Cloud computing, mobility, big data and social media are transforming the ways in which organizations and individuals engage with one another. Key changes include a reduction in the size of IT departments and much greater cross industry convergence.
In 2013, cloud computing and mobility will reduce the number of tasks that need to be carried out by IT departments. Automation and self service are typical characteristics of cloud computing which eliminate the need for certain support and upgrade tasks. The use of mobile devices that are sourced by individuals (BYOD) also eliminates some support tasks as well as procurement activities.
Andrew Milroy, Vice President, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific says, “As such, the market for Asia Pacific cloud computing is expected to grow at 36.5 per cent between the period of 2011 to 2016. Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia have emerged as the next hot beds of Adoption for Cloud Computing.”
Milroy continues, “The use of new technologies also lowers the barriers to entry for many markets. Apple has illustrated this by entering first the music industry and now multiple media industries. Google and Amazon have similarly shown little respect to the boundaries between industries. They have succeeded in switching between industries by leveraging new technologies.”
Mobile Platforms to hit critical mass across smartphones and tablets
Globally, smartphones and tablet shipments will exceed PC shipments by 84 per cent in 2012 and it is expected to be twice as much in 2013. In the Asia Pacific region, the figure is looking at 56 per cent in 2012 and it will be twice as much in 2013. Nitin Bhat, Partner and Head of Consulting, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific says, “In Asia, the smartphone shipment reached 182 million or 32.5 per cent this year and will increase to 380 million or 37.6 per cent by 2016, making it the fastest growing region for smartphone shipments.”
With the prevalence of smartphone uptake in Asia, mobile payment is poised to takeoff and the transactions will increase to more than US$171.5 billion in 2012. The volume of transaction is expected to hit US$878 billion in 2017. NFC-based payment will account for about 21 per cent of the total mobile payment transaction value or an estimated US$180 million in 2017. SMS-based transaction will continue to be the ‘dominant’ payment mode till 2015.
Bhat adds, “Asia Pacific will be the biggest region for mobile payments in 2015. Currently, Japan and South Korea lead the Asia Pacific region in mobile payments adoption. However in the near term, we can look forward to unbanked users in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India and Pakistan. These emerging economies are expected to be one of the major drivers of mobile payment services.”
With high smartphone penetration, global mobile advertising revenue reached US$5.33 billion in 2011 and Asia Pacific accounts for 36 per cent of the global market.
Enterprise Mobility is driving growth in the Unified Communications (UC) market
Mobility has moved from being part of starting a conversation to being part of RFPs leading to implementation UC. This however, may or may not lead to adoption of the complete mobility solution.
Jessie Yu, Senior Industry Analyst, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific observed that 34 per cent of corporate businesses have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy in place. Singapore leads the smartphone penetration in Asia Pacific; smartphone users are expected to exceed 70 per cent among total mobile subscribers in 2012. As businesses look for more elastic offerings to satisfy users evolving needs and enhance the productivity, enterprises need greater flexibility built into their unified communication strategies, particularly when it comes to supporting UC on various types of mobile devices and operating systems.
Yu says, “As mobility becomes an absolute requirement, smartphones and tablets are slated to become one of the primary devices for communication and collaboration. However, the collaboration across mobile enterprises is still at the early stage. Basic features like mobile email, instant messaging are the key elements. Moving forwards, with the fast-growing mobile internet usage, enterprise mobility is expected to nurture the fragmented UC-as-a- Service (UCaaS) market into the booming period.”
