The annual dinner of the Cyprus Computer Society (CCS) for it’s members and business executives  was successfully held on July 7, 2021.

The Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Mr. Kyriakos Kokkinos during his welcome note announced the immediate implementation of 600 million euro plan for digital transformation of the Government Services. He stressed, however, that while there is a great demand for professionals in Cyprus specialized in cutting-edge areas such as Blockchain, cloud services, robotics and development methodologies, there is a great shortage of IT specialists and graduates..

In his intervention, the President of the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB) Mr. Antonis Antoniou proposed the organization of training and retraining programs for graduates in the fields of information technology as the continuous training of professionals through lifelong learning programs is very important.

The highlight of the event was the the presentation of the Cyprus IT Market Report 2021 following the previous surveys for the years 2016 and 2018.

This report, as stated in the opening greeting by the Chairman of the CCS Board Costas Agrotis, is a contribution of the CCS to the Cypriot ICT Industry as well as to the Cypriot companies in general, aiming to support them in their digital transformation.

The Study was presented online by Mr. Jozef Gemela, Vice President of the Consulting Department at the leading research organization IDC which conducted the Report on behalf of the CCS.

The Cyprus IT Market Report 2021 covers all sectors of the IT market, such as equipment, services, software and telecommunications and includes the market size 2021 forecasts until 2023 and trend analysis. The comprehensive study is based, among other things, on a representative survey of both Cypriot companies that are IT users (end-users), as well as ICT companies (suppliers) operating in Cyprus.

This year's study focused on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on corporate information system investments and the impact that the establishment of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy had on the economy and society in general.  

The survey showed that, contrary to the economic decline, the ICT sector looks set to expand as a result of new opportunities, as many areas in both the public and private sectors will be digitized. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive effect on the business performance of many ICT companies operating in Cyprus. These positive trends will necessitate an active role to be played by the Cypriot government. An important step in this direction was the establishment of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy.

CCS contributes to the work of the Deputy Ministry with the non-profit actions it organizes for the promotion and upgrading of the IT sector in Cyprus, such as the conduct of this study, as well as activities aimed at the digital literacy of the society as a whole.

The study is available through the CCS website www.ccs.org.cy