The Internet ecosystem is a vibrant, busy and ever-evolving environment: a vast expanse that connects an array of digital organisms in a complex, interdependent community.
In recent years, European policy initiatives have focused on nurturing this ecosystem, with a raft of new measures to achieve a European digital single market being placed front and centre of the policy discussion. Two of the most debated issues have been the need for greater investment in broadband networks and support for the provision of new ICT applications and services.
Getting both of these elements right is crucial and it is important that we devote time and attention to doing so. However, such discussions are generally kept separate and more often than not, presented as being entirely at odds with each other.
What this approach overlooks is the very real opportunity to create a virtuous circle between all those who contribute to the provision of digital services in Europe. If Europe’s digital policy fails to find the common ground between different issues, it is unlikely we will be able to move forward in a constructive way.
A thriving online environment demands robust infrastructure. Europe is already flourishing in this regard – the quality of broadband connectivity across the EU matches if not exceeds that of other global regions, including the U.S.
But where Europe is lagging behind is in making best use of this network.
In most European countries, there are still significant gaps when it comes to the use of digital applications such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine-to-Machine communications (M2M), or ‘Big Data’. But these developments all provide ample opportunity to support and grow Europe’s traditional industries and public services, whether in healthcare, energy, or mobility.
The use of enterprise cloud computing for instance, which by 2020 could increase EU GDP by €957 billion and create 3.8 million jobs, remains low. Just 19% of European companies used cloud services last year. This despite the fact that cloud services can help European businesses to focus on their core activities, streamline their operations, mobilize their workforce, and scale-up to new markets.
Europe has an incredible opportunity to develop and benefit from services supported by existing infrastructure. Not to do so is the equivalent of having invested in a five-lane motorway, but not producing the vehicles to travel on it.
And it isn’t just a question of wasting existing resources. We’re also spoiling our chance at developing better infrastructure and services in future. Cloud computing and other applications play a key role in driving demand for better broadband connectivity, and this in turn allows for the growth of existing businesses and creates space for new European digital service providers to emerge.
Embedding ICT services across Europe’s diverse industries will only benefit the wider economy. Applications such as the Internet of Things allow businesses to benefit from new digital solutions to foster competiveness and nurture growth. Whether you’re tackling Parisian rush-hour traffic congestion with the creation of an intelligent car-sharing service, or improving patient care at Lille Regional Teaching University Hospital with bedside technology that connects patients, relatives and healthcare professionals, the Internet of Things is already making a tangible difference to European lives.
But this needs to become the norm, not the exception. For this to happen, European policymakers have to start looking at the bigger picture.
The current twin-track approach to policies concerning telecommunications investment and support for applications such as cloud does not recognize or take advantage of the symbiotic relationship between broadband infrastructure, applications and content. There are concrete measures which can foster this inter-linkage; from addressing low-levels of ICT productivity through more demand-side driven goals in broadband plans, to fostering competition between all market players, and minimizing regulatory hurdles. You can read more about these in a Microsoft-commissioned report released today.
Different species in the digital ecosystem cannot be viewed in isolation anymore. They may not be the same, but we need to consider how each actor can help and benefit the others. Only when we realize that, often, issues which seems to be at odds are in fact two sides of the same coin, will Europe be able to move forward together towards a truly digital single market which benefits all.
