Nowadays it is generally accepted that information and communication technologies (ICT) are important drivers and ?enabling? technologies that have a broad impact on many sectors of the economy and social life. Therefore, measuring the level of ICT development, their economic and social impact, and the country?s readiness to use them are of great importance. In this paper we present the conceptual framework of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) proposed by the World Economic Forum, and analyse the relative position of Serbia and its ?distance? from the EU member states in the domain of NRI indicator variables. For this purpose we have applied the Kohonen Self-Organizing Map (the SOM algorithm), which provides the visual image, as a virtual map, of observed countries and their groupings. The resulting SOM map indicates that in the complex NRI space, Serbia is located in a group of EU states that includes Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic. In comparison to other countries, this group shows the poorest performance in the NRI landscape. In addition, our empirical analysis points to the areas in which policy intervention can boost the impact of ICT on Serbian economic development and growth. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179005]

No abstract

The application of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in all spheres of human activities has a significant impact on the development of each country. A better understanding of the relationship between these phenomena can contribute to the policy of a more balanced and long-term sustainable development on the national level. In this regard, the aim of the paper is to investigate the link between ICT and development profiles, taking the European countries as an example. We use several composite indexes (i.e., the ITU ICT development index, the global competitiveness index [GCI], and the Legatum prosperity index [LPI]) to investigate these countries’ profiles and find a common structure among their respective relationships. We applied the partial least squares regression (PLS-R) model and included a new welfare index – the prosperity index, which integrates all the key dimensions of country development (economic, social, and environmental). Our main finding is that PLS-R models successfully extract important information on common structure vis-à-vis the observed countries’ ICT and development profiles. Certain ICT indicators – namely, Use of ICT and Price of ICT services – can be considered predominant indicators, given their impact on a set of competitiveness and prosperity features within a country. These ICT indicators influence certain competitiveness attributes - Technological readiness, Business sophistication, Institutions, and Innovation, and certain prosperity attributes - Governance, Economic quality, and Personal freedom of the observed countries. These observations may be of great importance, as policy-makers can leverage them when designing the appropriate ICT and development strategies at national level.

The primary objective of this paper is to present the analysis of the functioning of distance learning in the educational system in Serbia during Covid-19 pandemic, and to draw conclusions on the readiness of the system for such and similar situations. More specific, the objective is to consider the role of distance learning in these circumstances, bearing in mind the fact that only in primary and secondary schools nearly 750,000 students and some 80,000 teachers were forced to use one or the other distance learning method. COVID-19 pandemics has affected educational systems in Serbia and worldwide alike, posing unimaginable logistic and technological challenges, forcing teachers to teach in new and unfamiliar ways. The paper first provides an overview of the most commonly used distance learning platforms and applications, in general and especially during a pandemic. In particular, research was conducted on students' attitudes about distance learning during the pandemic. The data obtained from a survey conducted at the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade is also analysed. The paper points out that the impact of the pandemic will clearly be far-reaching and widespread, raising the issue of its possible long-term significance for the education in general, and the educational system in Serbia in particular. The paper also points to the need of generation of new ICT skills in education. Technology has taken roots in education and will continue to play the key role in educating generations to come. With knowledge just a click away, the role of teachers will inevitably change.

APSTRAKTU ovom radu su opisani najnoviji trendovi na tržištu softvera. IT industrija je veoma dinamična i neprekidno u pokretu. Veoma učestalo pojavljivanje novih proizvoda i različitih inovacija, stalno iznova definišu i redefinišu konstantno menjanje ovog sektora. Međutim, u poslednje vreme izražena je još vecá nestabilnost nego inače, i to je počelo da utiče na kompanije koje proizvode poslovni softver. Kompanije koje su shvatile mogućnosti savremenih tehnologija i koje su uspele da naprave reinženjering svojih poslovnih procesa brzo su uhvatile korak sa savremenim načinom poslovanja, dok su organizacije koje nisu na vreme uspele da uvide značaj i važnost ove oblasti postale tržišno marginalizovane.Ključne reči: poslovni softver, trendovi na tržištu softvera. ABSTRACTThis paper describes the top recent software market trends. The tech industry is always in flux. Frequent new products and category innovation define and redefine the sector's constantly shifting landscape. But lately we've seen even greater volatility than usual, and it has begun to affect the makeup of software companies themselves. Companies which realized possibilities of contemporary technologies and which managed to make re-engineering of its business processes quickly caught up with a modern way of business dealing, whereas organizations which failed to understand the significance and importance of this area became marginalized on the market.Key words: business software, software market trends. UVODInformaciono-komunikacione tehnologije i poslovne aplikacije su postali ključni faktori za uspešno prilagođavanje preduzeća novim uslovima poslovanja. Preduzeća koja su shvatila mogućnosti savremenih tehnologija i koja su uspela da naprave reinženjering svojih poslovnih procesa brzo su uhvatila korak sa savremenim načinom poslovanja, dok su preduzeća koja nisu na vreme uspela da uvide značaj i važnost ove oblasti postala tržišno marginalizovana.IT industrija je veoma dinamična i neprekidno u pokretu. Veoma učestalo pojavljivanje novih proizvoda i različitih inovacija, stalno iznova definišu i redefinišu konstantno menjanje ovog sektora. Međutim, u poslednje vreme izražena je još vecá nestabilnost nego inače, i to je počelo da utiče na kompanije koje proizvode poslovni softver. One moraju da preispituju strukturu svog poslovanja i da preduzimaju hrabre korake kako bi postigle bolje finansijske rezultate. To maraju da urade, jer se na tržištu sve više javljaju veoma agresivni konkurenti. S druge strane, jača konkurencija uticila je da kupci postanu još zahtevniji. Oni traže od industrije poslovnog softvera da njihovi proizvodi imaju bolje performanse, bolje karakteristike, da budu nezavisni od platforme, fleksibilniji i da im cena bude što je moguće niža. Razvoj nauke i tehnologija je imao veliki uticaj na promenu poslovanja tradicionalnih kompanija. Proces inovacija u oblastima proizvodnje, marketinga i drugih funkcionalnih oblasti je neminovno bio praćen usavršavanjem u domenu informacionih tehnologija i poslovnih aplikacija. Poslovni softveri s...