ISPs Can Help Usher in Single Digital Economy in ASEAN

The Huawei Southern Pacific ISP Summit 2018 saw over 150 analysts and key industry players converge to discuss how the ISP industry can speed up digital transformation and promote a single digital economy in ASEAN.

Randy Roberts, Research Director at IDC, shared in his keynote speech, entitled “Regional ASEAN ICT Development – Towards a Single Unified Digital Economy”, that businesses in Asia Pacific have made progress in advancing digital maturity.

Most businesses are still in the “Digital Explorer” stage, where digitally enabled customer experiences and products are inconsistent and poorly integrated. However, signs of a potential rise in the number of enterprises embarking on digital transformation signal an opportunity for key players in the region.

Collectively, ASEAN is the sixth largest economy in the world. Its rapidly growing digital economy generates about $150 billion in revenue annually. According to a recent study, the region has the potential to generate an additional $1 trillion in combined GDP by 2025 with a robust digital agenda. In ASEAN, the amount of cross-border bandwidth that is used has grown 45 times larger from 2005 to 2016. It is projected to increase by an additional nine times by 2021 as flows of information, searches, communication, video, transactions, and intra-company traffic continue to surge.

The digital integration of ASEAN will promote rapid growth of the digital economy, including safe and smart city solutions, to stimulate economic development and inform social intelligence. As ASEAN sets the stage for a single digital economy to harness its full economic potential, it is crucial for key players within the ICT sector to collaborate and contribute to the robust infrastructure necessary to accelerate ASEAN’s growth.

“Technological innovation and an open ecosystem are critical to the success of digital initiatives," commented Daniel Zhou, president for South Pacific at Huawei's Enterprise Business Group.

"As ASEAN sets the foundation for a unified digital economy, close collaboration between key industry players are key to ensure a solid foundation for a thriving digital economy. Huawei is committed to improving the region and working with our partners for a better connected future.”