WordPress database error: [Table 'ecosystmprodwordpressdb_v1.geo_test' doesn't exist]SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `geo_test`
Clay Miller, Principal Advisor at Ecosystm discusses the dynamic tech landscape of Southeast Asia with Chris White, VP Marketing and Communities, in the latest episode of EcosystmTV.
They explore the region’s tech opportunities and discuss how organisations are utilising AI for application modernisation, enhancing productivity, and scaling operations.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:15 — 5.6MB)
Subscribe Spotify | Amazon Music | JioSaavn | Podchaser | RSS | More
The whitepaper explores how the hybrid work model is evolving in 2024, reflecting employees’ preferences for reduced commute times and flexible schedules that enhance work-life balance and productivity. As organisations adapt, they are enhancing policies and technologies to facilitate seamless collaboration between remote and in-office teams.
Key to this transformation is the adoption of advanced technologies that empower remote employees and improve the overall employee experience through tools like chatbots and virtual assistants. Effective implementation of these changes requires robust cloud services and edge devices, along with strong network and security measures to protect sensitive data.
The paper also highlights five trends shaping workplaces in 2024, including enhanced flexibility, increased technology integration, a focus on employee wellbeing, stronger cybersecurity, and sustainable work practices. These trends are essential for organisations aiming to thrive in the hybrid work environment.
Download Whitepaper – Secure Work Strategies: Considerations for 2024
(Clicking on this link will take you to the Nexon website where you can download the whitepaper)
2024 and 2025 are looking good for IT services providers – particularly in Asia Pacific. All types of providers – from IT consultants to managed services VARs and systems integrators – will benefit from a few converging events.
However, amidst increasing demand, service providers are also challenged with cost control measures imposed in organisations – and this is heightened by the challenge of finding and retaining their best people as competition for skills intensifies. Providers that service mid-market clients might find it hard to compete and grow without significant process automation to compensate for the higher employee costs.
Buyers of IT services must implement strict cost-control measures and consider various approaches to align costs with business and customer outcomes, including different cost models:
Fixed-Price Contracts. These contracts set a firm price for the entire project or specific deliverables. Ideal when project scope is clear, they offer budget certainty upfront but demand detailed specifications, potentially leading to higher initial quotes due to the provider assuming more risk.
Time and Materials (T&M) Contracts with Caps. Payment is based on actual time and materials used, with negotiated caps to prevent budget overruns. Combining flexibility with cost predictability, this model offers some control over total expenses.
Performance-Based Pricing. Fees are tied to service provider performance, incentivising achievement of specific KPIs or milestones. This aligns provider interests with client goals, potentially resulting in cost savings and improved service quality.
Retainer Agreements with Scope Limits. Recurring fees are paid for ongoing services, with defined limits on work scope or hours within a given period. This arrangement ensures resource availability while containing expenses, particularly suitable for ongoing support services.
Technology leaders should also consider implementing some of the following strategies:
Phased Payments. Structuring payments in phases, tied to the completion of project milestones, helps manage cash flow and provides a financial incentive for the service provider to meet deadlines and deliverables. It also allows for regular financial reviews and adjustments if the project scope changes.
Cost Transparency and Itemisation. Detailed billing that itemises the costs of labour, materials, and other expenses provides transparency to verify charges, track spending against the budget, and identify areas for potential savings.
Volume Discounts and Negotiated Rates. Negotiating volume discounts or preferential rates for long-term or large-scale engagements, makes providers to offer reduced rates for a commitment to a certain volume of work or an extended contract duration.
Utilisation of Shared Services or Cloud Solutions. Opting for shared or cloud-based solutions where feasible, offers economies of scale and reduces the need for expensive, dedicated infrastructure and resources.
Regular Review and Adjustment. Conducting regular reviews of the services and expenses with the provider to ensure alignment with the budget and objectives, prepares organisations to adjust the scope, renegotiate terms, or implement cost-saving measures as needed.
Exit Strategy. Planning an exit strategy that include provisions for contract termination, transition services, protects an organisation in case the partnership needs to be dissolved.
