About two-thirds (63%) of IT decision-makers in the Asia-Pacific region believe there will be long-term changes to where and how people work within their organisation, according to a new report from Equinix.
The digital infrastructure company commissioned a survey of 2,600 digital leaders across 26 markets in the Americas and APAC as well as Europe, Middle East and Africa, which was conducted online between December 17, 2020 and January 8, 2021.
Findings show that 57% of businesses have rearchitected their IT infrastructure to meet new remote and hybrid working demands, with tech budgets increasing to accelerate digital transformation.
Further, three in every five (60%) respondents still intend to expand into new regions, countries or metros, despite the disruption experienced as a result of COVID-19.
Almost half (46%) of APAC respondents said they have accelerated digital transformation plans because of the pandemic, while 44% said their budgets have been increased to satisfy the rapid growth in digital demands.
About two thirds said they have revised their IT strategy as a result of COVID-19, while 64% said they want to invest in technology to be more agile post-COVID.
More than three-quarters (76%) of APAC respondents reported digitizing their IT infrastructure was a top priority, with 61% saying they see interconnection as a key facilitator of digital transformation — up 12% on last year’s results.
Of those who said they still still have plans to expand into new areas, 57% plan to achieve this virtually rather than by investing in physical IT infrastructure in-market.
Three-fifths (61%) of IT leaders said they believe interconnection — the direct and private exchange of data between organisations— will help them to navigate the challenges they face due to COVID-19. Those who said interconnection was key to their organisation’s survival increased to 57%, up from 44% last year.
“During the pandemic, Asia-Pacific has seen demands for interconnection from digital leaders to manage distributed workforce and make the best use of resources,” said Jeremy Deutsch, Equinix president in APAC.
“With our global footprint, robust ecosystem and a wide array of interconnection solutions, we plan to continue to bring and interconnect the digital infrastructure to help digital leaders thrive in the new era,” said Deutsch.
