Technology spending may be softening in many parts of the world as the credit crunch bites, but the longer term fundamentals of IT industry competitiveness remain constant. An innovation-friendly culture, a steady flow of talent, advanced technology infrastructure, a robust legal regime, well-balanced government support and an open business environment are all vital factors that enable a country's IT producers to thrive. These form the basis of the Economist Intelligence Unit's "IT industry competitiveness index", in which the United States ranks as first in the world in 2008, maintaining its top position from the previous year.  

Tougher times lie ahead for information technology (IT) producers as an economic slowdown brings weaker IT spending in the US, western Europe and Japan. Even amid shifting market conditions, however, the fundamentals of IT industry competitiveness remain constant. Thanks to their established strengths in making skills, finance and infrastructure available to local IT producers and in stimulating innovation, the identity of the top 20 countries in the Economist Intelligence UnitÂ’s 2008 IT industry competitiveness index remains unchanged from last year.