Study: IT execs see value of domestic software industry

27.03.2006
Information technology (IT) professionals across Asia, particularly the Philippines, are recognizing the importance of a domestic software industry and the role the government should play in developing it. This is according to a study commissioned by global organization Business Software Alliance (BSA) where 800 IT professionals from eight countries in Asia were surveyed.

Conducted by independent research company Ipsos Public Affairs, the study only covered IT professionals from the private sector, with 100 respondents each from China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The Philippine statistics turned out to be very close to the average Asian view, said Seow Hiong Goh, BSA's director for software policy in Asia.

According to the study, 94 percent of the respondents from the Philippines believe that developing a domestic software industry is important to the IT industry, while 97 percent believe it is important to the overall economy. The top three benefits the Filipino respondents see in developing a local software industry are: increased competitiveness in the global economy, boosting the national domestic and export economy, and greater innovation through research and development.

The study revealed that 98 percent of the Filipino respondents agree that free competition is essential in spurring a healthy domestic software industry, where 87 percent of the respondents agree that the government should have an active role in competition. A great majority also said government role is important to the success of the industry in general.