Tech’s Next Big Thing Won’t Come Out of Europe
By Ben RooneyWhatever the Next Big Thing in technology is, it isn’t going to come from Europe according to a survey of global technologists published Friday.
When asked by KPMG for its 2013 Technology Innovation Survey which country shows the most promise for disruptive technology that will have a global impact, 37% or the 811 executives polled said the U.S., 24% China and 10% India.
The U.K., the only western European country, was ranked by just 1% of respondents.
“Of course people think about the big boys when they think of innovation. Europe is a bit of an after thought,” said Tudor Aw, Technology Sector lead for KPMG Europe, when talking about why Europe faired so badly. “When people stand back and think about technology, of course they think about Silicon Valley and the U.S., then they think about some of the other tech centers, and China in particular.”
“I think a lot of that is to do with the noise of everything else going on in Europe. All we hear is debt problems. It is that test of ‘what is the first thing that comes into your mind when I say Europe?’ Innovation is probably not a word that jumps to mind,” Mr. Aw said.
But Mr. Aw cautioned against being overly pessimistic. “We don’t want to run ourselves down too much [but] we need to change our image and branding around this.”
The report also asked what was the likelihood that the world’s technology innovation center would move from Silicon Valley to another country in the next four years. One in three respondents ranked it likely or very likely (that figure was down on 2012 when 44% thought it would).
Once again it is to China that people turn. Globally 37% of people who said it would move, believing it would be China that picked up the crown, 19% India and 9% Japan. Russia was backed by 2%.
Belief in China as an innovation center has slipped. Last year it was tied with the U.S. as the most likely country to produce the Next Big Thing (both on 29%). This year China has fallen back to 24% while the U.S. has shot ahead to 37%.
That too, said Mr. Aw, was a result of the increasingly bearish view of the slowing China market. “What we are seeing is the feeling that the U.S. will always be a center of innovation.”
Two small nations did fare well. Some 6% of respondents thought Israel would deliver the Next Big Thing, 3% thought Singapore. Both countries have invested very heavily in their tech sectors.
The survey was conducted in April-June 2013 on the web with 811 business executives in the technology space, Some 72% are mid market or start-ups, and six in 10 are C-level. Respondents were drawn from around the world, although 34% from the Americas, 37% from Asia-Pacific and 30% from EMEA.
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