IDC reveals journey and priorities for a digital-first economy

  • Asean organisations need to focus on building digital resiliency
  • Clear digital roadmap key to driving economies

IDC reveals journey and priorities for a digital-first economy

A recent IDC Future Enterprise Resiliency Survey (FERS) noted that the top three digital initiative priorities by governments in Asia Pacific were policies that promote the development of technology, regulation around responsible use of artificial intelligence and the use of technology to create smart cities. 

In a statement, IDC said this alludes to the notion that there is a high imperative to achieve a digital-first economy in Asia Pacific. 

IDC said this is not surprising given that in 2022 the firm expects more than half of the global economy will be based on or influenced by digital as most products and services utilise a digital delivery model or require digital augmentation to remain competitive.

It said Asean economies just like the rest of the world have been impacted by disruptive forces such as global health crisis, rising costs, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions that have provided the impetus for these economies to re-think and re-align how business is conducted.

However, impetus alone will not be sufficient without a clear digital roadmap and priorities to drive ASEAN economies into a digital-first future, it added.

Dharmaraj Sivalingam, senior research manager, IDC Asean, said the IDC FERS, 2022 states that around 70% of organisations in Indonesia and Malaysia still feel that their digital transformation strategy is more tactical and focused on the short term. 

“However, a whopping 90% of those organisations agree that adopting a clear digital-first strategy is imperative to manage disruptions in the long run,” he said.

This shows a huge potential, as these organisations understand the need to be digitally resilient and innovative, Dharmaraj said, adding that these firms need clear long-term digital transformation roadmaps and investment to successfully march towards a digital-first economy.

The survey highlights that ASEAN organisations will need to focus on building digital resiliency and innovation to be able to pivot quickly to any form of disruption, which will help them to drive ahead the ASEAN digital economy and keep abreast with the rest of the world. 

However, Asean  organisations will need support and close collaboration with the government to successfully drive towards a digital-first economy, the research firm said.

It said there is a need for a clear national digital roadmap, digital infrastructure investment, upskilling of technology skillsets in the local workforce and improved policies in data governance and privacy would be key to enable the base for a digital-first economy to be built upon, it added.

 

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