Strong competition and the struggle to hire specialized human resources are currently pointed out by managers as the main challenges facing the technology industry, according to data gathered by PricewaterhouseCoopers in a study called «Embrancing Change in the Technology Industries».
The 126 managers surveyed indicate that strong competition, both from companies already consolidated in the market and from new companies, and the fierce struggle for recruiting talent are the issues that currently concern them most. Competition from companies well positioned in the market was mentioned by 48 percent of respondents as the main risk to face, followed by the ability to attract employees and skills (42%) and the emergence of new competitors (31%).
In the same study, managers show that they must remain flexible in terms of strategies, business models and cultures, in order to continue to follow the evolution and progress, despite claiming that the speed of change in the technological industry has been soften. While 82 percent defined the changes in the past ten years as profound, only 71 percent anticipate the same level of change in the next decade.
When asked what will have the greatest positive impact on technology companies over the next ten years, 75 percent of respondents noted the convergence to digital services and economic expansion in Europe (64%), China (63%) and Europe India (62%).
The most negative issues such as global terrorism, rising energy prices and cyberterrorism do not appear to be of much concern to decision-makers, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Partnerships and joint ventures technologies remain important, having been classified as the second most valuable strategy, surpassed only by interaction with the customer. Seventy percent of respondents believe that a small competitor or a start-up it has more possibilities to create an innovative and advanced product or business model than a larger and more consolidated company.
The growth of the Internet, the emergence of China and the increase in the power of more and more informed consumers are the events or trends of the next decade that may be remembered in 100 years from now as the most important, in the opinion of the majority of managers surveyed .
The «Embracing Change» study by PricewaterhouseCoopers was developed in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit and is the first of a set of six documents to be published over the next 18 months under the motto «Technology Executive Connections».
Related News:
2005-06-09 – Accession of large companies to VoIP will be massive until 2010
2005-05-08 – Portuguese managers see the country as an innovator
2005-04-07 – Companies see IT as a competitive tool for the next five years
