According to KPMG International’s 2015 Global Technology Innovation survey, many technology business leaders now rank several technologies ahead of or equal with Cloud and mobile as the most disruptive technologies in the next three years.

KPMG International surveyed 832 technology business leaders globally, including C-level executives (87 percent of respondents), from technology industry start-ups, mid-sized to large enterprises, venture capital firms and angel investors to identify disruptive technologies, barriers to technology innovation adoption, and the scope of business disruption and new monetization opportunities driven by emerging technologies.

“This year’s findings mark a milestone as some emerging technologies enabled by Cloud and mobile are now top strategic priorities and enablers in their own right,” said Gary Matuszak Global Chair of KPMG’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice. “The most successful businesses will be those that can most effectively apply multiple emerging technologies together and integrate them with people to address challenges and opportunities.”

When asked which will be the top disruptive technologies and enablers of consumer technologies in the next three years, technology business leaders (15 percent) in China ranked artificial intelligence (AI)/cognitive computing first, tied with Cloud. U.S. respondents (15 percent) ranked biotech/digital healthcare/healthcare IT alone on top, while Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) respondents (12 percent) ranked 3-D printing first.

In looking at the enterprise market, China-based technology business leaders ranked the Internet of Things (IoT) (14 percent) ahead of Cloud as the disruptive technology that is expected to have the greatest impact on driving business transformation in the next three years. EMA findings revealed that IoT (10 percent) leaped past several technologies to join Cloud and mobile as the most impactful business transformation drivers. In the U.S., technology business leaders viewed data and analytics (D&A) (13 percent) and Cloud as having the most impact during the next few years.

While respondents globally said the technology industry will see the greatest transformation due to emerging technologies, other industries ranked among the top three included consumer markets/retail and financial services in China; biotech/healthcare and consumer markets/retail tied with telecommunications in the U.S.; and telecommunications and energy in EMA.

Along with financial services ranking third in China, it rose to fourth in the U.S. This data complements a finding on digital disruption in the financial services industry.

Nearly tripling last year’s finding (15 percent), 41 percent of U.S. technology business leaders said it is likely or very likely that digital currencies will disrupt the banking and payments sector in the next three years. Globally, 42 percent said so. Almost three-fourths (72 percent) in China and 27 percent in EMA said it is likely or very likely.

Commenting on the results, Russell Kelly of KPMG Isle of Man said: “These findings are interesting for the Isle of Man, particularly the reference to digital currencies and the biotech sector. These are two areas that have experienced rapid growth over the past few years and the Isle of Man is committed to attracting new businesses in the technology space. At KPMG we have seen a number of new businesses making enquiries about the island and also existing companies investing further in these areas and I expect this growth to continue over the next 3 years due to the trends identified in this global survey.”

Photo - Russell Kelly.