To the Question of the Relevance of Statistics of Information and Communication Technologies in the Context of the Digital Transformation of the Economy

Abstract

Purpose of the study. The process of qualitative transformation of the economy under the influence of information and communication technologies is called digital transformation. The change of the economic paradigm in the technocratic context raises the question of whether the existing statistical methodology can still be applied objectively and effectively to the study of the subject area in the new conditions. The purpose of the article is to assess the relevance of statistics in the field of information and communication technologies as an information source for analyzing the digital transformation of the economy, taking into account its industry specifics.Materials and methods. To clarify the depth of this problem, there seems to be no better way than to carry out an analysis using statistical data collected and published by the Federal State Statistics Service. As statistical tools, descriptive statistics indexes are used to describe particular indicators, one of the methods of multivariate statistical analysis for obtaining a classification according to a number of characteristics (cluster hierarchical analysis) and, finally, a method for calculating an integral index that can rank the units of the analyzed population formed according to the type of economic activities (18 units), simultaneously for all of its constituent indicators.Results. The system of statistical indexes formed during the analysis included four thematic groups of indexes: a) IT infrastructure and access to it; b) the level and direction of use of IT services; c) availability and qualifications of IT specialists; d) information security. The calculation of descriptive statistics showed that all groups (with the exception of indexes of the presence and qualifications of IT specialists) are homogeneous; comparison of the values of the arithmetic mean and the median does not make it possible to declare any significant asymmetry in their distribution. Cluster hierarchical analysis was carried out by the Ward method using the Minkowski metric, which made it possible to obtain two approximately equal in size industry clusters and one mono-cluster, consisting of a type of activity in the field of information and communication. The resulting grouping, however, could not definite answer the question of the priority of some industries over others in the digital transformation of their constituent organizations. To solve this problem, an integral index was developed, which included the most significant indexes of each of the groups (selected by experts). As a result of calculating the values of this integral index based on the arithmetic weighted average, a ranked series was obtained, transformed into a typological grouping, the leader of which is activity in the field of information and communication, the outsider is agriculture. An analysis of this grouping made it possible to draw a very curious conclusion: in general, in the analyzed set of types of economic activity, there is a clear trend or dependence - the closer the industry is to the sphere of material production, the lower its inherent value of the integral index of digital transformation.Conclusion. The analysis carried out convincingly showed the significant possibilities of information and communication technology statistics as an information source for analyzing the process of digital transformation of the economy in the sectoral context. At the same time, the dynamism of the analyzed subject area determines the prerequisites for revising the system of statistical indexes in order to update it and increase the efficiency of publishing the results of surveys in the field of information and communication technologies