Global Tech Industry Leaders Increasingly See US As Tech Innovation And Disruption Leader
Compared to a year ago, more technology industry leaders globally said the United States is the most promising market for innovation and technology breakthroughs that have global impact, according to KPMG's 2018 global technology innovation report.
In keeping the U.S. on top, more than one-third (34 percent) of those surveyed named the U.S. as the most promising market for tech breakthroughs compared to 26 percent in last year's report. China remained second at 26 percent, and India ranked third at 13 percent, with the United Kingdom and Japan fourth. The report highlights key findings from a survey of nearly 800 technology industry leaders globally about technology innovation, leadership and market trends.
"Innovation from the U.S. and China technology industries continue to drive economic value and this year's survey underscores that point," said Tim Zanni, Global and U.S. Technology Sector Leader. "Just look at the investments the key platform companies are making in AI, IoT, robotics and other technologies that have great influence on the way business and consumers engage within our society."
Zanni added that "globally, the U.S. and China are in fierce competition for ideas, market leadership and economic power and the U.S. market is attracting major China tech giants who know they must have a footprint in the U.S. to maximize their growth."
Leading cities
Technology industry leaders were asked which three cities, in addition to Silicon Valley/San Francisco, will be the leading technology innovation hubs over the next four years. Unlike last year, when the U.S. and China dominated the Top 10, this year's Top 10 is more geographically diverse.
1. Shanghai; 2. Tokyo; 3. London and New York; 5. Beijing and Singapore; 7. Seoul; 8. Tel Aviv and Bangalore; 10. Berlin.
The top three U.S. cities named by tech leaders globally are New York first followed by Boston and Chicago tied for second.
"Innovation has become decentralized globally with some cities making great progress while others still face macroeconomic and infrastructure challenges," said Zanni. "Many factors affect a city's perception as an innovation hub, including favorable government policies and incentives, accelerators, tech parks, corporate investment, state-of-the-art infrastructure and, in all cases, at least a few highly successful and wildly popular success stories."
Revenue growth now top innovation measurement
Technology industry leaders in the US and globally said revenue growth is the top metric to measure the success of tech innovation in their organizations, replacing patents, which fell out of the top three. Market share and return on investment were second and third.
CIO rises as innovation driver
Asked to name what function/role has the responsibility to drive innovation in their company, respondents for the first time cited most often the Chief Information Officer ahead of the Chief Innovation Officer. However, respondents in China cited the Chief Innovation officer most often.
Innovation visionaries
Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, was named the top global technology visionary, with Google CEO Sundar Pichai second, followed by Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, third, and Alibaba Chairman, Jack Ma, fourth. Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, and Bill Gates tied for fifth. Alphabet CEO, Larry Page, and Apple CEO, Tim Cook, were seventh.
Google was again cited as the leading visionary company in driving tech innovation. Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla were second, third and fourth. Amazon and Alibaba tied for fifth.
