Belgium, centrally located in Europe, boasts a robust ICT industry contributing 4% to its GDP and employing approximately 150,600 people. The sector benefits from a productive and multilingual workforce, advanced research centers, and government support for R&D, with expertise in areas like nano-electronics, financial security solutions, and telecom equipment. Additionally, Belgium is known for its high broadband connectivity and innovative e-government initiatives.

1. BELGIUM and its ICT Industry
Jan DEPREST
January 16th, 2012
Moldova

2. Denmark
UK
Ireland
Leeds
Dublin Liverpool The Netherlands
Den Hague Amsterdam
Cardiff London Rotterdam
Antwerp Germany
Belgium Cologne
Brussels Bonn
The economic power Frankfurt
Luxembourg
base of Europe:
Strasbourg
Stuttgart
the “Golden Banana”, Paris
Belgium is in the center. Bern
Switzerland
Milan
France
Italy
Rome
Spain Barcelona

3. Belgium at the heart of Europe
750 km
Belgium offers access to
€ 6 Tri GDP (67%)
the largest one-day-market 500 km
in Europe: main markets € 3,7 Tri GDP (42%)
can be served within 24 250 km
hours € 1,5 Tri GDP (17%)
54 Mio consumers (12%)
131 Mio consumers (29%)
236 Mio consumers (53%)
Total EU population:
Total EU GDP:
490 Mio
€ 12.00 trillion
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers,
Report 2004

4. Belgium “Most Globalized” - award KOF
Source: KOF Press Release
Jan 29, 2009

5. Globally recognized Productivity
Productive, Multi-lingual Workforce
Belgium

6. High-Performance Educational System
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Sharp focus on applied skills

7. Major Industries
BFS
Automotive
Logistics
Industry is driving ICT
ICT is driving Industry Chemicals
and Plastics
Food
Life sciences

8. Broadband Country, advanced e-Gov
• Households: Belgium is a broadband country
– Two competing broadband technologies: ADSL
and cable
– Broadband: 55% of households connected
– PC: two third of households have PC @ home
• Companies: 99% of SMEs are Internet-connected
and use all sorts of ICT-applications
• Government: interesting e-gov building blocks:
– eID, database of entreprises and citizens,
platform using Social Security authentic
sources,…

9. The ICT knowledge base of Belgium

10. The Belgian ICT-sector: employment
• Employment: 150 600 people
– about 3,4% of Belgian employment
• Information technology
IT-hardware, services & software:
– 85 500
• Development & production of ICT:
– 20 600
• Telecom-operators:
– 44 400

11. ICT expertise in Belgium
Research Centers and education system
• IBBT (Interdisciplinary Institute for BroadBand Technology)
– focus on: e-health | New media | Mobility | Image processing |
e-Government and enabling technologies
– Multi-disciplinary and demand driven research
– 600 highly skilled researchers
• IMEC (Interdisciplinary Micro-Electronics Center)
– Europe’s largest independent research center in nano-electronics
and nano-technology
– over 1,600 employees coming from all over the world
– research is applied in better healthcare, smart electronics,
sustainable energy, and safer transport
• University research centers: Leuven, Ghent, Brussels
• High quality education system

12. ICT Expertise in Belgium
excellence centers in companies
– Centers of excellence in companies: Alcatel-Lucent Bell,
Barco, Scientific Atlanta/Cisco, Agfa, LMS, Metris, Zetes,
Vasco Data Security, Philips, Option, Televic…
– Belgian ICT-sector = 4% of GDP, but 20% of all R&D-
efforts…
– Government support systems for company R&D
• Project support
• Fiscal measures
• 75 % of withholding tax not due for company employees
active in R&D

13. Belgium :
6 domains of expertise in ICT
1. Nano-electronics, nano-technologies & micro-electronics
2. Financial security solutions & smart card technology
3. Telematics, GPS, cartography & Location Based Services, Geo-ICT
4. Telecommunication & Network equipment
5. Digital audio-video products & digital printing
6. Software products

14. 1. Nano-electronics & Micro-Electronics
IMEC, AMI semiconductors, STMicroelectronics,
Tyco Electronics, …
• IMEC, a world-class micro-electronics research center with lots of
spin-offs

