Corporate spending in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and 5G to increase in the next 12 months, according to a survey of 900 technology executives from 9 countries, including India.
The interest to scale up comes at a time when some of the world’s largest public companies are cutting back funding in emerging technologies due to the pandemic, global consultancy firm KPMG said in its report titled 'Enterprise Reboot'.
“Companies are seeking out ways to reboot the enterprise and get fit for the new reality,” the survey found.
“So, while edge computing, blockchain, AI and 5G are seeing deeper investment reductions during the pandemic, these spending cuts aren’t permanent.”
A third of organisations surveyed were spending an average of $16 million annually on each of these emerging technologies.
Nearly 60% of the executives surveyed said Covid-19 has given an impetus to digital transformation initiatives.
More than 80% of the companies are increasing technology investment as they are seeing higher returns, the report noted.
Executives have shifted their focus to must-have technologies like automation, and more than 50% of the survey respondents said cloud migration has become an absolute necessity with the sudden popularity of work-from-home culture.
The biggest challenge is in securing commitment from top management to realise the value of investing in emerging technology, the report said.
Other challenges include cybersecurity and privacy concerns, lack of data quality and management, and rigid governance structure.
“Now more than ever, companies need to make smart investments in emerging technologies if they are to prevail in the medium to long term. Companies who don’t, risk threatening their own survival,” said Cliff Justice, global lead for Intelligent Automation at KPMG.
