2020 State of
Global Expansion™
Tech Industry
Executive insights on US- and UK-based tech companies and trending markets to watch.
Global expansion is a necessity for tech businesses to remain competitive in their space. The survey of 1,000 U.S. and UK tech executives reveals their ambitions for international growth, the most promising markets, and the challenges they face in 2020.
Investment is driving global ambitions
Businesses have a strong appetite for international growth and funding is powering their plans forward.
Global growth is the core focus for more than half of companies that received investment in the last 12 months.
The proportion of tech firms with a presence in five or more markets will increase radically in the next five years.
Nearly all SaaS, Big Data, and Agtech firms are planning on entering a new country in the next 12 months.
Percentage of firms entering new international markets in 2020:
Striving for growth, efficiency, and skills
Tech firms are hungry for new customers, economies of scale, and access to new talent.
Reasons why businesses look to new markets:
Target markets for global growth
Europe is the top destination for revenue growth in 2020, with Asia the most attractive for tech talent.
(including the Caribbean and Central America)
America
East
The top 10 most promising countries
The Global Expansion Tech Index™ highlights the most promising markets for tech companies according to key metrics such as growth, knowledge, and regulation. It reveals that attractive countries for tech firms, such as Sweden, Denmark, and Ireland, are flying under the radar.
2020
01 Singapore+4
02 Denmark+2
03 Ireland+3
04 United States-2
05 Hong Kong SAR, China-2
06 Germany+3
07 Sweden0
08 Australia+6
09 United Kingdom+3
10 Switzerland-2
2019
01 Netherlands
02 United States
03 Hong Kong SAR, China
04 Denmark
05 Singapore
06 Ireland
07 Sweden
08 Switzerland
09 Germany
10 Finland
Barriers and challenges
Recruitment, employee immigration, and tariffs remain significant hurdles in 2020, while more tech businesses struggle with regulatory compliance.
Most commonly cited challenges associated with global expansion:
The proportion of businesses that have exited an international market:
New countries open doors to new customers and top talent, creating vital opportunities for ambitious, disruptive tech companies to expand their horizons and boost revenue growth and innovation.
View the full report at the link below for additional 2020 global expansion data and insights.
The intent of this report is solely to provide general and preliminary information and shall not be construed as the basis for any decision. This report has been prepared by Velocity Global as general information for private use to who the report has been distributed. It is not intended as a personal recommendation of a particular strategy, and therefore does not provide individually-tailored advice. Additionally, the information contained in this report does not constitute legal advice on the consequences of making any particular decision.
This report may be based on or contain information, such as opinions, recommendations or estimates which emanate from: Velocity Global's analysts or representatives, publicly available information, Information from other named sources.
To the extent this report is based on or contain information emanating from other sources ('Other Sources') than Velocity Global ('External Information'), Velocity Global has deemed the Other Sources to be reliable but neither Velocity Global, others associated or affiliated with Velocity Global nor any other person, do guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the External Information.
© 2020 Velocity Global, LLC. All rights reserved.