Sales in the computer and information technology (IT) services industry reached a record high of NT$453.4 billion (US$15.7 billion) last year amid a boom in people working from home and remote education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said last week.
Industry revenue last year rose 12.4 percent from a year earlier, Department of Statistics data showed.
The growth was its highest since 2008, the data showed.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
With growing demand for emerging technologies such as 5G applications, high-performance computing and Internet of Things devices, and cloud technology-based data processing services, many enterprises have sought more hardware and software to address cybersecurity concerns, the ministry said on Tuesday.
Computer programming design, consulting and related services were the industry’s major sales growth drivers, with revenue reaching a high of NT$341.4 billion, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, as businesses sought to build storage networks and enhance their data protection, the ministry said.
The ministry added that the IT services segment posted NT$112 billion in revenue, also a record high, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier, largely due to intensive promotions by online auction site operators and social media platforms.
The number of workers in the industry rose 3 percent from a year earlier to 119,000, overcoming an average 0.1 percent decline in the service sector as a whole, the ministry said.
The average regular wage in the industry rose 3.5 percent to NT$69,000, also beating the service industry’s average of NT$45,000, it added.
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