About Software and Services

European Commissioner for Information Society & Media, Viviane Reding emphasized during the official launch of the NESSI Initiative the importance of a European approach to improved services through software, away from packaged software and code for embedded systems. She outlined three main paradigm shifts that describe very well the strategic intention behind initiatives like ECSS:

• The first shift is a change in focus from products to services. Traditionally the software industry is focused on product development. This is changing rapidly with a focus on services and interoperability frameworks.
• The second shift is on mastering complexity. In current society-critical solutions the complexity is growing (system of systems, ecosystems, complex systems). The challenge is to go back to simplicity.
• The third paradigm shift is on the digital convergence. Viviane Reding: "This shift towards 'e-services' is a new wave of development of software and services that Europe cannot afford to miss out on. Software is the engine room of the information economy, and without a competitive European software and services industry we will find our other industrial sectors severely hampered."