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Bank Sarasin sustainability study on the 'Knowledge Society': developing countries hungry for knowledge(ENP Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ENP Newswire - 20 June 2011 Release date- 20062011 - Knowledge is the most important resource of our post-industrial society. Its importance is growing dramatically, alongside the classic production factors of arable land, capital and labour. The so-called 'Knowledge Society' is a megatrend that opens up investment opportunities in the areas of education and communications technology. Here developing and newly industrialised nations still show enormous potential in mobile telephony and the Internet. Data storage and security are also becoming increasingly important worldwide. The latest sustainability study from Bank Sarasin & Co. Ltd, 'Knowledge Society as a megatrend', presents the most important aspects of the Knowledge Society and identifies exciting growth markets and investment opportunities, while still taking into consideration sustainability risks. Know-how is becoming a strategic success factor. Governments and countries are investing heavily in education and research & development (R&D). On average OECD countries currently spend around 6% of their GDP on education. Most developed countries spend more than 2% of GDP on research & development. Certain business segments stand to benefit from the Knowledge Society megatrend and will experience higher than average growth. These are likely to include educational facilities, telecommunication companies, manufacturers of telecoms equipment, network infrastructure and data storage and media and software companies specialising in data security and organisation. The role of the media in the Knowledge Society In the Knowledge Society, the media play a central role in disseminating information. They do not limit themselves to the search for and categorisation of data, but go one step further by selecting and analysing information. In the media industry the control and ownership of publications has therefore always been a particularly sensitive issue. Owners such as the Springer family (German newspaper Bild) or Rupert Murdoch (US media conglomerate News Corp) are modern-day media barons who are controversial figures due to the influence they have and their complex web of personal interests. Companies such as the New York Times, Pearson (publisher of the Financial Times) and Wolters Kluwer (specialist publisher in the fields of law, economics, tax and health) excel through the high quality of their journalism and socially important content. Transformation in developing countries The transformation to a Knowledge Society is also underway in developing and newly industrialised economies. They are catching up in the areas of education, R&D and information & communications technologies (ICT). In Asia, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are moving upstream in the production chain. In addition, industrialised countries are also starting to offshore some knowledge-intensive activities. The most obvious example is the numerous call centres and software firms in India that work for companies in Europe and the USA. This requires a sufficient number of well-qualified people on the one hand, and modern ICT capabilities on the other. Backbone of the Knowledge Society Communications technologies are the backbone of the Knowledge Society. In industrialised countries, there are already 116 mobile phone connections for every 100 inhabitants. The market is saturated. In the future, growth will be concentrated in developing and newly industrialised countries where the mobile penetration rates are still much lower. To tap into these future markets, companies need to offer devices and solutions tailored to local circumstances and needs, which above all must also be affordable for poorer sections of the population. Both Nokia and Ericsson have developed ultra-cheap handsets with special features (as regards reception and power supply. Internet promises growth potential In comparative terms, the Internet provides an even bigger boost to growth than the mobile phone network. The expansion of broadband in particular creates a massive increase in productivity and allows new services to flourish such as E-Commerce, E-Banking, E-Government and E-Health. In developed countries, there are now 25 Internet connections per 100 inhabitants, but in developing and newly industrialised countries the figure is only 5 for every 100 inhabitants. Manufacturers of infrastructure equipment (e.g. Cisco Systems) are the main beneficiaries of the expansion. Manufacturers of cables (fibre-optic, coaxial, etc.) such as Corning or Huber & Suhner also stand to benefit from the growth of the infrastructure. Demand is for storage space... As the infrastructure continues to expand, demand for data storage is growing, and with it the growth opportunities for manufacturers of storage systems. EMC, a US provider of storage systems, commands around 30% of the global market and benefits directly from rising demand. Data and software are being increasingly outsourced to centralised data centres, an approach known as cloud computing. IBM, the world's biggest provider of software and IT services, is active in this field. The company operates more than 450 data centres. With its Big Green Project launched in 2007, IBM was quick to commit to 'green' data centres and has a reputation as the most environmentally friendly IT company. ...and data security With the increased networking of the Knowledge Society, the threat of attacks on computer systems is entering a new dimension. Individuals, companies and governments must invest in adequate protection as hackers can inflict enormous damage. Data losses can not only result in hotline and call centre costs but also cause enormous damage to a company's reputation. Furthermore, there are the additional costs for potential legal proceedings or compensation claims if credit card data are affected as well. Additional investments will benefit the providers of antivirus software such as Symantec (Norton) or McAfee (now part of Intel), both of which are included in Sarasin's sustainable investment universe. Sustainability study 'Knowledge Society as a megatrend' now available Copies of Bank Sarasin's study 'Knowledge Society as a megatrend' (author: Thomas Dietzi) are available in English and German on payment of a copyright fee of CHF 50 or EUR 35 (free to clients and the media) from: [email protected]. [Editorial queries for this story should be sent to [email protected]] ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2011 Electronic News Publishing - |