On the 14th of October every year, IEC, ISO, and ITU organise World Standards Day to spread knowledge about standardisation and its importance. The day focuses on drawing attention to the work done by experts globally and the global collaboration needed to develop the common framework we call standards.
In this interview, we meet My Bergdahl, a commercial policy expert at Teknikföretagen (Technology Industries of Sweden) responsible for standardisation and digital commerce. My is also vice chairman of the board for ITS, and in this interview, she shares how the two organisations together drive advocacy work within standardisation in Europe.
Standardisation is central to a strong tech industry
Teknikföretagen is an industry and employer organisation that has about 4500 companies as members. Teknikföretagen has two main responsibilities to these members; the first one is to support and give advice regarding employer-related questions. The second responsibility, in which My plays a key role, is to contribute to the member companies and ensure that the Swedish tech industry has the best possible competition conditions.
“Standardisation is an important question for our member companies, which makes it natural for us to be a member of ITS. For the tech industry, standardisation is important since it affects areas such as innovation, safety, accessibility, and global trade. With good standards in place, following legislation is easier, and it’s more efficient to develop your own products and reach global economies of scale,” says Bergdahl.
With collaborative efforts, we can shape the standardisation system
As a member of ITS, Teknikföretagen gets a strong voice when it comes to influencing the standardisation system. An essential part of our collaborative work is taking care of the standardisation system that’s in place. The more of us who help contribute, the stronger Sweden’s voice becomes in Europe and internationally. In addition to the possibility of creating change, membership in ITS also gives insight into what’s happening within the IT and telecommunications industry. It also offers a unique network of people that can’t be found anywhere else.
“As an industry organisation, we work on a system level rather than with individual standardisation questions. A great part of our work is maintaining the standardisation system as it’s worked historically and lifting the tech industry’s perspective in different standardisation contexts. The geopolitical situation challenges the standardisation system we have today. In an increasingly complicated world, where new innovations are developed at an exponential pace, driven by, for example, AI, the technology is increasingly politically regulated through legislation,” Bergdahl explains.
“This changes the standardisation system and makes it more of an order from the top, which doesn’t always work very well in reality. We see that the market-driven system, where actors in the market, the industry, the academy, and public authorities work together to solve concrete problems, works better. That means that legislators decide the requirements for what’s to be accomplished, but how it’s accomplished is defined by the standards made by the experts,” My continues.
“As a member of ITS, we, in addition to our opportunities to create change, get a good insight into our preconditions within the standardisation field. It gives us access to a network of possible contacts with national and international actors that we otherwise might not have been able to reach in the same way. And it also allows us to influence and contribute to ITS important work regarding ETSI,” Bergdahl continues.
A good international collaboration is the key to success
A strong international collaboration is one of the most critical factors for the standardisation work to succeed. By getting involved and working together across borders, countries, companies, and organisations can create harmonised standards that favour innovation and technical development. At ITS, we view it as a necessity to ensure future innovation and competitive strength.
“Global collaboration is incredibly important for our members and the Swedish tech industry. In order to benefit the industry, the harmonised standards created in Europe need to be developed in unison with the international standards. Otherwise, we risk getting less innovation, less growth, fewer work opportunities, and a worse economy for Europe,” Bergdahl continues.
“In the future, I hope we can return to a structure where the legislation decides what needs to be achieved and the standardisation focuses on the technical aspects. I think the most important thing is differentiating between ‘what’ and ‘how’ when it comes to standards. The technical experts need to be responsible for the ‘how’. Above all, I hope we’ll continue to have good international collaboration since it will benefit the Swedish tech industry,” Bergdahl finishes.
