The CA Technologies Asia Pacific & Japan Application Economy Index 2016 identifies the readiness of 10 APJ markets to thrive in today’s digital world. Today, consumers interact differently with the Internet, and the report identifies these characteristics on these new modes of interaction, which have implications on how enterprises are to anticipate, plan for, and measure success in the application economy. Singapore leads the top half followed by Australia, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong respectively, while Malaysia, China, Thailand, India and Indonesia make up the rest of the ranks. These results suggest that the current technology leaders will continue to be key leaders in the application economy in the near future. Rankings below.
The results of the study – developed and commissioned by CA Technologies, and carried out by research consulting firm TRPC – give a snapshot of where Asia’s economies are today, in terms of how conducive their market environments are for application development and market entry. Disruptions to market conditions often change the digital economy very quickly.
The index evaluates three main pillars that are critical for a vibrant application economy, with each pillar comprising various parameters:
- Government Use and Support of Technology and Innovation: To develop sound technology policies and promote innovation, governments themselves should understand and use software and applications.
- Internet and Mobile Infrastructure: Without the necessary infrastructure and enabled access to technology, an application economy cannot fully develop. Basic connectivity and network backbones must be in place, along with an environment which supports business growth and transformation.
- Business Agility: The ability to move nimbly and quickly in driving – and capturing – market disruption. For this to be possible, markets need to have an environment conducive for entrepreneurship and new forms of commerce to happen.
The rankings show Singapore, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong taking the leading positions. However, there are other new disruptive factors which impact the potential for markets to accelerate and leapfrog into the application economy. Through this report, we identify five targeted Market Potential Accelerator (MPA) factors, which provide more insight into APJ’s market potential in the application
economy:
- Total no. of Smartphone Users
- Daily General Mobile Internet Users
- Daily Use of Apps
- Use of Virtual Social Networks
- Youth Demographic Score (Population between 15-24)
The results (see figure below) show the rankings nearly reversed – China, India and Indonesia have the potential to leapfrog to the top three places if they capitalize on the opportunities before them, while the earlier leaders of Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia and Japan run the risk of falling behind in this next evolution of the Internet if they do not take actions to address the gaps in their markets quickly.
The arrival of the application economy challenges the status quo – for organizations, businesses, and governments. The pace of innovation must match the pace of disruption, and forward-looking, pro-active strategies for managing risks and capitalizing on opportunities must be put in place if we are to succeed and thrive in the application economy.
Read more about CA’s APJ Application Economy Index 2016 here and click here for the infographic.
See the full press release of the CA APJ Application Economy Index 2016 here.
