MUMBAI, India, February 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector continues to grow despite the economic downturn. Germany remains one of Europe's leading players, making up approximately 20 percent of the European market. At NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2009, taking place from February 11-13, 2009 in Mumbai, Germany Trade and Invest will be showcasing the country's investment potential to the world's most important players in ICT.

Germany is the fifth largest market for ICT globally. With a volume of over EUR 130 billion, it leads Europe in sales, growth potential, and personnel. ICT drives 80 percent of Germany's innovation. This innovation facilitates advancements in other industries, including automotive, medical technologies, and logistics. One area that benefits from a highly-developed ICT sector is the so-called shared services center and business process outsourcing (SSC-BPO) sector, a particular focus of NASSCOM. This sector refers to either separate organizational entities created to consolidate services, most commonly human resources or information technology, or the contracting of third parties to complete a task in the business supply chain.

While around 75 percent of the top German companies have established shared services centers, 70 percent plan to establish further SSCs in German locations. This demonstrates the level of satisfaction with Germany as a sourcing center location. Key drivers are the availability of qualified personnel, labor costs, and lower labor turnover rates.

In the closely related BPO market, there is immense potential due to the highly-fragmented state of the market, in which the top 20 BPO providers make up less than 30 percent of the market. Statistics reflect that companies are beginning to tap into this potential, with an annual growth rate of nine percent. By 2012, this market is expected to reach a volume of EUR 16 billion in Germany.

Germany Trade and Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises and supports foreign companies seeking to expand into the German market and assists German companies looking to enter foreign markets.

Media Contact: Eva Henkel Germany Trade and Invest Email: eva.henkel@gtai.com +49(0)30-200099-173

Media Contact: Eva Henkel, Germany Trade and Invest, Email: eva.henkel@gtai.com, +49(0)30-200099-173