Trump election likely to drive new tech investment priorities

[Commentary] While much of Silicon Valley and the tech industry is still reeling from an election outcome that none of the best data analytics models predicted, there’s another important question that’s starting to be asked: How might a Trump Administration’s priorities impact tech investments and the resulting tech developments? The short answer, of course, is no one really knows.

But given the staggering disconnect that’s been highlighted by the recent election results between the tech community and a large portion of the US population, it’s not unrealistic to think that the changes could be profound. At a simple level, there are already signs that the business climate is moving into a more conservative phase with a focus on basic types of developments. All the discussion about infrastructure improvements, for example, clearly highlights the areas that are going to receive attention from the new administration. Wall Street and many observers have interpreted this to mean that industries like construction, steel, and heavy equipment are the likely beneficiaries of this shift in investment priorities. While that is no doubt true, there are also potentially interesting pockets of opportunities for tech companies—if they’re focused in the right areas.

[Bob O'Donnell is the president and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research]