Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, announced the release of the annual 2020 Global Growth Index, a report that explores the growth trajectory of companies around the world and provides insight on how business leaders are using technology to support and drive growth initiatives. The index looks at the constantly changing state of growth in the manufacturing, distribution, retail and e-commerce industries along with what trends impact the bottom line.
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“The trends outlined in this report prove to the wider business community that technology investment is paying off, and that technology investment will continue to be vital if leaders wish to successfully maintain business resiliency, adapt to geopolitical volatility, and stay flexible around market changes.”
The report’s findings show that companies across the globe are embracing technologies to offset the impacts of global volatility, such as COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions. These market conditions are fueling the need to enhance business resilience over the next 12 months, with companies prioritizing better technology (41.4%), better planning (38.9%) and working more efficiently (40.9%). Other key themes identified through the research is listed as followed:
Investments in AI and Big Data are paying off
- AI is driving growth and proving worth the investment for most organizations, with more than 80% of respondents reporting that AI delivered business value in 2 years or less. According to 85.4% of total respondents AI was driving growth overall, with 37.9% specifically reporting that it helped to increase competitiveness.
- Big data analytics is driving growth and proving worth the investment for most organizations, by optimizing operations (42.7%), increasing sales (44%) and improving profitability (45.3%).
Cloud is poised to be a priority
- Cloud technology is set to be a key strategic priority, with one out of four respondents saying they will prioritize investing in it in 2020.
- When asked about key technology trends that are expected to be emerging over the next 12-18 months, cloud was chosen as the second most likely to have the biggest positive, direct impact on future industry growth.
“It’s no secret that recent global events have disrupted the normal order of operations and further spurred businesses’ adoption of technology,” said Steve Murphy, Chief Executive Officer at Epicor. “The trends outlined in this report prove to the wider business community that technology investment is paying off, and that technology investment will continue to be vital if leaders wish to successfully maintain business resiliency, adapt to geopolitical volatility, and stay flexible around market changes.”
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