Software AG has recently (June 22, 2009) released a survey carried out by the Technical University of Darmstadt comparing a number of high-tech regions world-wide. The survey compared developments in Silicon Valley (USA), Bangalore (India), Oulu (Finland) and Dresden and the Rhine-Main-Neckar area in Germany. The survey showed how close cooperation between industry, science and politics provides a significant development impulse to specific industries and a strong regional competitive advantage.
Regional and national development of industry clusters are a fundamental component of modern strategic economic policy. Impediments common to many European clusters include international awareness, access to venture capital, and lack of political support including an underdeveloped European software patent system.
The Rhein-Main-Neckar region is the largest high-tech cluster stretching from Frankfurt to Heidelberg and is home to Germany’s biggest software companies, Software AG and SAP. Rhine-Main-Neckar boasts more software companies than any other high-tech cluster and, outside of Silicon Valley, more high-tech employees and significantly higher revenue. However, the region has ICT employment levels and ICT revenue at 20 per cent of those in Silicon Valley.
Cluster Revenue Companies Employees Area (Sq KM)
Rhein-Main-Neckar €42 billion 8,000 80,000 5,000
Silicon Valley €180 billion 7,000 500,000 4,000
Oulu (Finland) €5 billion 800 18,000 400
Bangalore (India) €2 billion 1,500 80,000 500
Karl-Heinz Streibich, CEO of Software AG, said: "My aim, together with the state government and regional partners, is to establish the Rhein-Main-Neckar area as a globally recognised IT cluster. We have the critical mass in terms of established IT companies, the political will, and a major differentiator in comparison to other IT clusters, that is our proximity to our user industries.”
Streibich continued: "Examples such as Silicon Valley or Bangalore, and Rhine-Main-Neckar, show that leading large international software firms develop within clusters. As such, clusters and alliances offer a way forward to the European software industry, in both driving growth and remaining independent of current industry consolidation. They form an indispensable part of a successful economic policy, in Germany and the European Union."
Marco Gerazounis, Senior Vice President, Software AG, Middle East, said: “The survey findings are relevant to Software AG's overall expansion strategy, particularly in new growth destinations such as the Middle East. This growth model is especially true in the GCC region, which is emerging as one of the most exciting clusters for the global IT industry with the presence of advanced IT infrastructure, investor-friendly policies and increasing demand for IT-based solutions."
The significance of the contribution of ICT to wealth creation in Europe is often underestimated. In the German state of Hessen, including Darmstadt and Frankfurt, ICT accounts for 95,000 jobs and €31 billion revenue annually, more than 50 per cent higher than the chemical industry and 100 per cent more than the corresponding automobile industry figures.
Further information and full results of the survey can be accessed at: www.softwareag.com
