China and the US are leading the charge as global technology centers. In the latest KPMG global technology innovation survey, we see new tech hubs emerging. Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing were all selected by respondents as current and future tech leaders and innovation hubs. Hong Kong’s ecosystem meanwhile continues to expand and evolve in the hopes of becoming an Asia hub for local and international entrepreneurs in areas such as fintech, IoT, healthtech, consumer mobile technologies and artificial intelligence.

IoT, robotics, artificial intelligence and biometrics has been identified in China as disruptive technologies that will enable business and industry transformation.

Looking specifically at the technology, media and telecommunications (“TMT”) sectors, we have asked 580 senior executives in each of the TMT sectors from 16 countries (a total 1,740 executives) to get their views about technology disruption in our “Disruptive technologies barometer” survey.  Respondents represented a cross section of the industries, and questions covered the key disruptive technology adoption trends, the impact of these technologies on their businesses and their investment strategies.

Although each of the 3 industries are different in terms of how they react to the different types of disruption they face, there are also a lot of similarities across them. Here are some very interesting and unexpected results.

• Across all three sectors, mobile, data analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) appear to be the popular technologies that companies identified as strategic and significant investments.
• Over 70% of the respondents think disruptive technologies are improving their operating models in terms of productivity, quality and cost savings.
• Over 70% of the respondents think disruptive technologies help improve customer experience metrics, developing new products or services, marketing to customers more effectively, and monetizing products or services differently.
• Changes your relationship with your customers (to becoming more direct/intimate).
• Improves your company’s business model (find new ways to deliver and capture value).
• Solves difficult operational problems (incremental improvements in efficiency).

From our survey, more than half of all global respondents in the 3 industries have seen a positive impact on their organisation’s performance, with the following statements particularly resonating with them.

China’s respondents are above the global average in terms of their optimism towards disruptive technologies. We have seen the rate at which the Chinese market readily adopts new technology faster than most Western countries. Just look at how WeChat has grown within a short period of time to become a hub for all internet activity and as a platform for users to find their way through services.

The vast majority of global respondents admit that their companies may not be ready for disruptive technologies and the changes they may bring.

Consistently between all TMT sectors the biggest fear is that disruptive technology is breaking down traditional barriers so that there is competition from both within and outside of the industry. This Third Wave of technological development is inevitable since technologies are becoming increasingly available across all industries so all companies will eventually become, to some extent, technology companies.

The impact of disruptive technology on an organization can be multi-faceted and hard to pin down. Disruption acts as a driver of change across many business disciplines. Its effects are pervasive, requiring firms to invest differently, act bravely and adapt their corporate cultures. These are some points in helping to navigate:

It’s not just about providing the finance for investment; management time and commitment is needed to get fully behind new technologies and embed them into operations and business models including processes and governance structure. Chinese companies will continue to focus on growth, strengthening their capabilities and readying their businesses for a very different future, through transformation, advanced technology and specialised talent.

We have long passed the stage of simply observing the force of disruption.  Innovation and transformation need to be led from the top with management and teams working collaboratively to ensure effective execution so that visions and strategies can become a reality.