Information and Communications Technology

The information and communications technology (ICT) industry is characterized by rapid and disruptive innovation, which constantly redefines industry segments, the market, and the boundaries of the industry itself. More than any other industry studied by the Eisenhower School
(with the exception of healthcare), ICT also has a direct and tangible impact on the lives of American citizens. A mere 11 years after the introduction of Apple’s first iPhone, 77% of Americans now carry smartphones. Web searches, satellite navigation, social media, and other
transformative technologies have become essential elements of daily life within the space of a single generation, with similar breakthroughs – driverless cars, artificial intelligence/machine learning, homes networked through the “Internet of Things” (IoT) – either in the early adopter
phase or just over the horizon. ICT firms themselves include five of the six most valuable American companies, and encompass 7.5% of the economy (some 5.5 million jobs). Yet the importance of a healthy ICT sector goes well beyond these numbers, given the reliance of
virtually all other industries (including government and the military) on ICT infrastructure to conduct day-to-day business.

The ubiquity of ICT, and its rapid technological development, pose several policy challenges, including: how best to foster a business climate that keeps the U.S. on the cutting edge of new technologies; how to develop (and attract) the human capital necessary to sustain a vibrant and innovative ICT sector; how best to adapt the acquisition process to leverage potentially transformative technologies for military and security purposes; how best to protect critical national infrastructure that is increasingly reliant on ICT; how to anticipate, deter, prevent, and respond to potential threats in cyberspace; and how to balance security and privacy in an era when astonishing amounts of sensitive personal data are aggregated and potentially available online.

Given the magnitude of these challenges and the constantly evolving state of the ICT industry, this study does not purport to be comprehensive. Nonetheless, the 2018 ICT Industry Seminar, through independent research, interactions with government and industry representatives in the Washington, DC, area, and field visits to leading technology firms in California, China, and South Korea, attempted to identify and analyze some key challenges the industry poses to policymakers and to put forward concrete recommendations to address them.

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