Software in NL

A view of the software sector

The Dutch software sector, comprising some 16,000 companies, contributes approximately 3% to the Dutch economy (GNP). The sector is not only an important driver of activity, growth and jobs within the software sector itself, but also a driver of innovation and productivity improvement in other sectors (e.g. healthcare, government and logistics).

In addition, as software is increasingly cloud-based and delivered via subscription services (Software as a Service: SaaS), solutions can be more easily scaled and sold internationally.

The IT sector, and the software industry within it, proved to be robust during last year’s corona crisis: in 2020 the sector showed an overall growth of 1% to 2% (ING, Rabobank, S&P) and this year (2021) we see forecasts of 3.5-4%. Effects therein:

  • Hosting and cloud providers benefit from the switch to working from home.
  • IT service providers are struggling with projects that have to be carried out on location.
  • Software companies, especially those supplying the government and healthcare, have been able to count on continued, significant revenue growth. This is mainly due to the embedding of software in crucial customer work processes, the SaaS business model (subscriptions) and the fact that COVID-19 has actually accelerated digitisation in some sectors.

Sources:

https://www.ing.nl/zakelijk/kennis-over-de-economie/uw-sector/outlook/software-and-services-sector.html

https://www.rabobank.nl/kennis/d011143027-omzetprognoses-op-weg-naar-herstel

https://www.rabobank.nl/kennis/s011096540-corona-hoe-gaat-het-in-de-ict

https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/research/articles/200921-2020-global-it-spending-outlook-improves-through-covid-19-disruption-11657581

https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=EO_EDITIONS

 

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