How Modern Tech Is Changing APAC Digital Resiliency Game
- By CDOTrends editors
- June 20, 2022
In today's post-pandemic world, digital resilience has become more important than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizations to rapidly adapt to a new reality where remote work, cloud-based applications, and digital customer interactions are the norm. At the same time, threats from cybercriminals have increased exponentially, making it essential for businesses to have a robust digital security strategy.
Digital resilience is the ability of an organization to withstand and quickly recover from digital disruptions such as cyberattacks, data breaches, and system outages. A digitally resilient organization has the people, processes, and technology to rapidly adapt to change and keep its business operations running smoothly despite digital disruptions.
A10 Networks recently released a commissioned survey, revealing the challenges and priorities of enterprise organizations in today's post-pandemic era.
The Enterprise Perspectives 2022 study, conducted by independent research organization Opinion Matters, involved 2,425 senior application and networking professionals from 10 geographies: U.K., Germany, Southern Europe (Italy and France), Benelux, Eastern Europe, Nordics, U.S., India, Middle East and the Asia Pacific.
Based on the survey results, the Asia Pacific region is increasingly prioritizing enterprise digital resilience. Of 225 companies surveyed, 95% expressed concern over optimizing security tools, ensuring competitive advantage, and delivering superior user experience for customers accessing their ecosystem. Specifically, companies in the region are transforming around the following priorities:
Zero Trust to combat cyberthreats
Compared to other areas, Asia Pacific respondents were more concerned about the loss of data and sensitive assets in the event of a data breach due to a cyberattack. They also worried about potential downtime or lockdown in the event of a distributed denial-of-service attack and its effect on brand and reputation.
In response to these concerns, the research showed that 39% of Asia Pacific business organizations have already shifted toward a Zero Trust model in the last 12 months.
Private cloud computing for network environment
Increased network traffic poses a challenge for Asia Pacific businesses, which report an average increase of 39% in traffic volume over the past 12 months. This compares to a global average of 47%.
When asked about their future network environment, 75% of Asia Pacific business organizations said they expected it to be cloud-based. Of that number, 33% said they preferred a private cloud infrastructure. However, 48% were not assured by their cloud service providers, stating that those providers could not meet their Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Remote work is not expected in the long run
Although many Asia Pacific business organizations have already shifted from a traditional office-based to a more flexible remote working model, 63% of those surveyed still expect their employees to work in an office in the long term. Only 14% of workers say that no employees will work from the office, and the majority will be remote. This runs contrary to the predictions of some experts that application and network professionals will work in a permanently hybrid enterprise with a significant number of remote workers.
AI has been rising in importance as an investment priority
In the last year, 52% of Asia Pacific enterprise organizations deployed artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. 45% implemented blockchain technologies, and 42% deployed IoT devices. While metaverse technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain are all critical, metaverse technologies were voted the most important for business resilience in the coming year.
“The world has changed irrevocably,” commented Anthony Webb, vice president for A10 International at A10 Networks. “The pace of digital transformation has accelerated beyond expectations. However, as we move out of crisis mode, organizations are now focused on digital resilience, moving to the cloud and strengthening their defenses.”
Webb concluded, “With escalating threats, post-pandemic fallout, the current Russia-Ukraine conflict, not to mention rising energy prices and inflation. Business organizations really need to consider many issues. To address these issues, companies must continue to invest in modern technologies, such as Zero Trust, that enable automation and protection, along with a balance of defense and agility for an increasingly multi-factor infrastructure."