The State of Global
Expansion:
Tech Industry
Executive insights on US- and UK-based tech companies and trending markets to watch.
For tech businesses, international expansion is an inescapable requirement of continuous growth. A survey of 1,000 U.S. and UK tech executives revealed their short- and long-term ambitions and motives for global expansion.
A hunger for global growth
Businesses want to expand—and do so quickly.
90%
Nearly all U.S. and UK tech businesses will expand into new international markets
64%
Almost two-thirds of tech businesses operating in only their domestic markets will move overseas in the next year
What's driving this appetite?
Reaching more customers is a key driver of overseas growth, but it is not the sole motivator.
The most-desired global destinations
When it comes to revenue growth, Europe dominates—with North America second.
(including the Caribbean and Central America)
America
East
The top 20 promising markets
The Global Expansion Tech Index highlights the most promising markets for tech companies according to key metrics such as growth, knowledge, and regulation.
01 Netherlands
02 United States
03 Hong Kong SAR, China
04 Denmark
05 Singapore
06 Ireland
07 Sweden
08 Switzerland
09 Germany
10 Finland
11 Korea, Rep.
12 United Kingdom
13 Canada
14 Australia
15 Norway
16 Austria
17 Malaysia
18 Israel
19 Czech Republic
20 China
Looking ahead
Despite the ambitions for global expansion, a high proportion of tech firms haven't left their domestic markets. This will radically change in the next five years.
Proportion of businesses present in four countries or more:
2019
21%
End of 2024
76%
Bumps in the road
Businesses face significant challenges when they make this leap for the first time.
The most commonly cited challenges associated with global expansion:
The proportion of businesses that exited an international market:
To outpace the competition and become an industry-leading organization, tech firms must embrace the fact that expanding into multiple markets is no longer optional; it is a necessity. View the full report at the link below for additional global expansion data and insights.
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