[Index]
Geneva, 1 October 2004
Seminar will discuss
the role of governments and offshore outsourcing
in Internet enterprise development
· How is offshore outsourcing
changing the world ICT industry?
· How are western and eastern
European countries engaging in international
outsourcing in ICT?
· How can governments best contribute
to Internet enterprise development?
· What are the trends in e-regulation
in market and transition economy countries?
These and related questions
will be discussed during the Seminar on
“Fostering Internet Enterprise Development
by Governments and by Large Companies
through Subcontracting”, to be held
in Brussels, Belgium, on 5 October 2004.
The Seminar is organized by the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe
and by its Team of Specialists on Internet
Enterprise Development.
As businesses make use
of modern information and communication
technologies (ICTs) to develop their activities,
they evolve within framework conditions
set by governments. Therefore, the policies,
programmes and national e-strategies implemented
by governments have a major impact on
Internet enterprise development, which
they may foster or hinder. The Seminar
will discuss how governments are striving
to build an enabling environment that
is conducive to the development of entrepreneurship
by making use of modern ICTs. It will
cover the experience of industrialized
countries, emerging markets as well as
countries with economies in transition
and will outline likely future developments
in the relationship between government
and Internet enterprise development.
One of the major recent
trends in Internet enterprise development
worldwide is offshoring in the ICT services
industry and it is the subject of heated
debate in political, academic and business
circles. Offshore outsourcing means shifting
of parts of the services production process
to locations outside the home country
of the company, a process that started
in North America and is increasingly spreading
to west European ICT service companies.
India initially was the major destination
of offshore outsourcing from industrialized
countries and among emerging markets it
still remains the major exporter of this
type of services. However, in recent years
other exporters have emerged as suppliers
of offshore ICT services and have achieved
a strong rise in their foreign sales in
this area. Among them are countries in
eastern Europe and in the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS). The Seminar
will debate developments in offshoring
in the ICT industry and how emerging countries
can tap the opportunities of this rising
trend, as a way of strengthening Internet
enterprise development. The experience
with offshoring by both exporting and
importing countries will be discussed,
as well as the threats and opportunities
for emerging suppliers in this market.
The Seminar will be attended
by government officials, ICT company executives
and academics from western and eastern
Europe, North America, the CIS and Asia.
The key-note address will be given by
Ms. Signe Ratso, Deputy State Secretary
of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and
Communications of the Republic of Estonia.
She will discuss how Estonia emerged from
the transition period to become one of
the most advanced European countries in
terms of ICT adoption, while successfully
developing a host of on-line services
and exporting software.
The programme of the Seminar is available
at www.unece.org/ie/wp8/tsied.htm.
For further information on the event,
please contact Mr. Rolf Traeger at [email protected]
or at telephone number +41 (0) 22 917
5771.
Ref. ECE/IREEDD/04/P07