GSM Association has recently unveiled results of its survey of 200 senior executives working at mobile operators, venture capitalists and mobile innovators around the globe. And as you can guess from the article’s title – despite recession, companies keep investing in R&D. As a matter of fact, nearly 70% of respondents believe that the increased need to prove a business case for new products and services during a downturn helps rather than hinders innovation.
Furthermore, 80% of the industry strongly believes that maintaining levels of spend on R&D is vital if mobile network operators are to benefit from the growth potential of new and innovative services. In that sense, 80% of respondents said that migration/upgrade to the LTE standard is set to provide developers with an environment that helps take innovation to the next level.
Region wise, 45% of respondents suggested that the most innovative projects will come from high-growth emerging markets, such as India and China; while 55% believed that established markets would continue to innovate.
The research comes on the heels of the GSMA announcement of the 10 innovator nominee companies who entered into the 2010 Mobile Innovation Grand Prix – EMEA Tournament, along with the the announcement of the HiT Barcelona World Innovation Summit that will take place in Barcelona, Spain, 17-19 June.