- 1 in 4 Catalan companies acquired or developed R&D in 2016
- The percentage of innovative companies in Catalonia rose to 54.6% in 2016
- ACCIÓ will allocate 43.3 million euros to aid for business innovation in 2017, 24% more than last year.
More than half of Catalan companies innovate. This innovation is led by two segments of companies; those of new creation (startups) that are less than 5 years old or those that have more than 50 years of life. In this sense, 22.6% of companies in the Catalan territory incorporated new technologies during 2016, favoring the digitalization of business processes. The typology of technologies incorporated into companies focuses on Big Data, acquired by 18.9% of companies and the Internet Of Things (IOT) by 10.9%. Thirdly, we would find the investment located in Augmented Reality (VR), which represents 7.3% and, with 3.8%, the 3D printing techniques.Extending the concept of Innovation to Research and Development (R&D), 1 in 4 Catalan companies acquired or developed R&D during 2016. Using this business R&D in the creation of products and services (65.6%), in the implementation of new organizational methods (64.8%), in marketing and marketing (49%), to increase the reputation and value of the brand (40%) and, finally, for the innovation of the business model or strategy (29%). These data have been published in the Catalan Innovation Barometer, prepared by the ACCIÓ Department of the Government of Catalonia. Joan Romero, CEO of ACCIÓ, took advantage of the publication of this report on innovation in Catalan companies, to announce the destination of 43.3 million euros on the part of the public institution for grants for business innovation in 2017. The budget allocated by ACCIÓ for grants of this nature has increased by 24% compared to last year, when the budget was valued at 35 million euros. This increase is in addition to the positive trend towards innovation and digitalization that the Catalan business fabric is experiencing. The percentage of innovative companies in 2015 stood at 54%, while in 2016 it rose to 54.6%. Sources: ACCIÓ and El MundoMore: 7 technology trends for 2017