Many businesses swing between insourcing and outsourcing technology capabilities – with the recent trend moving towards insourcing development and outsourcing infrastructure to the public cloud. But 2024 will see demand for all types of IT services across nearly every geography and industry. Tech services providers can bring significant value to your business – but improved management, monitoring, and governance will ensure that this value is delivered at a fair cost.
India has the world’s third-largest fintech ecosystem. However, for this ecosystem to truly flourish, robust partnerships with BFSI organisations are essential.
How do BFSI organisations in India strategically align with fintechs and what are the major collaboration challenges they face? The Big5 CIO Priorities India ’24 Study sheds light on some of these trends.
As tech providers such as Microsoft enhance their capabilities and products, they will impact business processes and technology skills, and influence other tech providers to reshape their product and service offerings. Microsoft recently organised briefing sessions in Sydney and Singapore, to present their future roadmap, with a focus on their AI capabilities.
Ecosystm Advisors Achim Granzen, Peter Carr, and Tim Sheedy provide insights on Microsoft’s recent announcements and messaging.
Click here to download Ecosystm VendorSphere: Microsoft’s AI Vision – Initiatives & Impact
Tim Sheedy. The future of GenAI will not be about single LLMs getting bigger and better – it will be about the use of multiple large and small language models working together to solve specific challenges. It is wasteful to use a large and complex LLM to solve a problem that is simpler. Getting these models to work together will be key to solving industry and use case specific business and customer challenges in the future. Microsoft is already doing this with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Achim Granzen. Microsoft’s Copilot – a shrink-wrapped GenAI tool based on OpenAI – has become a mainstream product. Microsoft has made it available to their enterprise clients in multiple ways: for personal productivity in Microsoft 365, for enterprise applications in Dynamics 365, for developers in Github and Copilot Studio, and to partners to integrate Copilot into their applications suites (E.g. Amdocs’ Customer Engagement Platform).
Microsoft’s Customer Copyright Commitment, initially launched as Copilot Copyright Commitment, is the true game changer.
Achim Granzen. It safeguards Copilot users from potential copyright infringement lawsuits related to data used for algorithm training or output results. In November 2023, Microsoft expanded its scope to cover commercial usage of their OpenAI interface as well.
This move not only protects commercial clients using Microsoft’s GenAI products but also extends to any GenAI solutions built by their clients. This initiative significantly reduces a key risk associated with GenAI adoption, outlined in the product terms and conditions.
However, compliance with a set of Required Mitigations and Codes of Conduct is necessary for clients to benefit from this commitment, aligning with responsible AI guidelines and best practices.
Peter Carr. Unfortunately, there is no playbook for AI.
Tim Sheedy. It is all about opportunities and responsibility.
Tim Sheedy. Microsoft faces a challenge in educating the market about adopting AI, especially Copilot. They need to educate business, IT, and AI users on embracing AI effectively. Additionally, they must educate existing partners and find new AI partners to drive change in their client base. Success in the race for knowledge workers requires not only being first but also helping users maximise solutions. Customers have limited visibility of Copilot’s capabilities, today. Improving customer upskilling and enhancing tools to prompt users to leverage capabilities will contribute to Microsoft’s (or their competitors’) success in dominating the AI tool market.
Peter Carr. Grassroots businesses form the economic foundation of the Asia Pacific economies. Typically, these businesses do not engage with global SIs (GSIs), which drive Microsoft’s new service offerings. This leads to an adoption gap in the sector that could benefit most from operational efficiencies. To bridge this gap, Microsoft must empower non-GSI partners and managed service providers (MSPs) at the local and regional levels. They won’t achieve their goal of democratising AI, unless they do. Microsoft has the potential to advance AI technology while ensuring fair and widespread adoption.
Wondering how India’s tech leaders are navigating the dynamic world of artificial intelligence (AI)? The latest findings from the Big5 CIO Priorities India ’24 Study offer a glimpse into the strategies employed by these industry giants.
According to the study, there’s a noticeable surge in investments in AI, highlighting a strategic shift towards embracing cutting-edge technologies. From streamlining operations to enhancing customer experiences, AI is being harnessed across various sectors to drive innovation and efficiency.
