Information and Communication Technology

Information and communication technology (ICT) has become one of the major economic sectors in Essen with its broad spectrum of software houses, internet companies, telecommunications providers, advertising and PR agencies, publishers and printers as well as audiovisual media in the form of film, radio and television. Approximately 1,500 companies with some 28,000 employees justify Essen’s reputation as the top IT and media location in the Ruhr region.

An important factor in favour of the location of Essen is the proximity to research and technology at an international standard. The quality of the universities and the regional landscape of research and vocational training in the ICT sector make it possible for companies resident there to integrate highly-skilled graduates in their practical operations at an early stage. In addition there are more than 50 vocational and further education establishments which offer specialist choices in the new media sector.

From here in Essen, in particular for medium-sized IT companies, a huge market and sales potential becomes apparent. Some of the highly-specialised businesses can address a considerably larger regional labour potential in Essen and reach more customers than in any other location in North-Rhine Westphalia.

Growth industry - information technology
With about 700 companies and more than 13,000 employees, the IT (information technology) field is a core competence of the city of Essen. Among the major German cities, Essen takes a leading position in view of the relation to the population. The IT companies cover a wide range of services and products; these include software development, technology consultancy, e-commerce services and multimedia, and even the development of artificial neural networks (self-learning software) and systems communication as well as sensor technology. Another focus is IT services for specific sectors such as software implementation.

The user industries which are particularly strong in Essen, such as for example the health and power industry, and even the internationally interdependent groups, banks and insurance industries, request these diverse IT services. The EWG, i.e. the Essener Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH (Essen's Economic Development Agency) supports the development of industry-specific solutions and IT clusters, for example, by managing the professional convention in IT trends "Medizin Health Telematics".

The University of Duisburg Essen is a specialist in computer science and business information systems (the largest department in the German-speaking region) offering education and training at a high level, with its total of 14 courses. They range from applied computer science to computer engineering, business information systems, cryptography to electronic and information technology. ICB - the Institute for Computer Science and Business Information Systems, - holds a special position in this area.

Users from companies of the most diverse sectors in the region, which wish to build on expertise in the electronic business development, benefit in Essen from the various events and range of consultancy and other services of EC-RUHR (Electronic Commerce Centre of Competence Ruhr).

Numerous initiatives and networks contribute to promoting innovation, the transfer of research, co-operation, joint projects and business alliances. These include the forums "IT-Standort Essen" (IT location of Essen), "networker-essen" and the industry association across the Ruhr region "ruhr networker e.V.". One of the top addresses for IT companies is ComIn, a centre of expertise for communication and information technology; "Meet IT", which takes place here, and ComIn-Talk have developed into industry meetings of regional significance.

Telecommunication – the digital precursor
The Essen metropolitan area benefits from full high-capacity fibreglass cable cover, which reaches a length of more than 1,500 km. Ten telecommunications network operators are based here or have an office in Essen; their national control centres in Essen and the Carrier-Hotel together provide important hubs in the national communication network. High-performance computer centres (server farms) ensure a safe environment for highly-sensitive corporate data.

Apart from that, Essen is one of the centres where the Deutsche Telekom AG established the groundbreaking high-speed broadband data network VDSL. In particular, SME and private households benefit from this investment plan offering a downstream rate of up to 52 MBit/s which is a multiple of today's ADSL speeds.

Publishing
Essen has a strong tradition of publishing and printing. More than 300 businesses, including the WAZ media group, the second-largest newspaper publisher in Germany, are based in Essen. The Sutter group with about 500 employees is the largest publishing company in Essen. The printing works of Axel Springer AG in Essen-Kettwig is Europe’s most state-of-the-art offset printing plant.

Film, radio and TV
For approximately 35 years, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) has been producing television and radio programmes in its Essen studio. Many film companies in Essen develop and produce television programmes and films for major broadcasters. Under the umbrella of the NRW film foundation, Essen attracts companies with its broad range of interesting locations such as the Zollverein World Heritage Site, a former coal mine, the incomparable movie flair of Lichtburg and the Baldeneysee (Lake Baldeney) as a filming location for film and television productions. A large number of production companies use Essen as a filming location.

Advertising
In the field of advertising and PR, Essen leads the way in the Ruhr region. Approximately 200 advertising agencies cover the entire scope of advertising possibilities. Numbering among the larger companies are CP/Compartner Agentur für Kommunikation GmbH and BJS Werbeagentur GmbH, which also number among the leading agencies in the Ruhr region. Incredible growth has been achieved in Essen in recent years, especially in industrial advertising.