‘Hybrid Infrastructure’ Is Catalyst for Growth, Say America’s Business Leaders

Washington – Business Roundtable today released its new report, Catalyst for Growth: America’s Hybrid Infrastructure, which details how the integration of physical infrastructure and information technology is creating a new platform for sustained economic growth and job creation. The report provides recommendations for adapting government policies to the reality and promise of 21^st century hybrid infrastructure, which includes, for example, cloud computing systems, smart electric grids, mobile payment systems and America’s forthcoming Next Generation Air Transportation System. 

“Hybrid infrastructure is the future of the U.S. economy, creating a whole new platform for job creation, economic growth and U.S. competitiveness,” said Francisco D’Souza, President and CEO of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation and Chairman of Business Roundtable’s Subcommittee on Hybrid Infrastructure, which is part of the Roundtable’s Committee on Information and Technology. “Government can best serve America’s future by removing barriers and facilitating the development of these new economic drivers.”

In Catalyst for Growth: America’s Hybrid Infrastructure, Business Roundtable calls on government to:

• Streamline regulatory policy to boost hybrid infrastructure deployment by updating and improving the regulatory system to ensure that companies will continue to make significant investments in new hybrid infrastructure.
• Promote “hybrid-friendly” policies around the world by having U.S. trade and diplomatic leadership advocate for their international adoption in law, policy and best practices as well as in bilateral, multilateral and plurilateral agreements.
• Build a more highly skilled workforce by crafting policies that will spur the development of a workforce with greater skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
• Promote privacy and security by reforming relevant existing laws to reflect new advances in technologies, such as cloud computing and mobile payment systems; supporting the federal government in the development of secure electronic identity management; encouraging continued public- and private-sector collaboration to facilitate the development of voluntary, risk-based standards and best practices to ensure the security of personal and commercial data; and examining policy solutions to enable consumers to have secure access to and use of their own data collected by hybrid infrastructure. 

To highlight key elements of the report, Business Roundtable also released two Vines through its Twitter account (@BizRoundtable). The first Vine defines hybrid infrastructure and the second provides an example of the technology in practice through a traffic management application.