Network instability is emerging as a critical business risk across the Asia-Pacific region, with over 50 per cent of companies reporting revenue losses of at least US$5 million due to outages or poor performance, according to an IDC report commissioned by Expereo.
Released last week, it found that IT disruptions, including cybersecurity breaches to connectivity failures in the past year, have forced 50 per cent of companies to reconsider their technology infrastructure.
In response, 40 per cent of technology leaders say networking and connectivity are now receiving greater attention at the C-suite level.
A broader impact is that networking and connectivity (48 per cent) and cybersecurity (46 per cent) now top the list of technology spending plans for the next 12 months, overtaking artificial intelligence (AI), which falls to third place at 38 per cent.
Just a year ago, AI was the leading focus for Asia-Pacific organisations at 43 per cent, ahead of cybersecurity (39 per cent) and networking (37 per cent).
There is a sense of urgency, as nearly one in four regional companies (30.7 per cent) say inadequate networks and connectivity performance are threatening their growth strategies for the coming year.
Meanwhile, 44 per cent say that network limitations are hindering their ability to roll out large-scale data and AI initiatives. Strikingly, only 8 per cent of organisations in the region believe their networks are fully ready to support AI without any barriers.
Connectivity is a strategic business imperative, said Ben Elms, chief executive of Expereo. “As organisations race to adopt new AI solutions, the C-suite must treat network performance with the same urgency as cybersecurity and AI itself, because without it, businesses simply cannot succeed.”
The company’s president for Asia-Pacific, Eric Wong, added: “We’re seeing a direct correlation between network performance and bottom-line success.”
“The data confirms that the conversation around connectivity has matured from an IT concern to a strategic business imperative, particularly here in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
