Since 2002, the Global Information Technology Report is being published annually by the World Economic Forum in partnership with INSEAD. The GITR monitors ICT advances worldwide, and raises awareness of the impact of ICT on countries long-term competitiveness and societal well-being. This is done through identification, measurement, and benchmarking of the key drivers of national capacity.
The GITR 2012, released just last week, analysed ICT readiness in 142 economies and put Sweden on top of the global IT ranking. The rankings are based on a Networked Readiness Index framework. The framework gauges the conduciveness of regulatory framework for ICT uptake, prevalence of affordable ICT infrastructure, and respective ICT usage capacities of individuals, businesses, and governments.
Based on 10 pillars comprising of over 50 variables for ICT environment and impacts, the GITR rankings are hardly surprising as the advanced economies, mostly Nordic countries of Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway feature in the top 10. At number two spot is the city state Singapore, which is leading Taiwan (11th), South Korea (12th), Hong Kong (13th) New Zealand (14th), Australia (17th), and Japan (18th) in the Asia-Pacific.
The United States enjoys number eight ranking in the world. China leads the BRICS nations by occupying the 51st spot. In the South Asia region, India tops with a ranking of 69, followed by Sri Lanka at 71, Pakistan at 102, and Bangladesh at 113.
On various counts, Pakistans ICT scenario is abysmal compared to the region. Unresolved sector issues like ICT laws, internet usage & broadband penetration, internet security, and government automation, and broader issues like literacy rates and contract enforcement, are at work here. Alarmingly, Pakistan ranks at 113 in terms of the impact of ICT on access to basic services, which is the lowest in the SA region.
The GITR 2012 also touched upon important developments occurring in the ICT arena. The report mentions increasing hyper-connectivity in the world, which goes beyond the communication means and impacts personal and organisational behaviour.
"The exponential growth of mobile devices, big data, and social media are all drivers of hyperconnectivity. Hyperconnectivity is redefining relationships between individuals, consumers & enterprises, and citizens & the state. It is introducing new opportunities to increase productivity and well-being. However, there are significant risks to security and privacy, individual rights, and access to information", noted the report.
The report mentions the cloud computing services as catalyst for ICT convergence. More and more telecom carriers are expected to move their IT systems and data centres into the cloud, which would be expedited when the telecommunications and IT sectors agree upon and develop uniform standards for cloud development.
The report highlights that ICT convergence is significantly impacting on consumers, industries, and governments. Consumer experiences in entertainment, shopping, healthcare and travel are becoming seamless in an ecosystem of smart devices, data networks and cloud services. The industry is benefitting through increased employee productivity, reduced travel overheads and customised products.
Towards the end, the report points out the governments role in increasing ICT readiness & convergence. The government must encourage competition and remove barriers to investment; offer financial incentives to firms that deploy ICT services; and directly invest in ICT infrastructure and services.