Tech teams across enterprises are not just dabbling but actively embracing AI, integrating it into their core operations. This proactive approach underscores a recognition of AI’s transformative potential and its role in shaping the future of business.
The AI landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, moving from traditional predictive AI use cases towards Generative AI (GenAI). Currently, most GenAI use cases promise an improvement in employee productivity, without focusing on how to leverage this into new or additional revenue generating streams. This raises concerns about the long-term return on investment (ROI) if this is not adequately addressed.
Traditionally, predictive AI has been integral to business strategies, leveraging data to forecast future outcomes with remarkable accuracy. Industries across the board have used predictive models for a range of applications, from demand forecasting in retail to fraud detection in finance. However, the tide is changing with the emergence of GenAI technologies. GenAI, capable of creating content, designing products, and even coding, holds the promise to revolutionise how businesses operate, innovate, and compete.
The appeal of GenAI lies in its versatility and creativity, offering solutions that go beyond the capabilities of predictive models. For example, in the area of content creation, GenAI can produce written content, images, and videos at scale, potentially transforming marketing, entertainment, and education sectors. However, the current enthusiasm for GenAI’s productivity enhancements overshadows a critical aspect of technology adoption: monetisation.
While the emphasis on productivity improvements through GenAI applications is undoubtedly beneficial, there is a notable gap in exploring use cases that directly contribute to creating new revenue streams. This productivity paradox – prioritising operational efficiency and cost reduction – may not guarantee the sustained growth and ROI necessary from AI investments.
True innovation in AI should not only aim at making existing processes more efficient but also at uncovering opportunities for monetisation. This involves leveraging GenAI to develop new products, services, or business models to access untapped markets or enhance customer value in ways that directly impact the bottom line.
Ignoring the monetisation aspect of GenAI applications poses a significant risk to the anticipated ROI from AI investments. As businesses allocate resources to AI adoption and integration, it’s also important to consider how these technologies can generate revenue, not just save costs. Without a clear path to monetisation, the investments in AI, particularly in the cutting-edge domain of GenAI, may not prove viable in the next financial year and beyond.
To mitigate this risk, companies need to adopt a dual approach. First, they must continue to explore and exploit the productivity gains offered by GenAI, which are crucial for maintaining a competitive edge and achieving operational excellence. At the same time, businesses must strategically explore and invest in GenAI-driven opportunities for monetisation. This could mean innovating in product design, personalised customer experiences, or entirely new business models that were previously unfeasible.
The excitement around GenAI’s potential to transform industries is well-founded, but it must be tempered with strategic planning to ensure long-term viability and ROI. Businesses that recognise and act on the opportunity to not only improve productivity but also to monetise GenAI innovations will lead the next wave of growth in their respective sectors. The challenge lies in balancing the drive for efficiency with the pursuit of new revenue streams, ensuring that investments in AI deliver sustainable returns. As the AI landscape evolves, the ability to innovate in monetisation as much as in technology will distinguish the leaders from the followers.
Where is cloud adoption headed in India? Dive into the insights from the Big5 CIO Priorities India ’24 Study to uncover trends in hybrid and public cloud adoption, and other crucial aspects of organisations’ cloud strategies.
According to the study, a significant 80% of organisations have embraced a hybrid, multi-cloud strategy, showcasing a strategic blend of private and public cloud services. Despite this, there remains a robust interest in public cloud solutions, highlighting the appeal of their scalability and flexibility.
Additionally, the study reveals that 69% of organisations prefer a cloud-first approach when introducing new services. This shift signifies the growing recognition of cloud computing as a foundational pillar for innovation and growth among Indian businesses.
As India’s digital landscape continues to evolve, understanding these cloud adoption trends becomes paramount for organisations looking to stay competitive and resilient in an increasingly digital-first world.
2024 has started cautiously for organisations, with many choosing to continue with tech projects that have already initiated, while waiting for clearer market conditions before starting newer transformation projects. This means that tech providers must continue to refine their market messaging and enhance their service/product offerings to strengthen their market presence in the latter part of the year. Ecosystm analysts present five key considerations for tech providers as they navigate evolving market and customer trends, this year.
Continuing Economic Uncertainties. Organisations will focus on ongoing projects and consider expanding initiatives in the latter part of the year. This means that tech providers should maintain visibility and trust with existing clients. They also need to help their customers meet multiple KPIs.
