In line with global sentiments, the region is getting tackling pandemic-driven uncertainties with infrastructure that is hosted internationally via the Cloud

How has the year-long pandemic affected the sentiments of IT decision makers in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) and beyond?

Asked about their biggest priorities for their organization’s digital strategy, around 76% of APAC IT leaders have indicated that digitalizing infrastructure was a top priority, and 61% indicated that interconnection was a key facilitator of digital transformation—a 12% higher sentiment that before the pandemic.

This what a Jan 2021 global survey of 2,600 IT decision-makers across 26 countries in the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions tried to get a feel of. Other sentiments for APAC include:  

  • 57% of respondents here have rearchitected their IT infrastructure to meet new remote- and hybrid- working demands, with tech budgets increasing to accelerate DX
  • 63% of respondents here believed there will be long-term changes to where and how people work within their organization
  • 60% of the companies still intend to expand into new regions, countries or metros despite the disruption experienced as a result of the pandemic. Of that 60%, 57% planned to achieve this virtually, rather than by investing in physical IT infrastructure in-market
  • About two thirds of respondents said they have revised their IT strategy as a result of the pandemic, while 64% said they wanted to invest in technology to be more agile after the pandemic
  • 46% of respondents here said they had accelerated digital transformation plans because of the pandemic, while 44% said their budgets had been increased to satisfy the rapid growth in digital demands

Utilizing interconnection for success

Across the board, 61% of respondents said they believed interconnection—the direct and private exchange of data between organizations—will help them to navigate the challenges they face due to the pandemic.

Those stating interconnection was key to their organization’s survival stood at 57%, up from 44% last year.

Said Jeremy Deutsch, President (Asia-Pacific), Equinix, Inc, the firm that commissioned the annual study: “During the pandemic, APAC saw demands for interconnection from digital leaders to manage distributed workforce and make the best use of resources. This is reflected in the findings of our study with over 60% of IT decision-makers polled in APAC (indicating) that interconnection will help them to navigate the challenges faced as a result of the pandemic, and 56% believing interconnection can help their business gain competitive advantage within the marketplace.”