“APAC Businesses Poised for Growth If These 3 Things Are Prioritized in 2024”

The Asia-Pacific economy has proven to be resilient in the face of supply chain shifts and economic headwinds around the world. The region experienced slight growth in enterprise technology spending in 2023 despite those macroeconomic challenges and is poised for further growth in the upcoming year. The following patterns and factors may sway the trajectory of tech spending and, consequently, the success of businesses in the region in 2024.

Cybersecurity will be top priority for APAC businesses

Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), an authority on cybersecurity that in 2023 investigated more than 16,000 security incidents and upwards of 5,000 breaches around the world, revealed that the “human element” is responsible for almost three quarters (74%) of breaches and the vast majority of incidents. One of the most pervasive attack patterns, social engineering, preys on that widespread vulnerability: human error. Social engineering incidents continue to increase, owing largely to the rise of pretexting, commonly used in business email compromise (BEC) attacks, which nearly doubled last year. The median amount stolen from BEC and other attack patterns, like ransomware, has also increased.

It’s no wonder, then, that Verizon Business saw increased spending on security within the APAC region in 2023. The persistent cyber threat coupled with an increase in enterprise tech spending laid the groundwork for an uptick in cybersecurity investment. This trend is likely to continue in 2024, as organizations look to beef up their incident response plans and secure their internet gateways.

APAC will optimize cloud deployment

Tech investment is slightly up this year, as mentioned above, but economic uncertainty, despite APAC’s relative resilience, persists around the world. As such, businesses will need to justify budgets. Cloud computing was already on a meteoric rise in the decade leading up to government-mandated stay-at-home orders in 2020 — a watershed that paved the way for the remote/hybrid work model, which, in turn, accelerated investment in the cloud. Cloud solutions not only supported emergent work models, they also supported a number of tools and capabilities, including AI, IoT and BI. SaaS solutions also proliferated during this era of rapid cloud adoption, but now businesses are looking to remove bloat.

Businesses will explore ways to streamline their cloud configurations. Many will increasingly adopt cloud-native principles, leading toward Kubernetes-based platforms, for instance, to ensure scalability, resilience and application flexibility. Some will pare down on the SaaS solutions that have piled up in their stack, as managing a collection of SaaS providers has become unwieldy for many organizations. More and more, businesses will limit SaaS providers in favor of partners that can offer multiple solutions on one platform, thereby streamlining operations and cutting down on costs.

Attracting IT talent will be critical

The labor shortage is expected to persist through 2024, which will continue to be a challenge for APAC, especially around cybersecurity talent. Employers need to get more creative about attracting and retaining talent, adapting their business and implementing new strategies. The answer they’re looking for may already be in their backyard.

If employers continue to narrowcast, strictly searching for candidates with specific technical skills, they’re likely to struggle in 2024. If, however, they expand their search to include candidates who possess foundational digital skills and knowledge — in other words, transferable skills — they may be able to unlock new opportunities. This isn’t limited to the jobs marketplace. Some of that foundational knowledge may reside within their organization. By offering training, apprenticeships and internships, an organization is more likely to discover previously overlooked employees and tap their potential so that they might transition into tech roles that need to be filled. This effectively addresses the tech talent shortage while fostering career growth and promoting economic mobility.

Organizations will need to tap existing resources and smart investments

Economic uncertainty remains, but APAC businesses are well-positioned for growth in 2024, especially if they make the most of their existing resources, streamlining cloud configurations, removing SaaS excess, and uncovering new talent by identifying related skills and knowledge. Last but not least, businesses that prioritize securing their operations will flourish. By making calculated investments and paring down where possible, APAC businesses will continue to grow in 2024 and beyond.