ASEAN institutions focus spending on software and services
As their IT matures, higher education organisations in developed ASEAN countries are investing heavily in software and services. IDC forecasts that spending will increase from $8.7bn in 2015 to $10.4bn in 2019 across the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan (APEJ). The shift has brought greater focus to cyber security, reducing IT costs, and providing access to the latest technologies as well as improving network infrastructure, datacentres and storage, and student-centric learning initiatives.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in developed countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region are becoming more mature in how they use IT, with spending patterns shifting from hardware to services and software.

In general, this shift towards spending on software and services is due to a greater focus on cyber security to protect digital assets, reducing IT costs, improving business-IT alignment and providing access to the latest technologies, said Shreyashi Pal, market analyst at IDC Government Insights.

IDC forecasts that IT spending in the higher education sector in the wider Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan (APEJ) will increase from US$8.7bn in 2015 to US$10.4bn in 2019, with an annual growth rate of 5.2% over the next five years. Developed Asean countries will have similar growth rates to those in Asia-Pacific, while less developed Asean countries will have lower rates.

According to IDC, the opportunities for higher education in the Asia-Pacific region are in personalised learning, collaborative education and smart campus initiatives.

An example of a smart campus initiative is Smart Campus Platform at Singapore’s Temasek Polytechnic, which uses IT to make better decisions to improve study and work. It will provide a testbed to try out ideas, build capability and train future-ready students. The polytechnic plans to build teaching services on the smart campus and create an ecosystem where students and staff learn and work.

Another example is EduCity Iskandar Malaysia, which aims to provide an integrated campus experience by bringing together several universities and institutes of higher education, research and development (R&D) centres, student accommodation, as well as recreational and sports facilities.