As part of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA program, the Global Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) industry group surveys chief executives regionally about business issues and trends across the sector. For Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the 2005 CEO Survey reveals some interesting insights, including:

People-powered growth  People are the key. According to CEOs they are their dominant success factor and personal priority. In 2003 in EMEA and Asia Pacific getting the timing right for product launches was considered the key, and the U.S. felt the uniqueness of the products was the most critical factor. However this year, 66 percent of Technology Fast 500 CEOs in EMEA agreed that the quality of employees is the key to successful growth. This is a global trend — people are also the single most important success factor this year in the CEO surveys in North America and Asia Pacific.

Online opportunities  The role of intellectual property (IP) in driving revenue, supporting internal processes, and creating growth cannot be overemphasised, and it grows in significance every year. 42 percent of CEOs see over 50 percent of their planned business revenues coming via IP-based applications. 16 percent expect between 30 and 50 percent of revenues to come from IP. These percentages have increased year on year throughout the period of the Technology Fast 500 Rankings. Around a third of CEOs who responded see the greatest potential for growth over the next three years in Internet and IP-related segments.

Confidence at the top  CEOs are brimming with confidence this year. Confidence in sustaining future growth has reached an all time high in the region, with 82 percent of CEOs either extremely or very confident that their company will sustain its growth over the next year. This is a 13 percent increase year on year, and is 8 percent higher than the U.S. this year.  Considering that the current average five year growth rate for Technology Fast 500 businesses is just under 1,000 percent, this gives good reason to expect further exceptional performance from these firms in the next 12 months.

Learn more about the 2005 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA CEO Survey results in the PDF file attachment below: