Report: $1 Tech Investment May Yield $8.3 Return

A $1 investment in digital transformation can yield an $8.3 return in a country’s digital economy, according to the findings of the Huawei’s Global Digitalization Index (GDI) unveiled at GITEX Dubai 2024.

The new Global Digitalization Index. jointly created with the International Data Corporation (IDC) measures the maturity of a country’s ICT industry by factoring in multiple indicators for digital infrastructure, including computing, storage, cloud, and green energy.

The report predicts digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will drive 70 per cent of global economic growth over the next five years.

However, Huawei warns that while some countries are pouring resources into their digital future, others increasingly lag behind

“Our hope is that the GDI will give every country a clearer vision of and plan for its digital and intelligent transformation,” said Leo Chen, Senior Vice President, President of Enterprise Sales, Huawei.

Reshaping industries with tech

According to the report, less than 50 per cent of devices are currently connected and computing is unaffordable, energy intensive and in short supply. Also, AI penetration in industries and industry scenarios is just 12 per cent. Furthermore, gaps in ecosystem maturity, talent readiness and policy establishment and implementation are also difficult to overcome.

“This is not to mention more granular issues such as data siloes and complexity in integration of various processes within an industry, retraining a workforce used to heavy lifting and onerous labour, to be able to perform more agile tasks, and inevitable cybersecurity concerns related with uploading industry information to cloud-based services,” Leo added.

He noted that such complexities could be managed through multiple parties working together to develop tailored, agile and secure solutions, which would then deliver cost reduction, efficiency improvement and new business models.

“This is already emerging across multiple industries such as the energy industry, where AI and IoT-driven insights can optimize resource allocation and utilization, minimize waste and streamline processes,” Leo said.

The tech giant is also collaborating with partners to create industry-specific solutions, including a national government cloud solution and an ICT talent cultivation program.

“Huawei is ready and willing to join forces with more customers and partners to enable industrial digital and intelligent transformation and bring more benefits to the lives and work of people around the world,” Leo said.

Huawei hopes that the GDI will help policymakers and business leaders evaluate their digital transformation progress. This tool aligns with the company’s goal of making digital technology more accessible and practical for businesses of all sizes.