Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to join you here this evening, at this unique event dedicated to CIOs and IT decision-makers in Luxembourg.
I firmly believe that you represent one of the most important professions of Luxembourg’s future.
I want to stress this tonight, because too often, CIOs and IT specialists have the ungrateful task of being in charge, within a company, of something ‘complex’ that ‘simply needs to work!’.
I am sure you are painfully aware of what I am talking about: after a smooth and uneventful day with the IT system in a bank for example, it is unlikely for the Head of IT to be praised for doing a great job because everything ran as expected that day. Or for efficiently fighting off viruses and cyberattacks that day. On the other hand, when things go wrong, when there is a glitch – a system crash, a breakdown, a malware incident, a data breach – the CIO is sure to get an earful. That’s when you are called in. That’s when one realizes how fundamentally important IT is, whatever the sector of activity.
However, I see things changing. I think there is, increasingly, a shift in consciousness, at every level, of the strategic importance and of the extent of the dependency on technology, regardless of a company’s core business. This has always been the case for state of the art e-commerce players like Google or Amazon, simply because IT is part of their core business. But now banks, airlines, research institutes, laboratories, content providers, public services are also catching up. Information technology is gradually becoming a key element of every operational strategy, and, as a consequence, an item that is – or should be - on every CEO’s agenda. It has got to work; it cannot fail; it is vital for business, it is vital for operations! And with the direction that regulation takes with regards to liability when it comes to breaches of data protection or data security, it will increasingly represent a substantial line for risk assessment within a company’s financial accounts. Top level managers will no longer be able to turn a blind eye to it, they will have to get involved. Whatever the sector of activity. Whatever the size of a company.
And beyond the mere risk factor: the mission of a CIO is not only to keep things running smoothly. Or to make life easier for users. The job description of a CIO also includes developing new tools and programs to improve efficiency. To increase speed. To reduce costs. And last but not least: to foster innovation and steel the competitive edge. It is essential to the success of the company.
This is your job (and I bet it keeps you busy!).
The same is true at the level of the Government.
Information and communications technologies can no longer be considered as a neatly separated task to be outsourced to one entity that will manage every aspect of it and that will make sure that all runs smoothly, while the other ministries carry on with their work and their priorities. IT needs to move into the strategic decision-making process of policy for three reasons:
-it is vital to our national security
-it is a cutting edge tool that can help reduce costs and increase efficiency, and
-it fosters innovation and will give us the competitive edge that our country needs to continue to grow and flourish.
Luxembourg’s previous governments did a remarkable job by extending our ICT infrastructure. Luxembourg can be proud of its high-end data centers and abundant, state-of-the-art international connectivity. They are “must haves” for a country today, just like motorways, railway stations or airports. Within the country, the very ambitious national broadband strategy ensures that Luxembourg is the country best connected not only to the outside world, but also at domestic level, for every household and every company based here. Even if that means a lot of building works (and a lot of gaping sidewalks at the moment… as a former mayor, I cannot help commenting on this, I’m afraid!).
But now we have to go further. Now that we have the tools, we need to put them to good use and turn them into sustainable outcomes. We must harness their potential to make the entire country more competitive.
The task of my government … or should I say: the challenge that this government has set out to address - is to go beyond considering ICT as one specific (vertical) sector that we would like to promote. We seek to coordinate and push ICT horizontally, as a true enabler for all economic, social and administrative sectors.
To that effect we are currently developing a global horizontal ICT strategy that will bring together all the ministries concerned and that will address the challenges we currently face.
We cannot reach those goals without teamwork and a consistent approach. That is why I have asked my government colleagues to help us move forward by doing whatever they can, in their respective areas of expertise. We are all strongly committed to this joint effort. And we will do so hand in hand with the private sector.
I would now like to point out some of the challenges I referred to and how we must tackle them horizontally, as a Government. I would also like to highlight some of the opportunities that I believe will emerge from our strategy.
