A new study by Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc. based in New York has forecasted that SMBs (small and medium businesses with up to 999 employees) from major countries in ASEAN, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines will increase spending on IT by 15 percent from 2007 for a total of $13.4 billion this year. This increase is said to come in the wake of the economic boom for many of these countries as well as the increase in SMBs.

 

The study has determined that computing spending will account for slightly more than 50 percent of total IT spending in ASEAN, with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand driving approximately 67 percent of this.

 

Singapore-based Research Data Analyst at AMI-Partners Cindy Tan commented at length on the study’s findings. She said, “PC-owning SBs will account for up to 78% of total IT spending among SMBs in 2008. A substantial number of SBs in ASEAN— especially those in the emerging markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam—are still in the First Wave of IT adoption. This First Wave involves building the basic IT infrastructure, such as deploying PCs, productivity suites and accounting software.”

 

Among the ASEAN countries, the manufacturing industry had the highest growth rate over last year and is expected to be the largest contributor to IT spending. According to Tan, “Retail is the most preferred channel among SBs in these countries. Offering sales promotions, boosting marketing collaterals, outlining the benefits of PCs in automating business processes will entice SBs to buy more desktops and notebooks. According to an AMI study, sales promotions and automating PC business processes to increase work efficiency are the top two drivers for PC purchases among ASEAN SBs.”

 

MBs, which have a staff of 100 to 999 employees, will be spending up to 40 percent of their IT budget on computing hardware, while the rest will contribute toward basic infrastructure, the report notes. Also, in 2008, another 42 percent of IT spending will go toward IT services, Internet, and storage, according to the report.

 

Tan acknowledged that “improving Internet or networking bandwidth/connection speed, adding IT storage and deploying in-house or hosted backup and disaster recovery solutions” were among the most important priorities for IT spending for ASEAN MBs in 2008. She stated, “With the demand for data sharing, data back-up and collaboration among employees, there is an increasing need for storage and data management software solutions among these companies. Moreover, IT security investments are essential for protection against electronic threats, data loss/corruption to ensure business continuity in the long run.”

 

Tan expects that SMBs in ASEAN will maintain a strong growth momentum and increase its employee base to procure robust domestic consumption, exports, and considerable private and public investments.