Cloud Computing Adoption Barriers in Emerging Asian Economies
Emerging Asian economies are among the most important markets in the world for cloud services providers. Countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have an enormous role to play in the future of this technology. The market for cloud computing in the area is estimated to increase by a third, doubling revenues by 2017.
A combination of active promotion by governments and vendors, infrastructure improvements, increased broadband speeds, and an active market in other sectors mean that cloud services providers have everything to gain. Small and medium sized businesses in the region, present an especially important opportunity for cloud service providers that know what these companies require. It is also important to remember that cloud computing is relatively new to the region with local providers only starting to show up in the last couple of years.
Adoption barriers
There are several barriers to adoption in the area that need to be solved in order to allow the cloud computing market to really reach its potential. One of the most important hurdles is overcoming certain regulatory issues in the region. Bandwidth is also an important concern. While broadband speeds and infrastructure have increased dramatically in recent years, they still have a long way to go before they can start competing with more developed economies in the Asia Pacific region such as South Korea and Japan.
There are also the usual barriers to adoption that tend to apply to cloud computing in general:
1. Many individuals and IT decision makers do not have accurate information about the potential of cloud computing and of the advances it has made in recent years. Cloud computing is a rapidly advancing field with breakthroughs being made constantly. What is true at one point may already be old information a few weeks later. This means that cloud service providers must do their best to keep IT decision makers updated about the latest cloud computing news. Rather than a lack of information, the problem is often one of outdated information.
2. Many companies and individuals in emerging Asian economies also lack access to reliable broadband, which is of course key to the implementation of any cloud platform. Unfortunately for cloud services providers, overcoming this barrier is often beyond their control. Fortunately for everyone, governments in the region are making a very strong investment in infrastructure and increasing access to high speed internet.
3. Security concerns about cloud computing remain. Fortunately these tend to be concerns about aspects that are easily fixed, often due to a lack of information about the latest technological breakthroughs. Cloud service providers can help alleviate security concerns by working with their clients in order to find ideal cloud platforms that offer the best security.
Despite barriers and concerns, cloud computing is exploding in this market
Multiple high profile cloud computing facilities by companies such as Microsoft and VMWare have been launched in countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, with numerous companies competing to gain market access. Most industries and market sectors in this region are starting to adopt cloud computing in some way. Examples abound, especially among small and medium sized companies, from meat producers like Ramcor to flower delivery companies like Island Rose. Numerous smaller businesses in the area are using cloud computing in order to offer better services to their clients.
Market sectors with high potential include retail and banking, especially for companies providing disaster recovery services and hardware savings. The government is also playing an important part in the development of cloud computing in the region. Cloud-based apps are being used in education in many countries. One particularly striking example is an initiative by the Philippines Department of Education that has allowed teachers in the country to have access to enormous amount of cloud-based storage.
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About the Guest Author:
Nida Rasheed is a freelance writer and owner of an outsourcing company, Nida often finds herself wanting to write about the subjects that are closest to her heart. She lives in Islamabad, Pakistan and can be found on Twitter @nidarasheed.
