Press Release

Government Insights Asia/Pacific Expects An Increased Focus on Infrastructure Optimization and Next Generation e-Government for the APEJ Region in 2008

Singapore and Hong Kong, February 14, 2008 – Leading independent research and advisory firm Government Insights, an IDC company, today announced the release of its annual Top 10 Predictions report for the government sector in 2008 in the Asia/Pacific region, excluding Japan (APEJ). The report entitled “Asia/Pacific Government 2008 Top 10 Predictions, January 2008” (Doc # AP633101Q), states that infrastructure optimization and IT resource repurposing will become the top IT trend in the government sector in 2008.

"IT spending in the APEJ public sector is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9% to reach US$32.77 billion by 2011. Developing countries like the People's Republic of China (PRC) and India are both expected to achieve double-digit CAGR of10.2% and 17.6% respectively and will account for more than half of the region’s total IT spending. The PRC and India will continue to lead the growth in the region as they have been building up their information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure to increase outreach to their citizens, especially in the rural areas. We note that digital divide issues in the APEJ will increasingly be tackled with an all-stakeholder approach towards digital empowerment," says Raphael Phang, Research Director of Government Insights Asia/Pacific. "The undeniable economic benefits from technology are driving governments to further optimize the value of IT investments. In 2008, upcoming next-generation technologies, such as Web 2.0, virtualization, mobile technologies, and biometrics, will take center-stage."

Other top predictions presented and analyzed in this study are:

  • Infrastructure optimization and IT resource repurposing will pick up steam with virtualization and consolidation strategies.
  • Next-generation applications will take e-government in a new direction. The emergence of "Gov 2.0" will replace "e-Gov" as governments seek to gain additional value from citizen interaction and business transactions.
  • Governments will extend ICTs to safeguard the nation, and boost citizenry protection, while striving to address privacy concerns. Technologies for disaster recovery efforts, citizenry surveillance and biometrics will be in focus.
  • Strategic IT sourcing will emerge as a key procurement method. More governments will deploy strategic sourcing strategies to evaluate less clear decisions and manage multi-jurisdictional or multi-stakeholder engagements.

To assist government organizations and the vendors that serve this market, Government Insights annually identifies the top trends for the year that will heavily influence the direction and magnitude of IT investment, management, and technology evaluation.

For more information about purchasing the research, “Asia/Pacific Government 2008 Top 10 Predictions, January 2008” (Doc # AP633101Q), please contact Selina Ang at +65-6829-7717 or sang@idc.com. For press inquiries, please contact Holly Fung at +852-2905-4225 or hfung@idc.com.

Government Insights is pleased to invite you to register for their webcast about Asia/Pacific Government 2008 Top 10 Predictions. It will be available from January 31 – February 29, 2008. If you are interested, please register here: http://www.idc.com.sg/webcast/wcasin-080131-gi.asp

About Government Insights, an IDC Company

Government Insights, an IDC company, provides government organizations and IT vendors who serve them with research-based advisory and consulting services that enable government executives to maximize the value of their technology investments; minimize technology risk through accurate planning; benchmark themselves against industry peers; adopt industry best practices for organizational/technology alignment; make more informed technology decisions; and drive technology-enabled performance and innovation. Government Insights provides full coverage of the government value chain, with special emphasis on developing and employing strategies that leverage IT investments to maximize organizational performance. Staffed by senior analysts with significant experience in government, Government Insights provides a portfolio of research and advisory services that are relevant to the needs of both the government and IT vendor communities. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research and events company.

For more information go to http://www.government-insights.com.

For more information, please contact:

Raphael Phang
rphang@government-insights.com
+65-6829-7793

Holly Fung
hfung@idc.com
+852-2905-4225