The European Union's Atlas of ICT hotspots has identified 34 regions in 12 countries across the continent with the highest activity and potential in ICT.
The study has taken a closer look at both big metros and smaller cities, however the top three spots belong to Munich, London and Paris.
The report is based on the three core elements that have been carefully analysed in order to identify the best-performing ICT regions across Europe. The components of analysis include the region's business activity, innovation as well as its research and development opportunities.
Additionally, this has been supported by factors such as the intensity, measured in business turnover, growth and headcount, the level of internationalisation and the region's networking ability.
Other key criteria include the access to top universities and capital along with funding opportunities, the study says.
The EU also emphasises that in order to fulfil the aforementioned criteria the regions do not need to be big which is exemplified by a German city with 150,000 inhabitants Darmstadt which ranks high in the report together with Leuven in Belgium or Cambridge in the UK.
The report also finds that the UK ranks first in terms of the number of the ICT graduates providing 8 out of the 10 top regions while Germany ranks first in research and patenting activity. The employment growth is the fastest in Lisbon, in Portugal, and in the south-west region of Poland (Rzeszow). All three top cities Munich, Paris and London also win in the category of the venture capital acquisition.
EU's atlas also says that there is a number of factors that each of the ICT winning regions do share. Most of the regions are the established industrial, educational and historical centres which play a leading role in its respective countries and have a long-term policy on R&D in place. Additionally, they tend to create the clusters and are located in a close proximity to each other.
"This is proof that digital success comes through a willingness to invest, an open mindset for innovation and planning. Europe needs to build these values today to be a global leader in technology," says European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes.
The second-tier regions include: Karlruhe and Darmstadt in Germany, Cambridgeshire in the UK, Stockholm and Uusimma in Sweden, Noord Brabant and Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Leuven in Belgium.