Equinix, Inc., the world's digital infrastructure company, announced the findings of its annual global study of the views of IT decision-makers on the biggest technology trends affecting businesses worldwide and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on digital infrastructure plans.

Surveying 2,600 IT decision-makers from diverse enterprises across 26 countries in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and EMEA regions. In Asia-Pacific, the study reveals: 

• 57% of businesses have rearchitected their IT infrastructure to meet new remote and hybrid working demands, with tech budgets increasing to accelerate digital transformation

• 63% of digital leaders believe there will be long-term changes to where and how people work within their organisation

• More than half (60%) of the companies still intend to expand into new regions, countries or metros, despite the disruption experienced as a result of COVID-19

Digital transformation in the post-pandemic future

Digitisation and business investment in digital infrastructure have increased as a result of COVID-19. 46% of the digital leaders surveyed in Asia-Pacific said they have accelerated digital transformation plans because of the pandemic, while 44% said their budgets have been increased to satisfy the rapid growth in digital demands.
 
There has also been a major overhaul of IT strategies to meet the challenges emerging from the pandemic. In Asia-Pacific, about two-thirds said they have revised their IT strategy as a result of COVID-19, while 64% said they want to invest in technology to be more agile post-COVID.

Asked about their biggest priorities for their organisation’s digital strategy, 76% of respondents in Asia-Pacific reported digitising their IT infrastructure was a top priority, with 61% saying they see interconnection as a key facilitator of digital transformation—up 12% on last year’s results.

Concerns that the pandemic will have put the brakes on companies’ expansion plans—lessened

• 60% of businesses still have plans to expand into new regions, countries or metros, according to the digital leaders surveyed in Asia-Pacific.

• Of that 60%, 57% of digital leaders plan to achieve this virtually, rather than by investing in physical IT infrastructure in-market.

Utilising interconnection for success

• 61% of IT leaders said they believe interconnection—the direct and private exchange of data between organisations—will help them to navigate the challenges they face due to COVID-19.

• Those stating interconnection was key to their organisation’s survival increased to 57%, up from 44% last year.

Jeremy Deutsch, President, Asia-Pacific, Equinix, said: “During the pandemic, Asia-Pacific has seen demands for interconnection from digital leaders to manage distributed workforce and make the best use of resources. This is reflected in the findings of our study with over 60% of IT decision-makers in Asia-Pacific confirming that interconnection will help them to navigate the challenges faced as a result of COVID-19, and 56% believing interconnection can help their business gain competitive advantage within the marketplace. With our global footprint, robust ecosystem and a wide array of interconnection solutions, we plan to continue to bring and interconnect the digital infrastructure to help digital leaders thrive in the new era.”

The Global Interconnection Index (GXI) Volume 4, a market study recently published by Equinix, forecasts that overall interconnection bandwidth—the measure of private connectivity for the transfer of data between organisations in Asia-Pacific will achieve a 47% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2019 to 2023. The expected growth is driven by digital transformation, and specifically by greater demands from enterprises extending their digital infrastructure from centralised locations to distributed edge locations.