ARMENIA’S IT SECTOR SHOWS 20% GROWTH
news.am
Nov 23 2009
Armenia
The crisis has hardly affected the Armenian IT companies, Karen
Vardanyan, Executive Director of the Union of Information Technology
Enterprises (UITE) Karen Vardanyan told NEWS.am. He said that surveys
to specify the figures are under way now.
"Pressured by the crisis, the enterprises operating in other fields are
thinking of enhancing their business efficiency, and IT application is
one of the ways of doing it. But this figure cannot even be considered
satisfactory," he said. "The IT development concept approved in 2008
points out that the number of IT enterprises is to reach 1,000 by
2018. But, statistical data show that only one of five enterprises
survives. That is 500 rather than 100 enterprises have to be opened
annually, whereas only 40 have been opened this year. But we do not
know whether the enterprises will survive on the market," Vardanyan
said.
According to the concept, the number of employees at the Armenian IT
enterprises is to reach 20,000 in eight years. "Everything remained
on paper. And it is the Government, enterprises, as well as the
society, that are responsible for the idea not being implemented,"
Vardanyan said. He believes that the sector’s development requires
"the domestic market’s response, which implies a change in the people’s
way of thinking."
Vardanyan pointed out three lines of developments of the Armenian
IT sector: the state government system and modernization of military
equipment; business; households. IT application will rule out shadow
businesses and embezzlement, while some people would object to it.
"80% of businesses in Armenia are either monopolies or controlled by
government agencies. Such businesses are not drawn in competition,
while competing businesses need IT technologies," Vardanyan said.
Educational software is considered a personal product worldwide, but in
Armenia hardly anyone is serious about education – both students and
their parents. "People worldwide view PCs as a means of education,
but our students use computers for playing, chatting or visiting
porno sites," Vardanyan said.
One of the major problems is that the IT enterprises do not ensure
enough discoveries and publications." We have a lack of interesting
ideas and need new discoveries. When they happen, they are recognized
the best in the world. This year a contest involving 400 venture
companies has been held in the United States, and an Armenian company’s
innovation was recognized the best," Vardanyan said.