AMI-Partners: SMBs in 16 ASEAN Cities Will Spend More on ICT Products

The SMBs in important ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries are all set to increase their spending on the ICT products, states a report by AMI-Partners. According to the report, this figure may reach US$24 billion, which signifies an increase of 5 percent over 2008.

 

By conventional industrial standards, a growth of 5 percent is not spectacular. But these are tough economic times and all the industries would welcome any kind of increase in business. Also, the AMI-Partners report suggest that at 5 percent growth, the SMBs in ASEAN countries are still offering better business than their counterparts in other parts of the world.

 

If the vendors are looking for high-impact success with limited resources in these regions, they should target the SMBs in a systematic manner across the whole region, says the report. Also, to improve their performance in the ASEAN markets, the vendors need to have a realistic geo-expansion strategy and laser sharp decision making process. Using intelligence and insights from deep research and analyses, vendors should target key city markets, says the report.

 

“Among all ASEAN countries, Singapore SMBs is expected to chalk up the slowest growth. Hence, ICT vendors are increasingly looking to SMBs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam to help achieve their regional revenue growth targets,” according to Tram Tong, a Singapore-based Research Analyst with AMI-Partners. “In almost all of the ASEAN countries, the top three major cities contribute to around 40 percent of the country’s ICT spending.”

 

SMBs in the key cities of Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam will spend most of their 2009 ICT budget on computing hardware, claims the report. This will include PCs, servers, printers and printing supplies, and telecom services.

 

Recently, the company released another study named “ILECs, CLECs or Cable Broadband Providers: Who Owns the Highest Value SMB Customers?” where it stated that 30 percent of U.S. small and medium-sized businesses can be classified as “high-value customers,” defined as “those with a deep reliance on IT and communications technologies.” The share for IP-based communications products and services was higher, according to the company.