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Leader: Will IT give the economy a break?
In some areas there is more of a love-hate relationship with tech...

By silicon.com

Published: Thursday 13 October 2005

Many parts of the economy are stuttering and there are those - not least in the appropriate government departments - who are looking to IT as an answer.

Nothing new there. But how realistic is the rallying cry?

Let's get to the government-backed research in a moment. If we take a whistle-stop tour of some of the main sectors of the economy, we see difficulty. Retail is in crisis, apart from a handful of either massive or niche players. Travel has been hit hard, across various modes - the airline industry comes to mind (and makes us wince).

In manufacturing, times are hard too - consider how many car-makers are profitable, just to use an obvious example or which areas the Chinese won't be able to do 'the same for less'.

Oil and energy are in the middle of a crisis, one which has knock-on effects for almost everyone, even if dividends from the big listed providers won't end up suffering too much.

And to turn to media, we see a world being revolutionised by new business models brought about by new platforms, digital distribution and changing consumer expectations.

It's a challenging world out there.

Ironically two of the areas that seem to be coping best are the two largest in terms of technology spend - the public sector and financial services. (And it's no accident that these are areas that silicon.com is now drilling down into further.)

So it's absolutely no surprise that we hear government minister Alun Michael tell us that well-planned use of IT can help the UK increase productivity and compete in the global economy.

Though whether a unit at the London School of Economics had to call their recent paper It ain't what you do it's the way that you do IT we'll leave to you.

And to boot, UK IT trade body Intellect backs up the minister's calls. We'd expect that - and we also support it.

That comes with caveats. Wanton spend on tech and communications is pointless, as much of what made up the late 1990s bubble told us. But just consider those sectors in turmoil again.

Embracing IT is now central to the public sector and has long been the norm in all parts of FS. And while some might complain about the state of retail or media, let us consider how some are prospering in this area as they embrace new technologies. Online retail sales are actually still growing strongly - which puts the plight of the high street in even greater perspective - while progressive publishers have used the internet profitably while also improving their offering.

Industries that rely on the physical are tougher to transform - whether that's turning steel into cars, moving people thousands of miles through the air or pulling oil and gas from the ground - but IT plays its part in making all those more efficient and will continue to do so.

We can meet the challenges visible all around us and still roll our eyes at some tech hype. Let's never throw out that baby with the bathwater.