Abelia and Øystein Eriksen Søreide on the digitalisation of Norway
Hopefully, 2022 will not just be the year we get shaken off by the corona pandemic. The year could also be the start of a Norwegian effort to digitize. It requires political will.
At the end of 2021, Minister of Local Government and District Affairs Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp) promised to speed up the digitalisation process. This is good news for Norwegian business and industry. Abelia’s Conversion Barometer shows that Norway is already starting to fall behind our neighboring countries in the digitalisation competition.
If Gram is to succeed in accelerating digitalisation, the Minister of Abelia recommends three good New Year’s resolutions:
- Begin work on a growth plan for the technology industry
- Focus on broadband development
- Establish more study places within ICT
Our country is full of industries with their own strategies and ambitions. Our technology companies should be no exception
The technology industry needs a growth plan. Our country is full of industries with their own strategies and ambitions. Our technology companies should be no exception. The Swedish unicorn companies all have in common that they have adopted new technology; Skype, Spotify, Klarna and Mojang are today the workplace of tens of thousands of people.
In order to develop the industry further, a concrete plan should therefore be drawn up for which goals we are to achieve. It is not only measured in the number of unicorn companies from the ICT sector. The goals can also be corresponding to new jobs and study places within ICT, ICT’s share of exports and the share of the workforce with cutting-edge expertise in ICT.
In the work with the state budget for 2023, money must be set aside for a significant development of broadband. The technology industry and civil society depend on high-speed internet to develop and operate the new systems that in the future will make everyday life easier and more productive.
Abelia wants to see the Minister of Local Government and District Affairs show a willingness to prioritize digital infrastructure already in connection with the revised national budget in May. In 2022, it is planned to spend about 40 billion on road construction and operation. In comparison, only NOK 300 million is spent on broadband development. Our goal is for 95 per cent of Norwegian households and companies to have access to broadband with a speed of at least 1 Gbit / s during 2025.
The business community is crying out for more ICT expertise
The business community is crying out for more ICT expertise. Paradoxically, there are more applicants for the ICT studies than there are places. In 2021, the number of applicants for ICT subjects at vocational schools increased by as much as 68 per cent, compared with last year. Therefore, Gram, together with the Ministry of Education and Research, should increase the proportion of study places in ICT at universities, colleges and vocational colleges.
Gram’s promise to speed up digitalisation is good news for Norway and the technology industry. Abelia wishes him luck – and promises to follow the digitization promise with an arguing eye.
Øystein Eriksen Søreide
CEO of Abelia