Helping Enterprises in Asia-Pacific Win with Cloud Technology

Digital infrastructure is no longer a debate, it is mandatory. Today, it is essential to participate in the economy by taking advantage of digital solutions to support a remote workforce, such as Secure Access Secure Edge (SASE) and Unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS). As digital providers carry the load to meet the dramatic increases in demand, internet service provider (ISPs) and cloud service providers (CSPs) are also playing a key role in helping to ease capacity constraints.

While 80% of organizations in Asia-Pacific are expecting revenue declines in 2020, only 20% expect a reduction in technology spending in the same period, according to market research company IDC. [1] This shows the significant role technology plays in enabling business transformation and continuity, as we journey ahead.

At a recent IDC and Equinix Digital Roundtable, we discussed the business value in leveraging a digital infrastructure ecosystem, and how companies in Asia-Pacific are planning to tap on the cloud to help scale and future proof their critical infrastructure. Business resiliency, cost optimization and enhancing customer experience were noted as key business priorities in the current economy. For businesses in Asia-Pacific, the critical importance of the cloud to move the needle in their digital transformation efforts was undoubtedly acknowledged.

Scaling the business to new heights with Cloud

According to the latest Global Interconnection Index (GXI) Vol.4, an annual market study published by Equinix, the Cloud & IT Services industry is expected to lead the growth in interconnection bandwidth in Asia-Pacific, reaching an anticipated 1,374 Terabits per second (Tbps) by 2023. Digital adoption patterns have shifted in response to massive disruptions and service providers in Asia-Pacific are expected to provision more interconnection bandwidth (2,943 Tbps by 2023) than enterprises. This service provider demand is anticipated to be in support of enterprises that are prioritizing their digital transformation in preparation for post-pandemic recovery.

By 2023, 60% of enterprises across industries will share information and data to cloud-based ecosystems to enhance internal operations and innovation, and/or for collective monetization.^[1] In addition to enhancing internal operations and innovation, this move is also in line with collective monetization targets.

A strong sentiment among the participants from various industries at the roundtable was that they want a resilient infrastructure to support their digital acceleration as managing diverse cloud resources and data sets is one of the most critical IT operational challenges.

Today, hybrid cloud and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions are a must for businesses. While some are still trying to untangle from existing infrastructure legacy systems, many are now relying on the cloud to remain resilient and accelerate their digital transformation plans.

For instance, a major telco in Singapore has advanced its plans to migrate to the cloud as it believes in having resilient infrastructure that will enable them to bring broadcast, TV content and telecommunications services to their audiences in a manner that will enhance their consumption experience. To do that, network infrastructure needs to be resilient and continue to evolve in order to meet the demands of new emerging technologies, such as augmented reality and virtual reality.

The value of the cloud ecosystem

A cloud ecosystem has the ability to bring together the increasing number of participants in a business’s supply chain, including private and public CSPs, IT hardware and software vendors and network providers. It also means improved access to resources and new business opportunities.

Modernizing the underlying infrastructure of any organization helps them gain the competitive advantage to be able to launch new digital services globally, scale with agility, and multiply value in ecosystems. Making the most out of the cloud is the core of any enterprise’s transition to digital infrastructure, and it is important for the cloud to be resilient to set the terms for how and where infrastructure is deployed. Optimizing the cloud will set the pace and direction of technology innovation for infrastructure hardware, software, and resource abstraction.

There were also concerns about the workload that is put on the cloud which affects latency, and that the applications are not dependent on the cloud providers they sit on. Scalability is also vital as provisioning needs to be made within minutes, based on each organization’s needs. In other words, the responsiveness, scalability, and resiliency of the infrastructure deployed within one’s own facilities are key to a digital enterprise’s revenue. It must also be able to take advantage of third-party provided and operated infrastructure resources delivered as a service.

Sealing your success as a digital leader

Since 1998, leading businesses around the globe have turned to Equinix to compete in an increasingly digital world to power up internet, web and electronic trading technologies. In fact, the top five largest websites in the world and the world’s 20 leading financial markets use Equinix.

Today we’re seeing growth with enterprises across Asia-Pacific because of digital transformation and the ability to connect with the right partners to seize opportunities. Enterprises are coming to Equinix to build interconnection-first architectures to overcome legacy IT constraints on digital transformation.

By 2024, 60% of enterprises will mandate the use of automated digital infrastructure, according to IDC, to counter frequent infrastructure failures that hinder security and business resiliency across all locations. ^[2] Tapping on the cloud and placing infrastructure at all the right places will help your business to leap ahead with confidence and deliver world-class digital experiences.

[1] IDC FutureScape 2021, October 2020 – FoIE Prediction 3

[2] IDC FutureScape 2021, October 2020 – FoDInfra Prediction 9