CPA Australia Survey Provides Technology Adoption Insights
CPA Australia, an accounting firm providing financial services in the Asia Pacific region, has carried out a survey that suggests mainland China is the leader in business technology adoption. The organisation carried out the survey to determine how likely companies are to adopt artificial intelligence (AI), business intelligence (BI) technology, customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, data analytics and visualisation software and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The study highlights research gathered from the past year.
Technology Drives Business Development
2021 is an exciting year for many organisations as technology takes charge in the development of businesses around the world, but even company employees are seeing the extent of their companies’ technology implementation. CPA carried out a survey incorporating 725 professionals in various industries in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. According to the survey, 96% of respondents from high growth businesses said their employers have undergone technological changes over the past 12 months. The report was also included in CPA Australia’s Business technology report 2021.
Tony Chan, Deputy President of CPA Australia’s South China Committee, says, ‘it’s very positive to see that mainland Chinese businesses are leading usage in almost all these technologies’.
‘There is a connection between technology usage and business performance. Their strong focus on digitalisation and innovation will enable mainland Chinese businesses to not only keep pace with new technology trends but also to lead them’.
China Prioritises Technology Development
Although technological development is high on the business agenda, China has highlighted that innovation and technology are incorporated in the country’s 14th national five-year strategy—as a high priority component of its expansion. The plan also includes policy changes by central and local governments and rapid deployment of 5G networks. 91% of mainland Chinese respondents are lead to believe their employers will increase their investment in technology implementation in the next 12 months, which will target the use of AI and BI technologies, cloud computing, and data analytics and visualisation solutions.
However, a major concern of mainland Chinese respondents is the cybersecurity aspect of increased use of business technology. Wilson Feng, a member of CPA Australia’s East and Central China committee, says, ‘The survey findings show that mainland Chinese companies are more likely to adopt and invest in advanced technologies such as AI and BI software that rely heavily on data. It’s therefore not surprising that 41% of mainland Chinese respondents nominated cyber security concerns as a major challenge to business technology adoption’.
Fend continues, ‘The data reveals that mainland Chinese businesses are taking action to meet this challenge. 47% of surveyed respondents from mainland China reported that their employers had increased investment in cyber security software in the past 12 months. 28% expect their employers to increase investment in cyber security software in the next 12 months. [...] It is essential that digital transformation and risk mitigation go hand in hand. Businesses should also plan and execute strategies that manage potential risks to their network, data and technology tools to ensure that the organisation is safeguarded from threats’.
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