Smart Nation be damned: Singaporeans aren’t embracing innovation

Red alert for APAC companies: 47 per cent not ready for tech disruption; only 14.1 per cent in Singapore want innovation, says new report by IDC

The tsunami of digital disruption is hitting many industries — including retail, public transport, financial, manufacturing — really hard; many business owners and governmental officials across all verticals are grasping the importance of leveraging on emerging technologies to ride out the digital wave on top.

In Singapore, the government wants the country to be transformed into a tech hub with its Smart Nation Initiative. Government body MAS recently set up a fintech incubator to foster collaborations with startups and beef up new tech in the financial industry.

In addition, the stock exchange is boosting support for tech listings.

In the tech community, the policy is such a part of daily life that, while there are critiques, the overall policy is generally supported.

However, according to a new report by IDC Research, the same cannot be said for Singapore as a whole. When asked whether innovation was extremely important to driving business, only 14.1 per cent of Singapore-based companies said yes.

Those numbers put Singapore at dead last of the thirteen countries listed, just behind Japan at 15 per cent and Taiwan at 16.4 per cent.

In other technologically advanced and developed nations, the figures were not pretty either: Hong Kong (20 per cent) and South Korea were only slightly higher (23.3 per cent).

China, the epicentre of the tech innovation in Asia, saw only 21.5 per cent admit to seeing much value in innovation.

The only anomaly in the picture is India, another longstanding tech hub. Indian companies (41.2 per cent) were more inclined to innovate.

The poll, conducted to 1500 key IT decision makers and business owners across 13 countries in APAC, was commissioned by Avaya and puts some melancholy on an Asian tech scene that, over the past few years, has witnessed the birth of tech startup giants. (Many of which have raised 8-figure and even 9-figure rounds).

To broaden-out across the APAC region, nearly half — 47 per cent — of companies find it difficult to compete with ‘Uber-like’ competitors.

This sentiment can be felt clearly in Singapore; such as with the case of the National Taxi Association, which recently decried the seemingly unfair advantages Uber and Grab brought to the playing field.

Also Read: Mobile apps overtake mobile web in APAC, with Malaysia leading the way: MFI report

Only 23 per cent of APAC companies felt confident in winning the battle against the tech disruptors, and only 3 per cent planned to be disruptors themselves.

More promise in emerging markets?

But it’s not all doom and gloom, the statistics show that emerging tech markets have a larger appetite for innovation.

39.4 per cent of Thai companies believe in the necessity of innovation, followed by Philippines (39.1 per cent), Indonesia (28.9 per cent), Malaysia (28.9 per cent) and Vietnam (27.3 per cent).

Also Read: What were the e-commerce payment trends in APAC in 2015?

On why emerging markets craved more innovation, IDC Research had this to say:

“Companies from less mature markets are more compelled to undertake DX (digital transformation), underscoring the great potential for hyper-disruption in the region’s nascent, developing markets”.

Challenges facing digital transformation

According to the report, there are three areas where APAC companies face roadblocks when transitioning to the digital space.

Company culture and structure

57 per cent of businesses found it challenging to transform company culture to meet the demands of the fast-paced digital arena.

50 per cent said cross-team collaborations were difficult to execute.

Companies need to be able to adopt a lean, fail-fast, collaborative approach in order to carry out innovative approaches quickly.

Lack of skills and resources

53 per cent said lack of skills and resources was another major challenge. Many of the technologies used for digital transformation are fairly new (such as big data analytics and cloud) so it is difficult to find the right person with the right skill sets.

Risk management and compliance

40 per cent faced problems managing risk and compliance. This is understandable considering new business models have been introduced with each technological advancement; and government bodies need to ensure these new businesses do not contravene with any laws, as well as make update legislation and rules when necessary.

Also Read: App Annie’s Marketing Director talks top app trends in APA

One good example would be crowdfunding. Recently, MAS updated its regulatory framework to cater to securities crowdfunding companies. But, it was not an instant change, and equity crowdfunding companies were in limbo for years.

How companies in APAC are approaching digital transformation

For companies in APAC embracing digital transformation, 60 per cent are focussing on employee productivity. This is to enable a transparent process of data sharing across all networks and platforms around the clock.

For businesses seeking to grow their audience and delivering better customer experiences, leveraging on big data analytics is critical. In this aspect, 36.6 per cent of APAC businesses said they are on par with their peers in big data capabilities.

And on the subject of customer engagement, 63.3 per cent of APAC companies are pouring resources into developing better customer-facing applications to gather actionable insights, and as well as developing an omni-channel experience.

53.3 per cent of APAC companies are actively engaging with businesses with strategic IT initiatives. This means that companies will fund the IT projects, and in turn help to produce new IT expertises.

For more information on the findings, download the full report here.

—
Image Credit: greek / 123RF Stock Photo

The post Smart Nation be damned: Singaporeans aren’t embracing innovation appeared first on e27.