Blockchain Investments Decreased 63% Due to Pandemic
The company KPMG has published a report in which it predicts that in the next 12 months, blockchain will be one of the five emerging technology sectors that will see an increase in investment by enterprises.
The report, entitled Enterprise Reboot, was compiled by KPMG International and HFS Research. It is based on a survey of 900 executives from Forbes Global 2000's largest public enterprises with annual revenues in excess of $ 1 billion.
While the report found that blockchain investment has fallen 63% due to the pandemic, it predicts the sector, along with artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, 5G, and process automation technologies, will see investment surge as large companies try to get a competitive advantage.
KPMG also noted that Global 2000 companies were quick to cut off technology funding as virus lockouts and recession took effect and forced companies to prioritize survival. About 40% of managers indicated that they completely stopped investing in new technologies.
The report added that the COVID-19 blockades hit blockchain funding the hardest.
The board of directors said that blockchain investments fell by an average of 63% - this is the largest average percentage loss of funding among emerging tech sectors.
However, the report shows that 59% of executives believe COVID-19 has created the impetus to accelerate digitization initiatives.
The report also notes that blockchain investments are seen as improving "competitive position", improving efficiency, and management processes are "the foundation for infrastructure modernization".
65% of executives believe that the combined use of new technologies will bring more returns than investing in a single technology.
However, Steve Hill, KPMG's global head of innovation, said trust issues continued to hamper the adoption of the latest technology.
"Visible trust gaps in new technologies such as AI, blockchain and the Internet of Things continue to be significant barriers to their adoption," said Steve Hill.
"I believe that organizations will need to gain trust in order to successfully implement new technologies and emerge from the crisis [...] It is these organizations that are likely to be better able to recover from the crisis."