U.S. the most competitive country for technology

The U.S. remains the world's most competitive nation for information technology companies, while the country's IT infrastructure still ranks behind other nations', according to a study.

“Countries that have seen continued investment in key competitiveness enablers such as the R&D environment, talent and skills are notable gainers” in the global comparison, according to a study released today by the Washington-based Business Software Alliance and the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research unit of The Economist magazine.

Countries at the top of the list had “sustained investment” in IT from industry and their national governments during “the leanest financial times IT producers have known in a decade, and for many governments in at least a generation,” according to the study, which is conducted every two years.

With an overall score of 80.5 out of 100, the U.S. placed 12.5 points ahead of second-ranked Finland, to maintain the top spot it held in 2009. Singapore, Sweden and the U.K. rounded out the top five.

The U.S. led in three of the five categories, including research and development environment; human capital such as the education system's capacity to train technologists; and support for IT industry development, which includes government policies that support the technology sector as a whole, rather than specific technologies.

Work to be done

There is still work to be done for the U.S. to keep its lead in the future, Robert Holleyman, chief executive officer of BSA, said in an interview. The group represents technology companies including Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Symantec Corp.

The U.S. was 13.4 points behind leader Switzerland for the quality of its IT infrastructure and half a point behind Australia for the legal environment, which includes data privacy and spam protection.

The study was conducted prior to President Barack Obama's Sept. 16 signing of a patent reform law, which is expected to reduce the average 34 months it takes to issue a patent.

“The passage of the patent-reform bill will further strengthen U.S. leadership both in the R&D environment but also in the legal environment,” Holleyman said.

The U.S. ranked ninth in IT infrastructure behind countries that included Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Norway, Hong Kong and Canada mostly because broadband has yet to extend to rural and less developed areas in the U.S., Holleyman said.

Trade Agreements

The U.S. also is in a position to lead on issues such as the approval of pending trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia, Holleyman said. The agreements, which Congress must pass, will “level the playing field” for U.S. exports, he said.

The U.S. also could take more of a leadership role by developing a “national policy around data security,” Holleyman said. “One of the shortcomings of the U.S. in the legal environment relates to the fact that there's not a clear national standard for how we deal with” data “breaches and notifications and, importantly, how to build in incentives for companies to have more security.”