At the FAES conference “The impact of the internet on the Spanish economy” García-Legaz: "E-commerce is not suffering the crisis and has grown between 15% and 20%"

19/02/2013

    _ Calvo-Sotelo: “The Digital Agenda addresses issues such as e-government, cybersecurity and R&D&I”

    _ Álvarez Martínez estimated the impact on economy of the internet in 27,600 million euros, 2.6 per cent of GDP

    _ Marín: “The digital revolution must be reflected in the design and instrumentalisation of public policies”

 FAES foundation celebrated the conference “The impact of the internet on the Spanish economy” in Madrid. The speakers at the event were the Secretary of State for Trade, Jaime García-Legaz, the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Information Society, Víctor Calvo-Sotelo, and the Boston Consulting Group Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Ignacio Álvarez Martínez.

During his address, García-Legaz assured “e-commerce commerce is not suffering the crisis and has continued to grow between 15% and 20%, something which should make us think over the capacity that traditional commerce should develop to adapt to this new reality in which more and more people use the internet to buy.”

The Secretary of State for Trade noted that the ultimate goal is that small businesses “compete in equal terms with big businesses, as the latter have already made that adjustment.” “Internet has no schedules, there is freedom to buy 365 days per year, 24 hours per day, and that requires an effort from all public administrations to transform and help small businesses know that they have a window of opportunities selling through the internet, help them adapt to the new environment and to incorporate new technologies and means of electronic payments,” he pointed out on this matter.

DIGITAL AGENDA
The Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Information Society, Víctor Calvo-Sotelo, pointed to the bill of the Telecommunications Act and the release of the Digital Dividend as two particular elements of the government’s action to boost the digital economy.

In this sense, Calvo-Sotelo said that the government’s strategy focuses on the Digital Agenda, recently approved, and “intends to maximize the positive impact of the internet on the Spanish economy.” Additionally, he pointed out that the Agenda “addresses issues as important as network deployment, electronic administration, cyber-security, R&D&I in ICTs and digital training.”

AGENT OF CHANGE
During his address, Ignacio Álvarez Martínez, the Boston Consulting Group’s Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications, assured “Internet is not just another sector, but an agent of change of all sectors.” “We stand before a growth engine of the Spanish economy, a catalyst of many sectors, which is reflected in its economic activity,” he said. In this regard, Álvarez Martínez estimated the impact on economy of the internet in 2011 in 27,600 million euros, 2.6 per cent of Spain’s GDP.

However, he said that “Spain is facing the challenge and the desire to keep not only stable growth rates, but also competitive ones regarding its neighbouring countries.” Moreover, Álvarez Martínez stressed “the obvious positive impact that the Internet has had not only on Spanish employment, but also on an international level," as well as “the high correlation between online activities and business sales’ improvements, both on developing and developed economies.” “All SMEs analyzed have declared to have a new expansion possibility, business efficiency and improvement of operational efficiency and productivity thanks to having introduced the Internet in their businesses,” he concluded.

During the the presentations, FAES’ director of Economy and Public Policies, Miguel Marín, said that “the Internet is a tool for competitiveness and progress of unparalleled power,” and mentioned how “it has changed the most basic elements of our coexistence.” “It is a revolution that must be reflected on the design and instrumentalisation of public policies,” he added.