The opportunities for technology companies within Asia-Pacific, specifically Australia, China and India, are only going to increase and, according to new research by independent market analyst Datamonitor, opportunities exist in the public sector space.
In Australia alone, IT expenditure by the public sector will be 6.5% of GDP. Datamonitor says technology vendors should ensure they gain experience within these markets in order to guarantee they are well placed to make the most of opportunities in the future.
In the reports, Future IT Trends and Projects: Australia Public Sector, Future IT Trends and Projects: China Public Sector and Future IT Trends and Projects: India Public Sector, Datamonitor assesses the developments taking place within each market and what opportunities they will create for technology companies.
Asia-Pacific region
According to Christine Chang, public sector technology associate analyst at Datamonitor and co-author of the reports, with more similarities to the UK, Canada and the US than with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia will be like familiar territory to technology vendors.
A common language, similar government structures and comparable IT usage trends make Australia a promising place for North American and European vendors to start in Asia-Pacific. However, she says, Australia also faces its own unique challenges that vendors must be aware of in order to be successful in the market.
Vendor opportunities are abundant as numerous Australian public sector contracts total more than $100 million. "Some government projects are as high as $367 million, demonstrating the extent that Australia is investing in technology.
She cites IBM, a dominant player in this market, as an example. "IBM is working with the Australian Federal Department of Immigration and Affairs to overhaul the department's IT system. The contract is valued at $150 million.
"IBM is also working on a $273 million project with the Australian Department of Health to provide mainframe, mid-range, network, storage and desktop support. Fujitsu, another vendor with a strong presence in Australia, will provide the Northern Territory Government with desktop, laptop, server and helpdesk services for $111 million and Western Australia Health with applications and infrastructure overhaul for $55.6 million."
China's challenges
China is a complex market to enter and there are many challenges that technology vendors face when working in this market. "These challenges include the complex procurement system of the Chinese government and intellectual property rights issues. Vendors cannot afford to ignore the opportunities in China as the government makes moves towards investing a significant amount in public sector technology.
"They need to ensure they are aware of and understand the challenges ahead to ease their route in," adds Justin Davidson, public sector technology associate analyst at Datamonitor and co-author of the report with Chang.
He says the Beijing Olympics has helped to accelerate the rate at which the government installs public sector technology projects. "The government wants to show the world that they have the ability to implement a large-scale 21st century technology project. There are other signs the Chinese government is evolving and opening up."
Davidson says the Chinese military is looking towards outsourcing various services and this trend is likely to include technology projects, for example, electronic medical records for hospitals.
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