The biggest mover in this year’s index was Malaysia, which went 11 spots up in the overall rankings because of a surge in R&D activity. “It is abundantly clear … that investing in the fundamentals of technology innovation will pay huge dividends over the long term,” said BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman.

According to the newly released IT Industry Competitiveness Index, an international ranking organized by the Business Software Alliance, in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit, Malaysia is positioned 31st in terms of being “capable of supporting a strong IT production sector.”

The last time the ratings were published. (The United States is ranked at the top this year, followed by Finland and Singapore.) The new Index, updated for the fourth time since 2007, benchmarks 66 countries on a series of 26 indicators covering six critical foundation areas for IT implementation and innovation: overall business environment, IT infrastructure, human capital, research and development, legal environment, and public support for industry development.

He had what might be interpreted as a warning for the countries that currently dominate IT services. “We’re seeing the fast-growing economies of the developing world invest heavily in things like research and development and human capital,” Holleyman said. “They are moving away from a more singular focus on providing low-cost products and services. Because of that, we are moving to a world with many centers of IT power.”