A long time under the influence of the Russian culture and economy (mostly due to its common history and geographic proximity), Finland is today an integral part of the European Union and remains the only Northern country to have joined the Euro Zone.

Finland’s achievements in the ICT sector are closely related to the important investments made in the R&D infrastructure, a very technology-oriented culture and technology-educated skills. Therefore, the country is perceived as one of the most specialized and competitive poles for the ICT sector. Finnish end-users tend to assimilate technological changes quickly. The market is small, representing barely 2% of the total EU ICT market.

Finnish ICT channel activity is divided between resellers (32%), services (38%), software publishers (20%) and manufacturers (6%). VARs represent 30% of the total channel population. The most important IT growth clusters are Helsinki and its three surrounding cities (Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen). Another fast growing technological cluster is Oulu in the Northern area.
The degree of outsourcing is also quite high in the sector (70% of companies have outsourced ICT services). Like all Nordic countries, Finland is no exception regarding the hardware market. The market has reached maturity.

The software solution market is equally highly developed. SMB companies remain the main sales target (85% of the channel address these end-users), followed by large accounts (80%). In addition, the security software market is also dynamic and highly specialized. Mobile security solutions such as VPN are currently in high demand.

Finland is one of the leading countries in telecommunications. Due to its developed infrastructure, its telecom cluster and 3G+ mobile features are closely linked to other industries. WLAN and WiMax technologies are very advanced. Electronics and software developers are the main telecom drivers. Content producers and digital media companies are also doing well. In parallel, other areas such as e-commerce are expected to expand gradually.
Finland is also the homeland of Nokia and the development of this company has greatly impacted the economic development of Finland, as a great number of ICT partners and subcontractors have indirectly benefitted from it.

On the consumer electronics market, HDTV sales continue their growing trend, followed by digital high-tech electronic products.

compuBase definition by main activity compuBase coverage (2010) Manufacturer Software publisher Publisher of software for a specific activity Publisher of software for a specific business processI Software solutions integrator (developed by third parties) IT services, software development (hosting, training, etc.) Telecom services (Telecom operator, ISP, etc.) Telecom & network infrastructure integrator IT infrastructure integrator Consulting Reselling to consumers Reselling to businesses (hardware, software, services, etc.) Wholesaler (resale of IT products to resellers) Large assembling company Other ICT related activities 166 174 189 148 76 571 114 35 18 154 427 234 154 - 48 - Statistics on Finland - compuBase online counting tool - Quotation on the Finnish database

Distribution players:
TECH DATA Finland OY; GNT Finland OY also; ARROW Finland OY; SUOMEN ADDON OY; NDC-PIKARATATKAISUT OY;
IT Channel Press & Players:
IT Branschen
Public organisations & Useful Associations:
Federation of the Finnish Information
INDUSTRIES TIETOALAT, Mintek
http://www.ek.fi/tietoalojen_litto/english/

General Data
• Area: 338,145 km2
• Population (est. 2009): 5.250 million
• HDI (2006) : 0.954

Macroeconomic Data
• GDP/capita (est. 2009): 25,959€
• GDP/capita vs. US (2008): 80%
• GDP growth rate (est. 2009); +0.10%

OECD: Finland information
OECD: ICT Statistics
CIA: Finland information

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