IT sector on rebound: Iemma

The IT sector has recovered from the dot com crash and has well and truly bounced back according to NSW Premier, Morris Iemma.

Speaking at the keynote to this year’s CeBIT show in Sydney, Iemma said that after five years in the doldrums, the sector was now “back with a vengeance.”

Citing Gartner figures on global IT spending, Iemma said the opportunity for local providers was now immense. Some US$1.7 trillion was expected to be spent by 2009, effectively creating a 4.7 percent per annum growth rate for the industry, he said.

Supporting this view, Joerg Schomburg, senior VP for Deutsche Messe – the parent company of Hannover Australia – said that in the five years CeBIT had been running locally, the IT trade show had grown 2.5 times in both exhibition space and exhibitor numbers.

The show now featured 700 exhibitors from 23 countries, with some 30,000 people expected to attend over the show’s three days, he said.

Intense activity in the finance market with IT companies making acquisitions for record prices was proof Australia was not falling behind in the ICT bounce-back, Hanover Australia MD, Jackie Taranto, said.

She pointed to Google’s setting up of a local research centre for Google Maps, and acquisition of an algorithm from UNSW student Ori Allon, as proof of a strong demand for local IT skills and intellectual property.

“Technology was greatest business enabler of all time, enabling across all sectors and strong economies all around the world,” she said.