The report also analyses the enterprise investment priorities across 30+ IT solution areas
Driven by the need to realign their IT infrastructure in an evolving business environment in the post-peak COVID-19 era, 60 per cent of the enterprises* in Japan have increased their ICT budget in 2022 compared to 2021, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s Japan Enterprise ICT Investment Trends Report, which is based on the company’s recent ICT Customer Insight Survey*, reveals that about 50 per cent of the respondents who are key IT decision makers in enterprises covered in the survey for the country, have claimed that there has been a slight (1 per cent to 6 per cent) increase in their enterprise ICT budget for 2022 compared to 2021 while another 10 per cent have claimed there has been a significant (greater than 6 per cent) increase in the same.
Saurabh Daga, Technology Analyst at GlobalData, says: “The optimistic enterprise ICT spending outlook in Japan for 2022 can most likely be attributed to the resurgence in demand for various IT solutions and services and spending on enterprise-wide ICT projects, which remained relatively quiet during the peak COVID-19 crisis, when most organizations chose to adopt a conservative approach.”
The report also analyses the enterprise investment priorities across 30+ IT solution areas and reveals that IT security is one of the top investment areas for 2022. Increased instances of cyber-attacks such as the the most recent ransomware attack on Kojima Industries are driving enterprises in Japan to prioritize their IT security infrastructure advancement.
Daga explains: “This is validated in the GlobalData’s survey, where more than 60 per cent of the surveyed respondents have claimed that their individual enterprise software, hardware, and services budget allocation towards security has increased in 2022 compared with 2021.”
Growing instability in the regional geopolitical situation is also one of the key reasons for the increased focus on IT security among enterprises in Japan. As threats from state-sponsored actors grow, especially targeting industries that are deemed crucial for the country’s economy such as financial services, manufacturing, utilities, and transportation, enterprises are proactively strengthening their IT security infrastructure.
Remote work arrangements, which continue to prevail in the enterprises across the country will also favor investments in enabling technologies such as communication & collaboration, mobility, and security over the next two years. For instance, more than 75 per cent respondents from Japan in GlobalData’s survey* have claimed that their enterprises are prioritizing their ICT investment in enterprise communication social networking and collaboration platforms for investment in the next two years.
Daga concludes: “Not only traditional IT solution areas, but also disruptive technologies are finding a lot of interest among the enterprises in Japan. A significant proportion of the enterprises in Japan are using disruptive technologies for digital transformation as indicated by the survey results, where more than 60 per cent of the respondents from the country confirm that their enterprise ICT budget allocation for disruptive technologies has increased in 2022 over 2021 with artificial intelligence and edge computing proving to be the most popular investment areas.”
