As we look towards a fresh start in 2024 in the Asia Pacific region, we are seeing a keen sense of optimism among businesses in the face of uncertain and challenging economies. Factors like a rapidly growing digital economy and an unprecedented boom in technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are coming together to put us at the precipice of substantial transformation in the region as businesses move from hype to reality, and channelling increasing investments into technology to help fortify their operations and build greater business resilience against future potential disruptions.
Eric Wong, Head of Asia Pacific, Expereo, says, “As organisations in Asia Pacific look to expand their global footprint in the coming year, they must make a calculated and strategic shift towards building a more sustainable and resilient business. The growing digital economy is still lush with opportunity, but businesses must continue to invest in the three pillars of connectivity, technology, and people as key pillars of strategic advantage, or risk getting left behind.”
We would like to share three key trends that underpin this view:
Trend #1: Connectivity and digital infrastructure as the Backbone of Enterprise Growth
Connectivity is rapidly evolving beyond a basic operational tool into a strategic asset for business growth. This is particularly evident in the Asia Pacific’s adoption of emerging technologies such as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, which offer regions with challenging terrains, like the rural areas of Indonesia and the Philippines, improved communication capabilities and internet access. By extension, this also enables more agile, scalable, and efficient operational models, vital for companies aiming to expand their footprint in the global market.
At the same time, Asia Pacific’s rapidly growing markets like China and Singapore are driving the need for a purpose-built digital infrastructure capable of managing the increasing demands for high-speed connectivity, sophisticated cybersecurity, and AI-enabled applications. Having the right infrastructure in place to accommodate evolving technologies ensures that businesses remain competitive and agile in a fast-paced market. While building such digital capabilities in-house is a formidable task with potentially exorbitant initial costs, partnering with vendors possessing relevant capabilities could offer cost savings for businesses to gain competitive advantage and increase efficiency overall.
Trend #2: AI will Shift from Hype to Reality
AI has emerged as a transformative force, revolutionising the way businesses operate, make decisions, and engage with customers and employees. Just as AI and predictive analytics have the potential to reshape customer engagement and enable more personalised interactions, AI could also play a role in employee retention and recruitment through insights that drive better employee experiences. This will go a long way towards alleviating the ongoing talent crunch, as noted by one-third (29%) of APAC CIOs admitting that they struggle to hire high-value knowledge workers that will drive forward their global expansion plans.
Trend #3: Maintaining a Balance Between Sustainability and Growth
Stakeholder demands relating to sustainability are only growing louder, with businesses under increasing pressure to explore strategies that align sustainability goals with growth pursuits. Training AI models, as well as running AI inference tools, demands vast computational resources and consumes substantial amounts of energy. With businesses increasingly looking to integrate AI as part of business day-to-day, it is important that C-suite addresses the potential environmental and ethical impact associated with meeting the demand for AI-enabled tools and solutions
