This year's Global Location Trends report by IBM Global Business Services shows that global investment activity continues to widen, penetrating deeper into more economies, and bringing the potential for new growth and prosperity to more people than ever before. This expansion has brought unprecedented levels of investment to countries previously on the periphery of the world economy. Companies are now actively seeking out and finding investment opportunities in Latin America and Africa, for example, capitalizing on the talents and assets that these vast regions have to offer.
Greater global inclusiveness and the growth of emerging economies is one side of the story. We found as well that organizations, propelled by competition and opportunity, are continuously reassessing and reshaping their global footprints as they search out the next location to open up new markets, realize greater efficiencies and tap into global talent pools.
These findings support the conclusions of IBM's CEO study published earlier this year, which found that in the face of unprecedented change, successful companies are pursuing bold moves in global integration and innovation. As we learned in this year's Global Location Trends study, innovation extends well beyond products and services to include the manner in which a business structures itself and operates globally.
As more emerging economies successfully grow their infrastructure, companies seeking first-mover advantage in new locations are learning to move fast. Change has become a constant and the ability to continuously adapt your global footprint, and anticipate the opportunity ahead stands at the forefront of companies' strategic considerations.
Background
IBM's Global Location Trends reports are based on analysis of data from IBM's proprietary Global Investment Locations Database (GILD). GILD records investment project announcements around the world on an ongoing basis. With currently information for over 70,000 investment projects recorded since 2003, GILD provides unrivalled insight into global trends in corporate location decision making.
GILD Database
The GILD database is maintained by IBM-Plant Location International (IBM-PLI), a specialized service within IBM Global Business Services, Strategy & Change consulting. IBM-PLI is a global market leader in providing advice to companies on their location strategies, covering all sectors and types of business function. Moreover, drawing on our extensive expertise and knowledge of what shapes corporate investment decisions, IBM-PLI works with economic development organizations and investment promotion agencies in their efforts to improve and market their locations as attractive business environments for present and new investors.
Further information
To find out more about this study or to speak with experts of IBM-Plant Location International,
please contact:
Roel Spee
Phone: +32 475 915 832
Office: +32 2 416 5928
E-mail: roel.spee@be.ibm.com
Web: http://www.ibm.com/gbs/pli
Download a copy of the 2008 Global Location Trends report (1,400KB)