15. 2. Financial Security Solutions &
Smart card technology
– Authentication solutions, smart card technologies,
IT-governance, compliance, integrated financial solutions,…
– Capco, Zetes, Callataÿ & Wouters, Certipost, Verizon,
Utimaco Safeware, Vasco Data Security, Norkom, Intellect,
Clear2Pay, Isabel, Keyware Technologies, Diebold, Cable
Print, Cosic, Financial Architects,…
– LSEC – ICT security cluster
– Agoria Banking Club : exporters of financial IT solutions

16. Examples of authentication and smart
card technology applications

17. 3. Telematics, GPS, cartography,
Location Based Services, Geo-ICT,
road pricing, …
– Mercator, inventor of the cartography in 16th century, was
born in Flanders
– Septentrio, Punch Telematix, Transics, Tele Atlas (Tom
Tom), Luciad, Traficon, GIM (Geographic Information
Management),…
– ITS (Intelligent Traffic Systems) & Telematics Cluster

18. Cartography: a Belgian tradition

19. 4. Telecom & Network Equipment
(Fixed and Wireless)
– Alcatel-Lucent Bell,
– Ericsson,
– Nokia-Siemens Networks,
– Telindus,
– Televic,
– Newtec,
– Option,
– Scientific Atlanta/Cisco,
– Zenitel,
– Septentrio…

20. Successful Belgian telecom products

21. 5. Digital Audio-Video Products &
Digital printing
– Philips,
– Barco,
– Agfa Health Care,
– Esko Artwork,
– Alfacam,
– Scientific Atlanta/Cisco…

22. Examples of digital audio-video and digital
printing applications

23. 6. Software products
– LMS, Materialise, Inventive Designers, Real Dolmen, ACA-
IT-solutions, Invenso, Produmex, Metris, Helios-IT, …
– Speech & Language Technology: Nuance,…
– Gaming: Larian Studios
– Agoria ISV (Independent Software Vendors-platform)
– Mobile applications: Jamo, …
– Media: Adam Software, …

24. A few illustrations of succesful software
developers
• LMS “Virtual.Lab Desktop”
• Materialize “Magics”
• Metris “Camio Studio”
• Larian Studios “Superia”

25. Conclusion
• Belgium ICT expertise = IP and product, solution
driven
• Expertise in number of areas, build on in-depth
industry knowledge
• ICT as enabling technology

27. Certipost, your partner in electronic and paper
document exchange, is a specialised and experienced
service provider enabling secure electronic data
interchange between companies, consumers and
government institutions.
Gert Roeckx
+ 32 53 60 11 11
info@certipost.com
www.certipost.com

28. COSIC is a research group with multi-disciplinary
researchers from all over the world who are
specialized in computer security and industrial
cryptography.
Danny Decock
decockd@esat.kuleuven.be

29. LIN.K nv is a Belgian privately owned leading provider
of technologies and services for:
– online user registration, identification, strong authentication
– digital signature/validation of data/transactions using smart
– cards, mobile (smart)phones, tokens and biometrics
Mario Houthooft
+ 32 9 252 28 47
info@lin-k.net
www.linkid.be

30. VASCO is a world leader in Strong Authentication and
Electronic and Digital Signature solutions, specializing
in online accounts, identities and transactions.
Bart Renard
+ 32 2 609 97 00
bart.renard@vasco.com
www.vasco.com

31. Services offered:
– Network solutions
– Security solutions
– IT solutions
– Communications solutions
Johan SYS
+32 475 34 32 47
Johan.sys@verizonbusiness.com

32. Zetes are an EMEA leading provider of identification
and mobility solutions. By utilising high-secure
identification, data capture and data communication
technologies they link people to their unique identity.
Sarah Dheedene
Ronny Depoortere
+ 32 475 58 14 20
ronny.depoortere@zetes.com
www.zetes.com/moldova

33. Jan DEPREST
Walter VAN ASSCHE
Frank LEYMAN
Sebastiaan De Brouwere

34. Th@nk you!
JAN DEPREST
Chairman
Maria-Theresiastraat 1/3
Bruxelles 1000 Brussel
TEL +32 2 212 96 00
FAX +32 2 212 96 99
Jan.deprest@fedict.be
www.belgium.be/fedict
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