The consequences of war, disrupted supply chains and inflation are affecting many companies. The digital economy is coping better than most other sectors with the difficult framework conditions.
The digital economy in Germany will again grow significantly this year and the annual turnover will exceed the threshold of 200 billion euros for the first time. This is the result of an economic forecast by the digital association Bitkom for 2023, which was published in Berlin. According to the calculations, the German market for information technology (IT), telecommunications and consumer electronics should increase by 3.8 percent to 203.4 billion euros.
Inflation, which drives up sales in sectors such as the energy sector, hardly plays a role in the digital economy, said Bitkom President Achim Berg. In the ICT sector, prices have largely remained stable and in some cases even fallen. After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Bitkom-Ifo digital index, which reflects the business climate in the industry, collapsed. However, the index recovered towards the end of the year.
“Digitization is the answer to the multiple crises of our time,” said Berg. Digitization makes an economy more resilient, helps with global challenges such as climate protection and makes people’s lives easier.
The growth of the digital economy is also reflected in the number of employees. According to the Bitkom forecast, a good 1.35 million people will be working in this economic segment by the end of 2023, 3.4 percent more than in the previous year.
Information technology with the greatest growth
Information technology will record the greatest growth within the industry. According to current forecasts, 126.4 billion euros should be generated with IT in 2023, 6.3 percent more than in the previous year. Software sales in particular are skyrocketing. Here, the association expects an increase of 9.3 percent to 38.8 billion euros. The hardware segment is expected to increase by 5.3 percent to 39.7 billion euros, driven in part by increasing spending on wearables – such as smartwatches or fitness trackers – with an increase of 15.3 percent to 3.4 billion euros. Sales of classic personal computers, on the other hand, are shrinking slightly because companies in particular have stocked up on new devices during the Corona crisis and demand is saturated.
Providers of consumer electronics are facing the greatest challenges within the digital economy. Bitkom expects a drop of 7.3 percent here, also because television sets are less in demand. “The high inflation and economic uncertainty hit the consumer electronics business particularly hard,” said Berg. “Many people keep their money together and refrain from making major purchases here in particular.”
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
