TECH TALK
the world’s “Most Innovative Companies” and few were aerospace fi rms. (Airbus and Boeing only ranked 33rd and 34th respectively, and GE was ranked 12th on the strength of its overall product line). In comparison, 21 of the 50 companies identifi ed were part of the technology and telecom sector, including the top fi ve positions. The study and its associated interactive chart are found at: www.
bcgperspectives.com/most_innovative_companies. There is undoubtedly much built-in bias toward the glamor of Apple, Google and other companies that focus on new ideas. However, the advances in technology drive nearly every other industry’s products and services, with few identifi ed exceptions (material science, biofuels, batteries, and medical among others). While a direct comparison between technology and
aviation is not exactly an apples-to-apples evaluation, let’s throw caution to the wind and look at a few key recent innovations and how they compare to related eff orts in air transport.
A QUICK LOOK AT RECENT INNOVATIONS IN THE TECHNOLOGY
Modern electronics did not truly evolve until the invention of the integrated circuit in the late 1950s. This drove smaller and more reliable semiconductors and what we view as modern technology today. The global electronics industry outspends every other industry with the exception of the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector, as shown in the two charts from a recent study commissioned by the European Union — note that we are considering heavy overlap with technology hardware and equipment, software and computer services, and electronic and electrical equipment and how these three EU-categorized sectors are combined for the development of avionics, aircraft systems and related aviation support systems. The charts above clearly show where innovation and
research spending are being concentrated. They also show the regional disparities among national champion companies such as the biotech sector in the U.S. and the
automotive sector in Japan and Europe. Interestingly, Japan ranked lower in technology hardware than the U.S., but as expected, was much higher in electronics. Europe also dedicates twice the amount of R&D to aerospace than the U.S. does, which is a surprising result. This might indicate how dependent the U.S. aerospace industry is upon the
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