Innovation: "Geography is Destiny"

C. Pascal Zackary who teaches at Stanford writes in NY Times about how Silicon Valley has bounced back with Google, Apple, Netflix and others leading global innovation. Clearly the Valley has overwhelming advantages, with enough VCs, angels, tech alums etc to keep nurturing a new generation of entrepreneurs. The froth around Valley Web 2.0 and Office 2.0 offerings is more proof of that. And the US is usually an early (and large) adopter market for many technologies, so the Valley enjoys a significant home advantage compared to global competitors.

But I am actually encouraging my CIO clients to look more globally because the Valley trails other global centers when it comes to many "next-gen" areas.

Mobility - Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Finland lead in devices and applications

Enterprise Software - lots of new thinking - "open source" oriented from Scandinaviaand some of the emerging E. European countries

Vertical BPO - lots of neat stuff going on in India - analytical, bio tech and number of financial services processes

Security technologies - Israel

Alternative Fuels - Brazil, China - necessity more than global opportunity has fueled a lot of research and innovation

Global Markets - while most of India and China's products are aimed at the west, and not really "innovation", many in those countries are looking at their own challenges - "bottom of pyramid" opportunities and those of fragmented, multi-ethnic markets. Those solutions will be just as attractive in the west.

Public Policy - It is always invigorating to visit Singapore and Dubai. These city states, disproportionate to their size, have a history of attracting innovative companies and experimenting with business practices and policy issues.

Of course, as Apple has shown with iPod and maybe soon with its new phone, commercializing innovations is where the big pay back is. And there the Valley will continue to have overwhelming advantages.