The good news is that the U.S. is maintaining its top-ranked position in worldwide IT competitiveness, according to the Business Software Alliance’s annual study.
The bad news is that in the area of infrastructure, the U.S. has slipped from second to seventh place because parts of the country still don’t have access to high-speed networks.
BSA’s annual IT study examines factors such as national supplies of skilled workers, technology infrastructure, intellectual-property protection, and governmental support of technology. The U.S. scored points for its large pool of IT workers, strong R&D environment and legal system, according to Denis McCauley, director of global technology research at the Economist Intelligence Unit, which conducted the study.
Countries ranking just below the U.S. include Finland, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands, the U.K., Australia, Denmark, Singapore and Norway.
Finland’s approach to R&D – the study’s most important category – enabled it to jump from 13th to second place this year, while improved infrastructure helped the Netherlands move from 10th to fifth spot.