DLA Piper study shows tech sector outlook remains optimistic despite turbulent period

Forecasts of increased revenue, confidence despite growing regulatory complexity, and a sense of opportunity in ESG are all contributing to an optimistic outlook in the technology sector, reveals the latest Technology Index from international law firm DLA Piper. The biennial Index’s overall scoring for 2022 has grown from 67 to 68 since the report two years prior, and from 54 in its 2018 and 2016 iterations, showing a sustained, if slowing, positive trend.

This sixth iteration of the Index, based on interviews with senior executives from 350 companies based in Europe with revenues ranging from EUR10 million to EUR10 billion, shows a resilience in the sector in the face of a myriad of contemporary economic, geopolitical and regulatory pressures. The overall index score, notably, falls by four points when a separate variable question regarding the impact of the current geopolitical landscape is included.

Key findings from the Index include:

• The significance of geopolitics in the sector, with a 4% decrease on the overall score when factored in
• 66% of respondents being confident in some increase in revenue over the coming 12 months
• 40% of respondents (4% increase from 2020) not seeing any benefit from the UK’s leaving the EU
• An increase in respondents seeing the impact of both domestic and European regulatory environments on their business
• 68% of respondents seeing moderate to significant business opportunities in the ESG space

“We continue to be optimistic about the tech sector in the coming years, with most tech companies remaining bullish about their ability to be profitable despite global economic challenges,” said Erin Gibson, global co-chair of the firm’s Technology Sector.

Several of the firm’s US-based attorneys contributed to the report, including partners Erin Gibson (San Diego) Trent Dykes (Seattle) Eric DeSilva, Sanjay Shirodkar, Steven Phillips, and Margo Tank (all of Washington DC) Larissa Bifano (Boston), Mark Radcliffe (San Francisco) and Vinny Sanchez (Chicago), Chief Information Officer Andrew Gastwirth (Washington DC), and associate Jesse Medlong (San Francisco).

DLA Piper’s Technology Index 2022 Report is available, in full, here. The report, alongside the full survey findings, includes insight and commentary into the issues facing the sector today such as M&A valuations and drivers, national and cyber security, managing ethical risk, fintech implementation and ESG.