Singapore & Hong Kong lead in global tech budget growth

Businesses in Singapore and Hong Kong are poised to lead global tech budget growth in a quest to unearth fresh revenue sources. This assertion is based on new research involving more than 1,000 IT leaders across 12 countries, which revealed an optimistic outlook among Singaporean IT leaders on budget growth. Approximately 70% predict a hearty surge of over 10 percent.

Conducted by digital infrastructure agency Colt Technology Services, the study centred on respondents from the USA, Europe, and Asia. Hong Kong followed Singapore, recording a favourable level of optimism; 49% of the IT heads expect a robust increase of tech budgets, thereby outperforming their counterparts in the UK, US, and Europe.

Executing improvements in security tops the agenda for these IT leaders in the two Asian financial metropolises, claiming 47% in Hong Kong and 44% in Singapore. Following this, integrating AI and machine learning capabilities are on the priority list, securing 42% and 32% respectively in Hong Kong and Singapore.

On the topic of emerging technologies, one-third of businesses in both regions prioritise their implementation, with a quarter utilising their IT resources to dredge up new revenue streams. The findings also pointed out the significance of flexibility; 28% of businesses in both regions stressed enhancing network flexibility, surpassing the global average of 23%. However, Singapore attendees (13%) showcased less interest in enabling a remote workforce compared to Hong Kong (24%) and the global average (20%).

There is a persistent emphasis on the building blocks for digital transformation: 26% of Hong Kong businesses continuing to list cloud migration as a crucial endeavour, compared to Singapore's 19%. Additionally, investment in collaboration applications was identified as a priority by 20% of companies in both cities. More notably, IT leads in financial services globally are the most likely to focus on AI or machine learning capabilities (36%) and network flexibility improvement (29%), going against the industry average of 23%.

Evidently, environmental concerns tied to IT networks paraded into the limelight. Globally, one in five IT leaders placed understanding the environmental impact of their IT infrastructure among their top concerns. A similar fraction poised reducing environmental effect as a high propriety.

Buddy Bayer, Chief Operating Officer at Colt Technology Services, commented, "The way businesses think about digital infrastructure has fundamentally changed: it's now front and centre for generating growth and securing new revenue opportunities." He continued, "The planned investment highlighted by our research reflects this mindshift. At the same time, it's heartening to see sustainability become a priority for IT leaders as they look to reduce emissions and minimise the environmental impact of their networks."