Which emerging technologies are being relied upon?
Emerging technologies such as data and analytics, artificial intelligence and blockchain have experienced a major boost in recent years. Companies are increasingly realizing that these new technologies can make a decisive contribution to their business success, according to the consulting firm KPMG.
Today, no forward-looking company can ignore technology issues. A look at the Global Emerging Technologies Survey by KPMG International shows this. The consulting firm surveyed 900 business and technology executives from the 2000 largest global companies last year about their attitudes and plans in the technology sector. As the results show, there is a lot of interest in emerging technologies. Eighty percent of companies are already investing in emerging technologies or plan to do so. Nearly 60 percent of executives said the pandemic has added impetus to digital transformation. And more than half of respondents cited migration to the cloud as an absolute priority. High on the priority list, however, are smart analytics and intelligent process automation with Low Code.
Partly massive budget cuts
The pandemic has not only shifted the list of priorities for new technologies, it has in particular tightened the budgets for them: For the three "must-have" technologies mentioned above, the reductions compared to the planning before the pandemic and that after the first wave are still relatively small - between 13 (smart analytics) and 21 percent (process automation). Larger reductions result from the survey in the case of AI { "-45%",) 5G (-50%), Edge Computing (-61%) and Blockchain (-63%).
"In Switzerland, too, we are seeing immense interest from companies in technology topics," says Mark Meuldijk, Partner and Head of Data & Analytics and Emerging Technologies at KPMG. "That is also a good thing. Because companies need to move with the times in order to be able to identify the opportunities and risks of digitalization. Companies that approach digital transformation strategically and holistically can achieve longer-term competitive advantages and operate profitably in the long term."
Despite cutbacks - the executives surveyed already see tangible value from new technologies. Leading the rankings is process automation (45%), followed by artificial intelligence (38%), edge computing (37%) and cloud (32%); however, for 5G, only 20 percent see tangible value.
Good framework conditions in Switzerland
The conditions for companies in Switzerland to benefit from digitization are certainly in place, says KPMG. In this context, it refers to the Global Innovation Index 2020 of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): In this ranking, Switzerland is classified as the most innovative country in the world. Tech giants with subsidiaries in Switzerland, for example, are taking advantage of this climate for innovation, according to the consultancy.
The efforts to promote a technologically innovative environment have already yielded considerable success. For example, within just a few years, the canton of Zug has developed into a major blockchain hub known as Crypto Valley, with more than 380 blockchain companies. In addition, renowned education and research centres such as ETH Zurich and EPFL in Lausanne regularly occupy the top positions in international university rankings. Together with other institutions, they train specialists who are urgently needed for digitalisation. The best conditions for local companies to exploit the opportunities of digitalisation to their advantage, as the auditor writes.
In their latest campaign "Clarity on Emerging Technologies"KPMG takes a look at the most promising technologies of the future.
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