Will 2011 be the year where SMBs in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) take a serious approach towards the adoption of cloud-based solutions and remote managed IT services (RMITS)? A new series of studies of the region say yes, showing the top 10 SMB ICT spending to be either cloud-based or RMITs-related. Leading the way is video conferencing, SaaS productivity, and remote managed PC services.
More SMBs in this region are looking at solutions that take advantage of the Cloud infrastructure to achieve lower cost of ownership and exploring the benefits of outsourcing through RMITS. The economic recession in 2009/2010 has accelerated the adoption growth of Cloud services and RMITS. Firms explored technology that enabled minimum investment so as to maintain better cash flow management during the crisis. At the same time, remote managed IT services provided the environment for SMBs to avoid unnecessary headcount costs for support-related services such as PC, storage and server support.
“SMBs in countries with strong connectivity and Internet infrastructure benefit most from SaaS-based solutions and RMIT services,” says Singapore-based Daniel Sim, Director of Strategic Engagements at AMI-Partners. “Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) SMBs today rely on the Internet as their primary mode of communications with customers and partners across different markets. A good Internet infrastructure is key to rapid adoption of Cloud-based solutions and RMITS. Technology vendors offering cloud-based solutions and RMITS will find it necessary to work with infrastructure service providers even more now than before to explore go-to-market approaches in reaching out to these SMBs.”
Globally, SMBs adopt IT in 3 stages—from building infrastructure solutions to deploying connectivity solutions and advanced IT solutions for extending their business reach with their customers and business partners. AMI Intelligence suggests Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) SMBs currently in Wave II of ICT adoption are the best segment for cloud-based solutions and RMITS vendors to target. Wave II SMBs are currently looking at technology that enables them to connect their enterprise to enhance competitiveness. Of the top 10 ICT spending adoption in the region, at least 6 of these Cloud-based solutions and RMITS are technology relating to connecting the enterprise. AMI’s 3 Waves of ICT Adoption defines Wave I as building the basic infrastructure, Wave II as connecting the enterprise and Wave III as extending the enterprise.
2011 will see more of these SMBs continuing to be educated regarding how “as-a-service” would impact their businesses in the long run. These SMBs will also weigh the cost of ICT investments in light of service versus ownership. As these SMBs’ mindsets evolve regarding ICT investments, technology vendors need also be reminded that Asia-Pacific SMBs will look at investments in a more accountable and transparent manner. This factor makes these SMBs more cautious and at the same time more informed. Vendors need to balance their go-to-market approach with the right message, the right delivery model and the right solutions for the right target segment.
