The ICT hypersector in Spain experienced an increase of 2.1% in 2014

First change in trend after having fallen 18% in the period 2008-2013. The revenue figure from audiovisual content is 8,490 million, which represents an increase of 4.9% compared to the previous year.

The Spanish ICT and digital content market experienced an increase of 2.1% in 2014, reaching approximately a turnover of 86 billion euros, which represents the first change in trend after having fallen by 18% in the period 2008-2013. However, telecommunications and consumer electronics remain in recession.

To AMETIC, Multisector Association of Electronics, Information and Communication Technologies, Telecommunications and Digital Content Companies, the data are good since it is the first symptom of recovery, however, they emphasize, "we cannot ignore that the ICT sector in North America has grown by 4.7% in 2014 (and continues to accumulate positive years), that in the Asia/Pacific area it has grown by 6.3% or that in LatAm it has experienced an increase of 6.7%.”

The technology employers assure that the governments of the European Union are not resolving the need for a Digital Economy in time. “We have to actively push to get them to fulfill their obligation and complete a proper design as soon as possible.” And it ensures that business leadership is necessary in the digital transformation process of our productive sectors. "We cannot wait for the Administrations to do it for us. Because they are not going at the right pace." Therefore, he understands that it is essential to restore the value of the figure of the entrepreneur, "as a generator of employment and wealth." For AMETIC, the State's educational machinery does not produce the professionals that the sector demands, "which is hindering the development of the digital economy." And they emphasize, "it is still not understood that the innovation fostered by the digital revolution is a matter of State and that investments must be multiplied immediately."

According to José Manuel de Riva, president of AMETIC, “Europe has lost a position of industrial leadership and, furthermore, our growth rate is lower than that of our competitors, so it does not seem possible to recover this leadership in the short term with the current regulatory, structural (particularly education) and market conditions.”

Investment in productive sectors in the USA is 50% higher than investment in ICT in Europe. Only 1.7% of European companies have been intensively digitally transformed. 41% of European companies have not even started on the path.

Audiovisual

There are three business segments that concentrate 90% of the income. Audiovisual Content (television, film and video), Business to Business (Platforms for electronic transactions, professional digital content and tools for professional software development for digital content) and e-Content (e-gambling, e-commerce, e-learning and e-advertising) with a weight within the sector of 35%, 20% and 36% respectively.

In the case of Audiovisual Contents, the revenue figure is 8,490 million, and its increase compared to last year has remained at 4.9%. Business to Business reaches a revenue volume equal to 4,799.3 million euros, an increase of 10% compared to 2014.

consumer electronics

According to the data managed by AMETIC, we can observe a notable decrease in income in consumer electronics, going from 924.8 million euros in the first half of 2014 to 846.5 million in the same period of 2015, which represents a drop of 8.5%.

However, two aspects can be interpreted as anticipating a change in trend. On the one hand, the Image subsector, which represents 74.8% of the total, has had a smaller drop in income than the global calculation, that is, 7.5%. On the other hand, good performance can be seen in the Recording Media sector, which represents approximately 6% of the total and has had an increase in income of 5.6% compared to the first half of last year.

ICT awareness

AMETIC regrets that the low social, administrative, business and political awareness of ICT has triggered negative factors such as a fragmented market, far from becoming an effective digital single market; a European Digital Agenda with insufficient impact; weak ecosystems of digital industries in Europe; as well as a significant loss of intellectual capital. And they affirm that the most discouraging thing is that "without a digital revolution we will not be able to increase our competitiveness, being increasingly distant from other advanced economies."

What are the pillars that would support a faster, more efficient and prosperous advance towards the digital economy? According to AMETIC, an operational European Digital Single Market as soon as possible; the determined promotion of the ICT Industry in Europe; and the Digital transformation of the productive sectors, of Society and of the AA.PP.

Although political discourse, wherever it comes from, includes in its doctrine the words “innovation”, “digital”, “Internet”,…. "The reality - they assure the technological employers - is that no Government has yet been bold enough to make the Digital Economy a bet for our country. And we still observe that there is difficulty in assimilating it properly."

To achieve this, in the opinion of AMETIC, legislation and regulation oriented towards growth and investment would be necessary; orientation towards digital transformation and evaluation of results; and greater speed of change.

"And if we are asked who the actors are, we must necessarily say that we are at a time in which businessmen have to assume greater leadership and responsibility in the process, since it is obvious that governments are not able to keep up with the pace of this revolution. The European Union cannot afford to fail again in its strategic plans," they say.

In which direction should Spain go?

Spain appears in 34th place in the NRI index (World Economic Forum index) for 2015, which was calculated considering 143 countries. “Our country cannot settle for such a discreet position in the Digital Economy,” they say from AMETIC.

To achieve this, these are the recommendations made by AMETIC for Spain: have an infrastructure strategy oriented towards investment; greater investment from the private sector in its digital transformation; and development of multi-sector driving projects, supported by ICT, that improve competitiveness and contribute to the development of the Industry (Smart Cities, Industry 4.0, Intelligent transport infrastructures, Intelligent tourism,...). They also consider that the Spanish educational machinery is not adequately training the professionals of the future that companies demand and this must be corrected. Finally, AMETIC points out that a public-private effort is necessary to increase investment in R&D&I.