In a highly convenient “leak” it has been revealed that Donald Trump will meet with executives from Apple, Facebook, Google and an array of other tech giants in June. The main conversation will revolve around the US government and an upgrade on its digital services which will bring more public services online. It is also believed that the issue of highly skilled immigration will be discussed in great detail as many technology companies fear they will lose access to skilled workers because of proposed immigration changes by Donald Trump.
Interactive services
Donald Trump has been very critical of some of the online services offered by the US government with outdated websites, large paper trails and unhelpful call centres discussed at great length. Like so many other people he believes that government services should be more intuitive, user-friendly and effective. The move from off-line services to the online arena has been extremely slow in some parts of US government and to be honest it is not just the US which is guilty of this.
The US authorities want to “pick the brains” of the best technology companies in the world to give them advice on how to proceed in upgrading their digital services. This also gives the Trump government an opportunity to “cuddle up” to the technology companies and try to at least open up channels of communication for the future. Even though Donald Trump may come across as an “old world businessmen” he is well aware of the power of the Internet and online services.
Will there be additional funding for technology companies?
Next month’s meeting at the White House will not be all one way with technology companies almost certain to ask for future investment by the government and tax breaks to assist with research and development costs. We only need to look at the US stock market, just prior to this week’s stumble, to see that many people believe technology shares are the future. They have been pushed to levels which are in some cases unsustainable but much of this is on expectations for the future, both from a trading angle and government assistance.
It is easy to forget that Apple and Amazon, two tech giants, are the two largest companies quoted on the US stock market. They have market capitalisations into the hundreds of billions of dollars and the likes of Apple have built a war chest of over $250 billion. These are huge companies which have helped to push the US economy in the right direction, cutting costs and offering online and interactive services to their customers.
Good news at last!
While Donald Trump may be meeting with tech leaders under the guise of improving the US government’s digital footprint, this could and should be the start of a new relationship between the US government and technology companies. Investors are hopeful that the much mentioned tax breaks will emerge in the short to medium term for technology companies and additional investment in the US economy will assist the sector. It would be fair to say the last few weeks have been “difficult” for President Donald Trump but if he can build up a rapport and relationship with giants from the world of technology, surely this must be a move in the right direction?