The rise of Julia, Brexit woes, tech investment, and digital transformation: Research round-up

Downloads of programming language Julia have grown 78 percent since January 2018, from 1.8 million to 3.2 million downloads. The number of Julia packages from the Julia developer community has also expanded significantly, now numbering 2,462, up from 1,688 packages at the beginning of last year.     

For more see: Is Julia fastest-growing new programming language?  

Tech companies warn that a no-deal Brexit would hurt their businesses and that they are unprepared for its impact. In a survey of 276 member companies by tech industry group techUK, 70 percent suggest they believe a no-deal exit from the European Union would have a 'very negative' or 'fairly negative' impact on their business. 

For more see: No-deal Brexit will hurt us and we're not ready, say tech companies

The survey also shows that, overall, 84 percent of respondents believe the UK is unprepared for no deal. Just over half of the companies (51 percent) that responded say they have taken some or many 'active steps' to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal, compared to 42 percent who say they have taken no action. 

For more see: No-deal Brexit will hurt us and we're not ready, say tech companies

Following the UK's vote to leave the European Union, there has been concern that tech companies would hold back on investing in the UK. However, according to a poll commissioned by the mayor of London, US execs currently still rank London above other European cities as the top location.

For more see: Tech and Brexit: London is still Europe's top tech hub, but for how much longer?

US investment into the UK's tech sector also remains strong, with the capital's tech companies attracting more than $425m in funding across 33 deals since the Brexit vote. Since January 2011, US venture capitalists have invested $4.4bn into UK tech startups and other businesses, compared to £3.8bn in Berlin (London's closest rival) and $1.8bn in Stockholm.

For more see: Tech and Brexit: London is still Europe's top tech hub, but for how much longer?

In fact, while the UK, and London in particular, continues to dominate the European tech investment landscape, that lead is being eroded as Brexit looms. Figures from London & Partners and PitchBook show that London's tech companies received £1.8 billion (72 percent) of the total £2.49 billion raised by British tech firms last year.

For more see: Tech investment falls as Brexit headwinds strengthen

A survey of CIOs by the German-speaking SAP User Group (DSAG) suggests executives are becoming disillusioned about digital transformation projects, with scepticism increasing about evaluating how much progress they have made so far. Over half (62%) describe their progress as 'not far'.

For more see: Digital transformation: Doubt and disillusion creep in as progress stalls

Meanwhile, research from Dell rates just five percent of UK businesses as 'digital leaders' based on their IT strategy, workforce transformation strategy and planned investments. In 2016, research defined 20 percent of UK businesses as 'digital laggards', which are companies without a plan for digital transformation and limited investments in place: that has dropped to three percent this time around.

For more see: The first rule of digital transformation? Don't talk about digital transformation

Chinese businesses are expected to spend 1.73 trillion yuan (US$256.61 billion) on technology purchases this year, up 4 percent in terms of the US dollar year-on-year, and another 1.843 trillion yuan (US$272.84 billion) in 2020, according to Forrester. 

For more see: China tech spending to hit $273B amidst US trade war, slowing economy

IT solutions provider Innovative Technology Solutions surveyed 2,000 Americans to find out how much they trust AI recommendations. It asked respondents how happy they are with recommendations. GPS mapping apps receive the highest score at 8.1 out of 10, and news apps the lowest at 5.2 out of 10.

For more see: How much do we trust AI recommendations?

Finally, IT service company Interactions, in conjunction with The Harris Poll, conducted a study to find out how customers perceive voice channels. The findings show that nearly all Americans (94 percent) have experienced frustrations when using voice channels to communicate with a company.

For more see: Almost all Americans are frustrated with voice channels to talk to companies