Gartner says emerging markets are driving innovation

"In our increasingly customer-centric world we are moving away from the traditional view of innovation, as internally managed and R&D focused," said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner. "Innovation doesn't come from a laboratory. It comes from solving real life problems and responding to everyday needs regardless how sophisticated the market might be, with the ultimate goal to enrich people's life." According to Gartner, the reason for this level of innovation is three-fold. Firstly, emerging markets have fewer legacies enabling them to leapfrog technology and commercialise it faster, making them ideal test beds. Secondly, in highly constrained environments, which might include poor infrastructure and low affordability, there is an acute need for products that can serve the local market better, rather than products designed for the developed world. And finally, emerging countries such as China and India have the ambition to lead the IT industry in the global market, and innovation is their only way to compete globally. Gartner predicts that by 2015, IT engineered for developing economies will drive 20 per cent of disruptive IT innovation worldwide.