According to IDC, the economic outlook for the Asia-Pacific region (APeJ¹) for 2023 is relatively pessimistic compared to the global average. Businesses operating in the region maintained stable IT spending plans throughout 2022, whilst making investments to enhance their digital readiness. Going forward, organisations will prioritise their digital transformation projects and will collaborate with reputable IT service providers to ensure the successful outcome of these initiatives.

In the APeJ region, businesses have identified environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations as a prerequisite for risk mitigation and long-term viability. Therefore, in the coming years, businesses will place greater emphasis on ESG investments in order to embed sustainability into their brand identity. Consequently, there is a growing need for IT service providers who can offer expertise in this area.

Companies are now looking for IT service providers who are able to stay one step ahead of the ever-changing business environment. Their success will be measured not only on the basis of their technical capabilities, but also on their ability to proactively anticipate and overcome the challenges arising from volatile and uncertain conditions, according to IDC.

Top 10 IT and business service trends and opportunities in the APeJ

Accelerating cybersecurity measures: As businesses drive forward their digital transformation initiatives, they are recognising the need to strengthen their cybersecurity measures. By 2025, three-quarters of companies will seek external assistance with these strategies to ensure security and maximise the business value generated by new technologies.

DX is becoming a digital enterprise: Large companies are realising that they need to increase their resilience. As a result of this pressing need, many businesses worldwide will transition to digital business models and develop new digital offerings – by 2026, this could account for up to 40 per cent of service providers’ total revenue.

The growing importance of crisis management: Organisations are beginning to recognise the importance of proactively managing crises and are starting to prepare for potential future disruptions through crisis management strategies. By 2024, 40 per cent of organisations will have a plan in place that ensures continuous intelligence-gathering capabilities and enables a rapid response in turbulent economic conditions.

Staff turnover and skills shortages will lead to mergers and acquisitions: The drive towards digital transformation will prompt companies to turn to increased outsourcing to offset the shortage of skilled labour and reduce staff turnover. By 2025, businesses will be paying service providers a 10 per cent premium on every contract.

Control plane services in the ecosystem: By 2027, 70 per cent of organisations playing a significant role in the digital ecosystem will have internal teams relying on control planes to maximise value for their businesses.

Skills shortages leading to partnerships with technology suppliers and consultants: By 2025, 50 per cent of large enterprises will be seeking strategic partnerships with technology suppliers and consultancy firms to bridge the gap between the skills of the current workforce and the skills required. This collaboration will ensure that businesses remain competitive by harnessing the benefits of technology for their employees, both now and in the future.

Offshoring, nearshoring and right-shoring are on the rise due to inflation: By 2024, 70 per cent of companies will be adjusting their IT delivery models to increase automation and ‘right-shoring’ in order to reduce costs and make the most of experienced talent.

The hybrid cloud is shaking up the industry: The hybrid cloud market is forecast to experience massive growth in the coming years, with spending likely to exceed $10 billion by 2026. This is because companies are shifting their procurement strategies towards public clouds as their primary service providers.

ESG is adding managed services: As demand for ESG data and analytics grows amongst large enterprises, 40 per cent of ESG business service projects will include managed services by 2025. Organisations are increasingly recognising that they need external help due to a lack of in-house expertise.

Joint IP creation: By 2027, 30 per cent of IT service providers will be collaborating with businesses and technology suppliers to develop innovative, industry-specific products and intellectual property that fill market gaps, which they will jointly bring to market globally.

By drawing on current forecasts of the future industry landscape, technology leaders can devise creative strategies to remain competitive in an ever-changing business environment.

1. APEJ: Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan ↩

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