Hitachi Data Systems
Corporation (HDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., has released its
Business and Technology Predictions for Asia Pacific in 2016. According to
Adrian De Luca, chief technology officer of Hitachi Data Systems Asia Pacific,
enterprises will experience major digital transformation next year as they
strive to improve a host of key tech and non-tech functions.
“Digital
transformation is fast becoming an organizational issue. It is no longer just
CIOs who are championing the need for digital change, but leaders across all
business functions. For example, CMOs are finding that traditional ways of
marketing are not as effective any more, while CFOs are discovering that
consumer and supplier transaction models have shifted. There is now an almost
universal understanding within businesses that all functions need to look at
how they transform their own practices through digitization,” said De Luca.
He cited digital
transformation, smart cities, cross modal IT, multicloud, and skills shortages
as the five key trends that will continue to shape both the IT and business
landscapes in Asia Pacific for 2016.
#1: Traditional
enterprises will transform into digital natives
There has been a
resurgence in confidence among CIOs that they will see more of their revenues
flowing through digital channels. According to the Gartner CIO Agenda
Insights report, only 16% of CIOs
last year expected the revenues in their business to flow through digital
channels, but that has more than doubled this year to 37%. This is recognition
of the fact that digital initiatives are not just coming from the CIO, but from
all functions of the business that are creating their own platforms and hiring
digital natives.
Today’s CMOs no longer
go to the IT department to build their systems. They go directly to the
providers and acquire them as a service. The same is true of businesses as a
whole. Rather than waiting for a vendor or a competitor to develop a new
platform, organizations are building and actively disrupting their own current
systems.
#2: Smart companies will build smart cities
Smart cities have been
a topic of interest for a long time in Asia Pacific, with many countries in the
region rolling out their own initiatives to tackle everything from public safety to improved transportation. However, it has become
apparent that few governments have the experience or the financial means to
build and run these initiatives on their own. Instead, they are partnering with
major industry players who are investing deeply in the Internet of Things
(IoT). By bringing their own intellectual property, assembling ecosystems of
technology providers and integrating them together, they can develop the
solutions needed to make these cities a reality.
This means that smart
companies will act as the catalysts for making smart cities a reality, as
governments open the door through initiatives like Digital India, Smart Nation
Singapore, and Digital China. The business opportunities for companies in the
sector are huge, with the annual smart city investment in technology alone set
to quadruple to US$11.3 billion by 2023, according to Navigant Research.
#3: Cross-modal IT
will unify business silos
It is now recognized
that there are two modes that IT organizations can follow to meet the needs of
the digital enterprise.
Mode 1 – Applications
that handle traditional systems of record – such as CRM and ecommerce systems.
These systems are built around predictability, accuracy and availability, given
the sensitive data they hold.
Mode 2 – Systems of
insight, that are more exploratory such as big data analytics. They give a
perspective of what is going on inside a business – enabling users to test
certain hypotheses by layering datasets over each other. These systems emphasize
agility and speed, giving organizations the ability to quickly and
inexpensively test ideas, throw away anything that doesn't work and test out
new ones.
The need to fuse these
two modes together to become cross-modal will intensify. Especially as organizations strive
to continually optimize the cost of running their systems and incorporate their
systems of insight into new business processes and customer interactions.
The companies that
will realize the greatest benefits will be those that are able to use agile
methodologies in their workforce and offer quick-to-build application
programming interfaces (API) of their business services. Businesses that
also successfully build data lakes across their digital assets and standardize
their infrastructure will do well, too.
#4: Multicloud will
enable transregional business
According to De Luca,
the emerging Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) promises to bring significant
benefits to economic trading conditions within Asia-Pacific. To realize the
full potential of this agreement, investment in technology infrastructure to
connect these economies will be critical. Several companies are already
expanding data center capacity to cater to the growing use of cloud computing.
They are also investing in improving cross-border, high-speed connectivity. The
creation of direct routes between key areas like South East Asia, Australia and
the United States of America is well underway.
“This opening up of
the market will have an impact on how businesses consume cloud and expand the
options that they have today. With as many as 70% of organizations either using
or evaluating hybrid clouds nowadays, as well as provisions in the TPP to
protect offshore data and avoid electronic duties, creating a multicloud across
continental borders to allow businesses to expand becomes viable,” said De
Luca.
#5: Skills shortage
will spark a talent pursuit
Several
factors will impact the technology employment market in 2016, forcing many
organizations to look at how they will fill the talent deficit to continue to
innovate and remain competitive.
Addressing
the IT skills shortage will not just be about pumping out more IT graduates
with in-demand skills like data science. Appealing to the interests of the best
young talent while investing in increasing the productivity of existing
employees will be critical to bridging the gap over the long run.
"The
working practices of ‘Gen Z’ workers are vastly different from those before
them. With this generation expected to work an average of 17 jobs in their
lifetime, they will develop a broader variety of skills as well as be exposed
to multiple industries during their careers. Companies will need to figure out
how to tap into this. They are driven more by their contribution to society
than the logo of the company they work for,” said De Luca.
Governments
recognize this economic imperative and generational shift by changing the labor
market, introducing new tax incentives and passing laws to allow for easier
investment, such as through crowdsourcing. Continual learning is also becoming
a focus for governments, with Singapore investing SG$1.2 billion (US$0.9
billion) in technology development to drive improvements within its public
sector.
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