Efforts aim to turn Cyprus into technology hub, Deputy Minister says

Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Philippos Hadjizacharias has said that the government's efforts aim to implement the digital transformation of the country and the national goal of turning Cyprus into a technology hub. 

Hadjizacharias was speaking at the presentation of the survey on the 2023 Cyprus IT market, which was carried out by the Cyprus Computer Society in collaboration with the international company ICD on 27 September.

In his opening remarks, he stressed that the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy has drawn up and is implementing the national strategy for the promotion and development in the fields of information and communication technologies, constantly upgrading these plans.

The survey showed that the outlook for the near future of the Technology, Information and Communications (ICT) sector is positive, as the majority of ICT companies operating in Cyprus plan to develop new services and around 50% of Cypriot companies expect to increase spending for IT services.

The results of the survey showed that the economic recovery and digital transformation caused by the pandemic led to the expansion of the ICT sector in 2022, which significantly contributes to the diversification of the country's growth model, as well as to the reduction of its trade deficit.

According to the research, the value of the Cypriot ICT market (including telecommunications) reached €781 million in 2022, showing an annual growth of 4.7%, while the IT market (excluding telecommunications) was valued at €302 million, showing an annual increase of 8.4%.

In addition, spending on IT services amounted to €156 million, up 10.1% on a yearly basis.

ICT companies expect the value of the Cyprus ICT market to reach €856m in 2025.

The survey showed that digital transformation is the most important challenge as it was the only challenge mentioned by more than 50% of the companies that took part in the survey. It was noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly contributed to the importance of this challenge.

In addition, cyber security remains the top investment priority for Cypriot companies with its importance growing significantly.

(Source: CNA)