and innovative ICT sector, and indirectly from improvements in channel processes through wider use of these technologies across the economic system.According to a study3, the overall contri andion to tug productivity growth from ICT investments and from technical progress in the production of ICT goods and operate accounted for about 40% of EU labour productivity growth over the second half of the 1990s, compared with 60% in the US. The ICT sector, as a whole, performs sensibly swell up in comparison with the US in monetary value of size of it (10% of GDP in the US against 8% in the EU, and also in productivity and employment creation), but less so in terms of contribution to R&D (in the US, ICT account for 30% of R&D).However, in these developments the EU has suffered from lower and delayed investments in ICT and, possibly, a less in effect(p) use of ICT. Using Information and Communication Technologies can also moreover be used to manage finite natural resources and energy utilization much more efficiently, so that improving milieual protection without dimension back economic development4. Convergence More and more, convergence of technologies, infrastructure and applications is evolution to provide consumers with an access to a great dive rsity of attractive service and rich media and message on a wide bunk of devices. accessibility of content and work is becoming critical as the market moves to a phase where value-added services and content are key to revenue growth. The policy focus for 2010 give probably be the creation of a good environment that stimulates the competitive deployment of new converging services. Broadband ne 2rks EU countries are global leader in high-speed internet. The number of fixed broadband internet connections in the EU substantiates growing 14 million more in 2008, reaching over 114 million in total.Denmark and the Netherlands are gentleman leaders in broadband, with take up over 35% of population. They lead, along with Sweden, Finland, the UK, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany and France, the US, which was at 25% in July 2008. This has produced a critical mass and thither is already evidence that markets for high-quality content and service development are winning off. Furthermore, new developments in wireless broadband have made spectrum approachability crucial to new services and applications, and the efficient management of spectrum key to upgrade broadband developments.Finally, the enhancement of interoperability and security are essential to and accession consumers superior and facilitate steep. In the beginning of 2009 1 billion euro has been earmarked by the European Commission to servicing rural areas5 get online, bring new jobs and help businesses grow. Competitiveness, job creation and protection, sustainable development, spatial balance and fighting the digital divide are the main goals that the broadband internet access could achieve. limit and information society servicesConvergence is creating a promising range of opportunities for the development of content and information society services making the some of ICT. The challenge for the single information space is to pee-pee the appropriate environment that will meet both business and consu mer expectations while promoting the European content intentness. This requires a competitive environment, where interoperability allows cross-platform competition and usage. This also requires a clear European regulatory framework with respect to content regulation and a stiff environment for the distribution of digital content.Ensuring consumer acceptance pass by pass access to a great variety of flexible content and services adapted to user needs. Improving security and privacy as well as minor protection and media literacy are needed to allow European citizens to benefit salutaryy from these content and services. Innovation and search In order of magnitude Europe to catch-up with the levels of productivity growth of early(a) regions of the world, it should strengthen innovation and cut down these efforts in those sectors, like the ICT, where the value added is the highest.A pre-requisite is to increase investment in research at present the EU devotes only 18% of researc h expenditure to ICT whereas the leading OECD countries allocate more than 30%6. In impregnable amounts, Europes investment in ICT research is only two thirds of that of Japan and one third of that seen in the USA. Research and development is making technology simpler to use, more available and affordable providing new ICT-based solutions that are trusted, reliable, and elastic to users contexts and preferences. However, research alone is not sufficient as it needs be consolidated by organisational innovation.ICT must be widely adopted and support by adequate reorganisation of business processes and by a accomplished workforce. Businesses in the EU are increasingly adopting advanced ICT and are pleasant in on-line transactions but are lagging crumb in the adoption of integrated business applications (particularly the European small and strong point enterprises). Skills and work The development of the ICT sector and the wide-spread diffusion and use of ICT in the economy and i n the society bring opportunities for new employment and more notional and fulfilling jobs.Changing needs for ICT and e-Business skills (e-Skills) in the future heavily depend on innovation and the introduction of new technologies. The greatest challenge is to assess mod innovations and understand what new skills will be needed, to be able to portend and manage changes and be effective, quick and efficient in creating new, innovative jobs. e-Business though nearly all enterprises are connected to the internet, a large portion of the business community is only beginning to exploit the potential of ICT.E-commerce is expected to continue to grow rapidly. More efforts are needed to improve business processes in European enterprises and fully integrate ICT providing new opportunities to reduce their be and improve performance. Factors which will contribute to increase e-Business include promotion of take-up of e-business solutions and best practices security, addressing privacy and security concerns, availability of content and new services, increase automation of business processes, acceptance of payment for content and services, e-invoicing and e-procurement. Public services Public services are at the heart of the European favorable model, playing a key role in growth, innovation and cohesion. in that location is increasing evidence that a better exploitation of ICT through have improvement of facilities, working processes and skills can significantly enhance public services organisation provision. However, the potential remains unfulfilled due to technical, effectual or organisational obstacles.For example, government services are widely available online but the demand is not sufficient and efficiency gains from back-office reorganisation are shut away largely underexploited. Specific challenges relate to friendly user-centric services, back-office streamlining, interoperability of key infrastructures and facilities, identity management, or privacy an d trust. e-Inclusion Increasing fix of ICT on social inclusion and date creates new opportunities. Significant progress on ICT penetration across all EU regions and socio-demographic groups helps to decrease disparities.However, some specific challenges concern accessibility of ICT equipment and easy interfaces, digital literacy or improved confidence and support for ICT use. Some important concerns are design for all of ICT equipment human mediation and support for e-services transcendent use of affordable value-added e-content and services accessible and efficient solutions for threats to privacy, security and deadly content threats. Quality of life and environment ICT have a direct impact on the environment but also indirect social and economic consequences as a result of its application.ICT positive impact on the environment includes environmental modelling (forecasting), the miniaturisation of devices (which reduces the resources needed for manufacture and distribution), small/nano technology and embedded systems which improve disaster management, and reduce the environmental impact of farming and fishing. ICT also enables a less resource-intensive production, thereby trim down the environmental impact of economic activities. e-Work contributes to environmental sustainability as travelling to work is reduced. modern transport planning systems can ease traffic congestion and hone transport capacity. ICT can also contribute to quality of life by delivering more efficient and more effective public services and goods to individuals which in turn can improve their life chances. ICT support for comprehensive life-long cultivation policies (through e-learning, digital competence actions) can enable all individuals to adapt and keep the pace with the continuous social, economic and technological changes. Climate and energy policyThe combined mode and energy policy is central at the EUs political programme. Its aism are to bring about alternative s hipway of running our daily lives so that Europe can continue to create growth and jobs while leading the global effort to tackle climate change and energy efficiency. Europe faces three main challenges in this field tackling climate change, guaranteeing secure, sustainable and competitive energy, and making the European economy a model for sustainable development in the 21st century7.The resolve of the European Council8 to transform Europe into a low-carbon, high energy efficiency economy means that the continued growth of the European economy, essential to achieve full employment and inclusion, needs to be decoupled from energy consumption. The current trends are unsustainable. Indeed, if nada were to change, final energy consumption in the EU is predicted to increase up to 25% by 2012, with a substantial rise in glasshouse gas emissions.ICTs have an important role to play in reducing the energy intensity and increasing the energy efficiency of the economy, in other words, in r educing emissions and contributing to sustainable growth. In addition to that, ICTs will not only improve energy efficiency and combat climate change but will also stimulate the development of a large leading-edge market for ICT enabled energy-efficiency technologies that can foster the competitiveness of European industry and create new business opportunities.