It is imperative that we streamline our internal structures to help reduce costs and to make efficiency gains. E-government is more than just another “e-word”. We need to get better at it and make it meaningful and tangible! I will see to it that the task force we have set up to modernize the functioning of the State will give due consideration to ICT. I see ICT as an investment, rather than an expense.
Connectivity and infrastructure will remain a hot topic, even if, as already mentioned, a lot has been achieved in this area over the past few years. We need to keep up our efforts because our competitors will not rest. Rest assured that my Government will give priority to the deployment of ultra-high speed networks in crucial areas – that is, in industry and business zones.
Network security is likely to keep dominating the agenda. We need to implement an effective and consistent cybersecurity strategy to keep abreast of future threats. This is essential for Government, for our country’s critical infrastructure and for the economy as a whole.
A few words on opportunities: the financial sector is about to be confronted with new challenges. The good news is that it is highly motivated to continue to keep its competitive edge and its leading influence. I am convinced that if – but only if – the sector succeeds in banking on innovation and technology, on new cutting edge services based on FinTechs (as they call financial sector-related technology), it will be able to maintain its competitive edge and continue to prosper internationally. It will have to stand ready to seize new opportunities in an ever-evolving environment: Big Data analysis, new innovative services, virtual currencies, alternative payment methods to name just a few.
And let us not forget the data economy. “Data is the new oil”, as they say, so let’s start drilling! Let’s create new opportunities with Big Data. Let’s build on our reputation as a trust center for finance to become an Information Trust Center for any kind of valuable data - personal data, health data, prized content or intellectual property data. There is no better place in the world to host sensitive information than in Luxembourg. We have the knowledge, we have the infrastructure, we have the legal environment, we have the skills (hello PSFs!) and we boast an excellent reputation as a trust center. The task of keeping financial data safe is the same for any type of data. We know how to do the job in Luxembourg (…well, you know how to do the job!). We need to leverage these strengths and finetune our value proposition of Luxembourg as an Information Trust Center.
If we manage to do that, there will also be significant benefits for other diversification priorities that we have, like our e-Health and our biotechnology strategies, for instance.
This is what I mean when I say we intend to go from vertical to horizontal: we need to see ICT as an enabler across our policies and our efforts to diversify our economy and modernize our country. That’s why, as a government, we need to work hand in hand.
But all these efforts hold little promise if there is nobody to run the business and if there is a lack of human resources. I am aware of the difficulties you are having in recruiting new staff. We desperately need well trained and highly skilled people. People like you. Experts like you! If the companies that are intent on growing in Luxembourg cannot find the right skills, they will have to go elsewhere. In the short term, we may have to attract those skills to the country, to bring them in from abroad as a stopgap solution. But predominantly, we need to develop and nurture these skills and talents at home, here in Luxembourg. This requires investment into training, into education and research, and for us to believe in the strengths of our young university and have confidence in its capacity to deliver. I cannot stress this point enough!
A generation of active technology users and architects is needed. They need to learn how algorithms shape today’s economy and how to build complex IT systems. Tech-savvy, inquisitive students who crave the satisfaction that creating something yourself can provide. Information and Communication technologies harbour that potential. “Coding is the new Latin”, so if we can teach our kids Latin, why not teach them how to code, as a universal tool of communication and a method to encourage rational thinking and improve concentration? And ultimately, foster creativity…!
Let’s raise a new IT literate generation!
All of you gathered here tonight are ambassadors of this sector, of this skill, so please help us enlighten people on what your job is all about and share your passion and enthusiasm with those around you. You can be proud of what you accomplish every day and I urge you to explain your accomplishments to all those who are not yet familiar with your professional responsibilities and skills, and their crucial role in an organization and in a country on its way towards becoming a digital nation.
I, Ladies and Gentlemen, will try to do my job just like a modern CEO would and should: I will elevate the standing of ICT to a top strategic priority in policy-making in Luxembourg !
I wish you a productive and inspiring rest of the evening. Thank you for your attention.