Enterprises Globally Making Funding For Tech Innovation More Accessible In Asia Pacific, EMEA, Than In U.S.: KPMG Survey

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 28, 2014  /PRNewswire/ -- In a sign of expanding global opportunities, more technology industry business leaders in China, and less in the U.S., than a year ago said that capital is widely accessible at their company to foster technology innovation, according to the 2014 KPMG Global Technology Innovation survey.

KPMG surveyed 768 technology business leaders globally from technology industry startups, mid-sized to large enterprises, venture capital firms and angel investors in order to identify innovation trends, disruptive technologies, and the scope of change.

In China, 78 percent of  the technology business leaders surveyed said funding for technology innovation is widely accessible at their company, compared to 68 percent in last year's survey, and in Asia Pacific overall, 64 percent said so, up from 56 percent a year ago. In the U.S., four of 10 respondents said capital for technology innovation was widely accessible compared to about half in the 2013 survey. Survey responses in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) also showed a shift as 51 percent said funding is widely accessible at their company for technology innovation, an increase from 48 percent last year.

"The survey findings fit with the activity we are seeing in key markets around the world. Companies globally, regardless of where they are based, are shifting investment for technology innovation to markets in Asia Pacific and other regions to pursue growing opportunities," said Gary Matuszak, Global Chair of KPMG's Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice. "As we detail in our global technology innovation report, there are several reasons for the shift, including government incentives, the adoption of Cloud, mobile and social media sparking innovation in those markets, and corresponding emerging ecosystems."

"The accessibility of capital to help drive innovation in China reflects the fact rising consumerism in the country is driving technology companies to become more innovative to meet consumer demand," said Edge Zarrella, KPMG China technology practice leader. "In particular, we should watch for innovation in data analytics and mobile applications."

Shift in measuring value of innovation
While talent and capital remain important factors required to fuel innovation, the survey findings revealed a shift in the metrics used to measure the value of innovation. Globally, compared to 47 percent a year ago, 36 percent of the technology industry business leaders said revenue growth was the top metric used in their organization to measure the value of innovation, while 30 percent, compared to 20 percent last year, said market value was the top metric. In the 2014 survey, 46 percent of the respondents in China, a significant shift up from 19 percent a year ago, said brand/reputation barometer was the top metric, while 42 percent said ROI, down from more than 50 percent last year. In the U.S., 37 percent said revenue growth, compared to 52 percent in 2013, and 31 percent, twice as many as last year, said market share.

U.S., China, Japan most promising for innovation
Survey respondents continued to believe, as in prior years, that the U.S. (30 percent) and China (24 percent) show the most promise for creating disruptive technology breakthroughs that will have a global impact. However, Japan jumped from fifth to third (9 percent) on the list, followed by Israel (8 percent) and Korea and India (6 percent). These countries also dominate the list of cities expected to be seen as leading technology innovation hubs over the next four years. Asked to identify such cities in addition to Silicon Valley, technology industry business leaders globally selected this top 10: Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing, New York, Seoul, London, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, and Boston, New Delhi, and San Francisco (last three tied). (see video commentary)

"Emerging tech hubs around the world are gradually figuring out how to reinvent the U.S. model for disruptive innovations. That creative spark and risk-taking culture that the U.S. is respected for worldwide may never fade," said KPMG's Matuszak. "But now as more overseas markets learn from the U.S. and begin to invent their own ideas and approaches, it's up to the U.S. policy makers, educators, entrepreneurs, technologists and corporate executives to maintain that competitive edge."

Recent news release on other 2014 Tech Innovation Survey findings
This year's innovation survey also identified the rise of three-D printing, Internet of Things (IoT), and biotech/ healthcare IT as disruptive technologies. They are among an incremental number of technologies that are gaining momentum, disrupting industries, and enabling new business models. The findings also highlighted the continuing impact of Cloud and Mobile, and the steady rise of data and analytics, autotech, and artificial intelligence. Please click here for more details. Gary Matuzsak's video commentary on some of the key findings is available here. 

About the KPMG 2014 Global Technology Innovation Survey
In the July - September 2014 survey of 768 business executives globally whose organizations were focused on the technology space, 25 percent of the respondents were in the Americas, 47 percent in Asia Pacific, and 28 percent in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Seventeen percent of respondents were from the United States and 14 percent from China.

About KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (www.kpmg.com/us), is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International's member firms have 155,000 professionals, including more than 8,600 partners, in 155 countries.

Contact: Mike Alva
              KPMG LLP
              (415) 963-5426
              [email protected] 
              Twitter: @michaelalva

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SOURCE KPMG LLP

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