Intelligent CIO APAC Issue 37 | Page 40

FEATURE : NETWORK SECURITY
Natalya Makarochkina , Senior
Vice President of the Secure Power Division , Schneider Electric , discusses the remarkable progress of Digital Transformation in the Asia Pacific region , driven by widespread tech adoption and unprecedented speed and scale . She outlines the growing influence of media services such as TikTok and Instagram on consumer preferences and the rise of three new digital superpowers in the region – Indonesia , Vietnam and the Philippines – boasting a staggering combined user base of over 200 million users . development like emerging technologies including AI , IoT , cryptocurrencies , Blockchain and Software-asa-Service .
This has enabled the rapid emergence of new business models and consumer habits . Recent observations were that some Asian markets skipped the credit card stage , going directly to e-wallets and ‘ super apps ’, building on novel combinations of the aforementioned technologies .
Facilitating all of this , is the increasingly sophisticated use of hybrid IT environments that encompass onpremises , hybrid cloud and edge infrastructure .
Mass acceleration
A report for the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ( UN ESCAP ) noted that : “ The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated mass digital adoption and expedited tech adoption across industries , advancing Digital Transformation at an unprecedented speed and scale .”
In the manner of leapfrogging , many Asia Pacific businesses jump into hybrid cloud services to meet demand and increase capability rapidly .

The Asia-Pacific market beyond China is a dynamic and expanding region for data center investments , cloud , IoT and emerging technologies . About half of all Asia Pacific organizations indicate that they plan to operate a mixture of public cloud and on-premises infrastructure within this high growth area .

These investments are driven by evolving demand , new business models and Digital Transformation . According to Insider Intelligence , Singapore , Indonesia and Philippines have become the three fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world . Analyst McKinsey noted that the Asia Pacific region had leap-frogged in certain areas of technological
Forrester , in Software 1 Survey 2022 , reports the top three reasons that Indian technology leaders cited for SaaS adoption did not feature cost . They were :
• Increased IT / cloud resilience – important for raising overall business resilience
• Higher speed of implementation and deployment – crucial for supporting everchanging customer expectations
• Regular automated delivery from vendors – great for innovation and reduced technical debt
These high-priority IT infrastructure upgrades include data center and cloud , Edge Computing deployments and customer experience projects . Three out of 10 Asia Pacific organizations say they

Schneider Electric : Asia Pacific ICT market is dynamic and growing

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