Digitalisation and providing support for a remote workforce are key IT priorities for small and midsize businesses in Asia-Pacific, where they face challenges having to identify alternative sales and delivery channels as well as boost employee productivity.
Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in Asia view the need for digitalisation and to support a remote workforce as key IT priorities to achieve their operational and growth objectives this year. They face challenges, though, in having to identify alternative sales and delivery channels amidst the global pandemic. Some 41% of SMBs pointed to the need to facilitate remote work as their leading technology strategy in 2021, revealed a study released by Cisco Systems. Conducted by Analysys Mason, the survey polled 1,600 organisations across eight Asia-Pacific markets including China, India, Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia, that employed between 50 and 150. The move towards a hybrid workplace was projected to drive these businesses’ investment in tools to facilitate their transition, according to the report released Tuesday. Analysys Mason’s previous research indicated that Asia-Pacific SMBs’ cumulative ICT spend would surpass $500 billion between 2020 and 2024. China, Japan, and India would account for three quarters of total spend, while the manufacturing sector would contribute half of all spend across verticals.
