Warum kommt Google nicht aus Deutschland?

I am on my way to Berlin to meet with the German Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (Ministry for Education and Research)

This evening Kai Lemke and I will participate in a meeting discussing what can be done to increase Germany’s share of the global software-driven markets.

A research program has been running for two years looking for the reasons why German software companies fail to get global market shares. The main conclusions from the research will be presented tonight. The discussion will also include the review of potential political initiatives motivating German software companies to increase their international activities.

Germany runs regular trade surpluses primarily due to its strong export of cars and other machinery. Germany also exports chemical products, hardware, electronic equipment, metals and pharmaceuticals. Germany main imports are electronic devices, fuel, vehicle parts and metals. Main trading partners are France, Netherlands, United States and Italy. Germany recorded a trade surplus of 18.80 EUR Billion in March of 2013.

What’s the problem?

As software is eating the world the German government wants to ensure that Germany gets its’ fair share of this growing business. That’s the problem. Germany is not getting their fair share of the growing software driven industries!

Having lived and worked in Germany for many years I know that German software is just as good as any other software. In addition they have a huge home market to test and grow a comfortable installed base. And that is probably the reason for the problem!

Why go international when you have a huge domestic market?

Because in most software markets the winner takes all!

It’s tough to be #2 and #3 and a nightmare being #4 or lower. German software companies failing to achieve global growth will face devastating competition form incoming global players.

“Grow or die” also applies to the German software industry…..

I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of the meeting.

Other articles on this subject

The German Software Industry Dilemma
Money is Not the Problem in the German Software Industry
Getting Qualified People is not the Issue in the German Software Industry
An Insular Mindset is the Issue in the German Software Industry
Lack of International Network is a Problem in the German Software Industry
BREAKING NEWS: Technology Clusters have no relevance in the German software industry