By Huang Xin

On the International Soft China 2012 held recently, a series of latest software technologies and applications were exhibited, greatly amazing the viewers. New-generation information technology, represented by cloud computing, internet of things, and mobile internet, is creating a much bigger market capitalization for the software industry.

According to statistics, operation revenue of China's software service industry exceeded RMB 1.84 trillion Yuan in 2011. Estimated by the Development Plan of Software and Information Technology Service Industry in the 12th Five-year Plan, operation revenue of China's software industry will exceed RMB 4 trillion Yuan in 2015.

 "Presently, China is facing complicated and severe economic development conditions. To achieve stably progressive economic development, it is very important to promote industrial transformation and upgrading, push the extensive integration of informatization and industrialization, and give full play to the guiding and supporting effects of the software industry", said Yang Xueshan, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, on International Soft China 2012

Emerging businesses become hotspots

With the swift development of new models and new modes of information technology service such as cloud computing and mobile internet, the pace of the structural adjustment of the software industry is accelerating, and the momentum of the growth of emerging technology service is forceful.

It is predicted that from 2011 to 2015, the compound annual growth rate of the cloud computing market will be higher than 50 percent and the market volume of China's cloud computing market in this year will reach RMB 60.678 billion Yuan. Many software manufacturers cut into the cloud computing field by providing SaaS (software as a service) and are gradually extending towards the fundamental filed and high-end links of cloud computing.

As for the mobile internet, China has surpassed the US to become the world's largest smartphone market in the first quarter of this year, with a mobile phone internet user population of more than 356 million. Such a huge volume and market potential of the mobile internet will inevitably become the focus of competition among software providers. So far, there have been more than 10 operation systems, either already in the market or currently under development, of smart mobile terminals in China, basically covering all feasible technology roadmaps.   

Industrial cluster effect becomes stronger

Improving the industrial integration benefit and the international competiveness of the software industry, relying on cities with solid industrial foundation and underpinned by preferential policies and major projects

In this year's International Soft China, "Renowned Chinese Software Cities" and other cities with intensive software service industry exhibited their achievements in software and information technology service industry through all-dimensional and diversified information approaches.

As one of the first group of "Renowned Chinese Software Cities", Nanjing allocates 100 sq.km of land as a software industry cluster, giving support in terms of policy, tax, investment and financing, and public services. Presently, Nanjing's software products and information service account for nearly 55 percent of software service, with software products accounting for 36 percent and information technology service growing at a rate of more than 150 percent. It has 71 pieces of outstanding Chinese software, its software products structure continues to optimize, and its competiveness has improved significantly. 

After receiving the title of "Renowned Chinese Software City", Chengdu organized 24 representative software and information technology service companies to take part in the International Soft China 2012, attracting plenty of attention. Beijing, with the theme of "self-owned technologies serve an intelligent China", exhibited cloud computing, Beidou System, and other independently innovative new technologies and software products. In the event, Shanghai and Qingdao also published relevant policies that support the development of the software industry.

According to statistics, last year, the operation revenue of the software industry in China's 4 municipalities directly under the central government and 15 deputy provincial cities amounted to RMB 1.5 trillion Yuan, an increase of 34 percent over the previous year, accounting for 81 percent of the revenue of the software industry in China. Among these cities, 10 of them have a software industry with a volume of more than RMB 50 billion Yuan. Central cities are gradually becoming the gathering places for the development of software and information technology service industry.

The task is arduous and the way long to deepen the industry

The status quo of the development of the software industry still lags greatly behind the targets set in the "12th Five-year Plan"; more efforts are needed to further improve the development environment of the industry, strengthen innovation, accelerate the expansion of the application market, and boost the volume and competiveness of the industry.

The International Soft China 2012 has another major highlight: the majority of the participants are the top 100 grossing software companies, key software enterprises encompassed in the national planning, enterprises with Class-A computer system integration qualification, and enterprises with higher than Class-A Chinese software and information service industry credit assessment. The overall competitiveness of the participating enterprises has improved markedly, which is an indication of the growing volume of China's software industry and its improving international status.   

Statistics show that operation revenue of China's software industry exceeded RMB 1.84 trillion Yuan Last year, the volume being 4.7 times of that in 2005, and an increase of 32.4 percent over the previous year, 4.4 percentage points higher than the average annual growth rate during the 11th Five-year Plan. As Chen Wei points out, currently the innovation capability of China's software industry has further improved, integration of basic software, including operation system, database, and middleware, keeps deepening, product systems are taking shapes, product technologies such as internet application software, enterprise management software, financial management software, information software, and security software, have progressed rapidly, and technologically advanced industrial software and industrial solutions have been widely adopted. 

Nonetheless, the Development Plan of Software and Information Technology Service Industry in the 12th Five-year Plan poses even bigger targets for China's software industry, requiring that software revenue exceed RMB 4 trillion Yuan in 2015, accounting for 25 percent of the information industry and growing by more than 25 percent annually, and that software export reach US$ 60 billion.

The status quo of the development of China's software industry still lags greatly behind this target, main reflections of which being that China lacks major enterprises that are globally leading, the industry as a whole stays at the middle and low end of the value chain, the innovation system of the industry is incomplete, and core technologies are missing. For that, Yang Xueshan suggests that the MIIT will continue to improve the development environment of the industry, enhance innovation of technology, business models, and the system, accelerate the expansion of the application market, and boost the volume and competiveness of the software and information technology service industry.