In addition to being an important industry sector, the application of ICT drives productivity and competitiveness across the whole economy. Increased trade and globalisation is enabled by ICT, creating a flatter world with more competition and more opportunities for Welsh businesses.

The ICT sector in Wales spans electronics, software and services with a healthy mix of large multinationals and home-grown businesses. With over 1200 operations – among them Fujitsu Services, BT, Mitel, Logica, EADS DS, SAIC, and IBM – employing over 33,000 people and contributing around £1 billion to the Welsh economy.

We know that technology business depends on infrastructure – which is why the Welsh Assembly Government has recently committed to rolling out the UK's first, all region, next generation network which will offer, as a minimum to businesses by 2016 and homes by 2020,  a synchronous 100mbs service in urban areas and 30mbs to rural locations. This is in addition to previous investments such as the £30 million open access fibre network in North Wales and BT's own investment in super fast broadband across the country.

There’s another kind of connection that’s also behind the success of this sector in Wales. The M4 motorway is a physical highway that runs from London to West Wales, with countless technology players right the way along it, for example in Reading, Bracknell, Swindon and of course Cardiff, from where London is just two hours away.

This kind of connectivity makes Wales a perfect base for tapping into Europe’s £400 billion ICT economy.