Popularity of Generative AI. For organisations, this will be the time to go beyond the novelty factor and assess practical business outcomes, allied costs, and change management. Tech providers need to include ROI discussions for short-term and mid-term perspectives as organisations move beyond pilots.
Infrastructure Market Disruption. Tech leaders will keep an eye out for advancements and disruptions in the market (likely to originate from the semiconductor sector). The disruptions might require tech vendors to re-assess the infrastructure partner ecosystem.
Need for New Tech Skills. Tech leaders will evaluate Generative AI’s impact on AIOps and IT Architecture; invest in upskilling for talent retention. Tech providers must prioritise creating user-friendly experiences to make technology accessible to business users. Training and partner enablement will also need a higher focus.
Increased Focus on Governance. Tech leaders will consult tech vendors on how to implement safeguards for data usage, sharing, and cybersecurity. This opens up opportunities in offering governance-related services.
While many AI companies have been around for years, this will be the year that many of them make a significant play into enterprises in Asia Pacific. This comes at a time when many organisations are attempting to reduce tech debt and simplify their tech architecture.
For these AI startups to succeed, they will need to create watertight business cases, and do a lot of the hard work in pre-integrating their solutions with the larger platforms to reduce the time to value and simplify the systems integration work.
To respond to these emerging threats, existing tech providers will need to not only accelerate their own use of AI in their platforms, but also ramp up the education and promotion of these capabilities.
Organisations recognise the need for AI to enhance their workforce, improve customer experience, and automate processes. However, the initial challenge lies in improving data quality, as trust in early AI models hinges on high-quality training data for long-term success.
Tech vendors that can help with data source discovery, metadata analysis, and seamless data pipeline creation will emerge as trusted AI partners. Transformation tools that automate deduplication and quality assurance tasks empower data scientists to focus on high-value work. Automation models like Segment Anything enhance unstructured data labeling, particularly for images. Finally synthetic data will gain importance as quality sources become scarce.
Tech vendors will be tempted to capitalise on the Generative AI hype but for sake of positive early experiences, they should begin with data quality.
Besides pureplay AI opportunities, AI will drive a renewed and increased interest in data and data management. Tech and service providers can capitalise on this by understanding the larger picture around their clients’ data maturity and governance. Initial conversations around AI can be door openers to bigger, transformational engagements.
Tech vendors should avoid the pitfall of downplaying AI risks. Instead, they should make all efforts to own and drive the conversation with their clients. They need to be forthcoming about their in-house responsible AI guidelines and understand what is happening in AI legislation world-wide (hint: a lot!)
Tech providers must establish strong client partnerships for AI initiatives to succeed. They must address risk and benefit equally to reap the benefits of larger AI-driven transformation engagements.
Networking and security vendors will need to develop converged offerings as these two technologies increasingly overlap in the hybrid working era. Organisations are now entering a new phase of maturity as they evolve their remote working policies and invest in tools to regain control. They will require simplified management, increased visibility, and to provide a consistent user experience, wherever employees are located.
There has already been a widespread adoption of SD-WAN and now organisations are starting to explore next generation SSE technologies. Procuring these capabilities from a single provider will help to remove complexity from networks as the number of endpoints continue to grow.
Tech providers should take a land and expand approach, getting a foothold with SASE modules that offer rapid ROI. They should focus on SWG and ZTNA deals with an eye to expanding in CASB and FWaaS, as customers gain experience.
The IT services market, particularly in Asia Pacific, is poised for significant growth. Factors, including the imperative to cut IT operational costs, the growing complexity of cloud migrations and transformations, change management for Generative AI capabilities, and rising security and data governance needs, will drive increased spending on IT services.
Tech services providers – consultants, SIs, managed services providers, and VARs – will help drive organisations’ tech spend and strategy. This is a good time to review partners, evaluating whether they can take the business forward, or whether there is a need to expand or change the partner mix.
Partner reviews should start with an evaluation of processes and incentives to ensure they foster desired behaviour from customers and partners. Tech vendors should develop a 21st century partner program to improve chances of success.
