In Asked to predict future disruptive technologies and the next epicenter for innovation, technology executives worldwide believe that China and the US will be at the forefront, with cloud enabling both the next indispensable consumer technology and business transformation for enterprises. Mobile technologies will continue to build on cloud, providing the tech breakthrough that will transform businesses, according to the Global Technology Innovation survey by KPMG LLP (US), the audit, tax and advisory firm.
Almost 30 per cent of the 668 business executives in the Americas, Asia Pacific (ASPAC), Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) said China and the US show the most promise for disruptive breakthroughs with global impacts, while 13 per cent cited India. Interestingly, only 39 per cent of US respondents selected the US as most promising, while 71 per cent in China selected China.
Interestingly in the last decade, India has made substantial and rapid strides on the path of innovation-based development and already managed to adapt and implement a number of measures to support this development. The government has invested significantly in technology. Communication technology like 3G has already made a mark in India and with the introduction of the 4G; technology will no longer play a support role in most businesses, it will become key enabler and business models will be driven by the technology. Cloud has also been leveraged and several e-Governance initiatives have been launched. While the Government is one of the primary pillars to drive innovation & cutting-edge technology, involvement of the private sector is also equally important for swift and effective enablement.
To identify disruptive technologies and the scope of change two to four years out, KPMG surveyed executives from technology industry startups, mid-sized to large enterprises, venture capital firms and angel investors.
The pace of technology innovations today is happening at unparalleled speed and Chinas projected rapid rise to prominence as a technology leader would be another example of this, said Gary Matuszak, partner, global chair and US leader for KPMGs Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice. Chinas anticipated parity with the US tech sector shows the significant challenge facing the US to retain its position as an innovation leader. Other countries will continue taking steps to boost technology innovation and to attract tech entrepreneurs.
These survey findings also demonstrate that Chinas innovation investment has fostered an environment for the development of disruptive technologies that is growing by leaps and bounds. The Chinese government is encouraging significant investment in three key areas shared services and outsourcing, payments and cloud computing. The 12th Five-Year Plan is also driving innovation in these critical areas, in order to create a nationwide virtual environment, said Egidio Zarrella, a partner with KPMG in China.
Asked what technology will have a major impact by 2015, 30 per cent of the survey respondents globally said Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS) will enable the next indispensable consumer technology. In regard to driving business transformation, 22 per cent said Cloud Infrastructure as a Service, followed closely by SaaS, will have the greatest impact. In the US, SaaS was the top selection in consumer and enterprise technologies.
It is clear that technology leaders in countries where technology innovation is thriving believe that the cloud represents a technology tidal shift. They are placing a huge bet on cloud, as it has multiple capabilities and benefits for providers and users such as generating revenue, improving operational efficiency, reducing costs and time to market, and enabling other disruptive technologies such as mobile and social applications, said Matuszak. The significant cloud investment that is under way is likely to spur technologies that drive breakthroughs in business transformation.
Mobile technologies also are seen as a significant beneficiary of cloud, as almost 30 per cent of global respondents expect that the next tech breakthrough in four years resulting in the greatest business transformation will come from smartphones, tablets and other mobile technologies.
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