Bulk of Aussie businesses planning expansion

Australian businesses are planning major investments in digital technologies to support ambitious expansion plans following lessons learned from the pandemic, according to Equinix.

New findings from the company’s annual survey of technology decision-makers suggest business remains bullish, despite concerns of a global recession and recent World Economic Forum discussions that focused on the end of globalisation.

Of the 2900 IT decision-makers surveyed globally in the Equinix 2022 Global Tech Trends Survey, 72% of Australian respondents indicated their organisation is planning to expand into new markets in the next 12 months. Almost half of the respondents (49%) said Melbourne is the most common market in Australia to have a presence in, or plans to expand within the next 12 months, followed by Sydney (45%).

The pandemic continues to have a significant impact on businesses’ digital strategies, with more than half (56%) of Australia’s IT leaders accelerating their company’s digital evolution because of the COVID-19 crisis. Indeed, 53% confirmed their IT budgets have increased as a direct outcome of its legacy — an insight into the now broadly acknowledged necessity for robust digital infrastructure to support evolving business needs in an instant. Furthermore, 61% believe the technology changes and investments implemented during the pandemic are here to stay.

However, several potentially limiting factors were identified by Australian businesses when it came to business success. A majority of respondents (74%) were concerned by security and data breaches and changing regulatory requirements around data privacy. Further, 71% were also concerned about cyber attacks on their organisation.

Despite those threats, nearly 80% of Australian respondents said they will continue or increase spending on carrier-neutral colocation solutions, while 80% said they intend to keep or increase investment in interconnection services to progress digital transformation and build resilience.

“This survey illustrates that Australia’s digital leaders, despite economic uncertainties and other challenges, will invest in and plan for continued digital expansion to ensure their future business success. It’s clear the pandemic has accelerated growth and innovation, and advanced organisations’ digital evolution. Australian businesses recognise the benefits and efficiencies of new digital models, such as multicloud strategies, to facilitate their ambitious growth plans, capitalising on emerging technologies that can deliver exceptional performance in real time,” said Guy Danskine, Managing Director at Equinix Australia.

Ensuring expansions are supported by resilient digital models is business critical, particularly at a time of increasing volatility and emerging global threats. As part of their digital-first strategies, 85% of Australian respondents confirmed complying with local market data regulations is critical, 82% said a key priority is improving cybersecurity, and 75% highlighted the need to futureproof their businesses.

In addition, the survey revealed the following for Australia:

• Customer and employee experience prioritised: Recognising digital adoption affects end users, 79% said enhancing customer experience was a priority. Companies also acknowledged improving employee experience is critical to their transformation journey and retention of talent, with 76% citing this.
• Cloud migration continues: 75% of IT leaders said they plan to move more business functions to the cloud. Of those respondents, half plan to move more of their business-critical applications, and more than half (55%) intend to move security functions to the cloud.
• Investing in innovation: Many IT leaders are looking to futureproof their businesses and take full advantage of evolving technologies, such as 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Web3. 69% of respondents said they are moving to an everything-as-a-service (XaaS) model, citing the simplification of IT infrastructure (67%), improved user experience (52%) and flexibility (45%) as the key reasons for doing so.
• Focusing on sustainability: While innovating, digital leaders are keeping a close eye on the sustainability of their IT infrastructure. 74% say they have a plan in place to manage the environmental impact of growing data usage, and 61% are measuring and actively trying to limit the environmental impact of their IT equipment. 65% will only work with IT partners who can meet key carbon reduction targets. Indeed, 68% report sustainability is now one of their organisation’s most important drivers, with commitments made to science-based targets.
   

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