Asia Pacific Manufacturing IT Spending Will Reach $22 Billion in 2010, Says Manufacturing Insights

According to a recent report Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Manufacturing IT Spending 2006-2010 Forecast of Manufacturing Insights, an IDC company, the APEJ manufacturing industry has been recovering and gaining momentum after the initial turnaround observed in 2004. APEJ manufacturing IT spending was valued at $15.0 billion in 2005 and is expected to reach $22.0 billion in 2010 at a CAGR of 7.7%. The top three sub-industry segments within APEJ in terms of IT expenditure are high-tech, automotive, and chemical. From a geographic perspective, the Greater China sub-region had the largest manufacturing IT spending, followed by ANZ and Korea.

"2005 has been a year plagued with external environmental uncertainties globally and notably in the Asian region, with high-profile events such as the repeated terrorist bombings in Bali; the Asian tsunamis and numerous other natural disasters across the region; the bird flu; rising oil prices; and ongoing geo-political tensions. Despite the above factors, the Asia region as a whole has continued its recovery and stabilization from the economic crises that began in the late 1990s," says Tan Mang Teck, research director, Asia/Pacific Manufacturing Research, Manufacturing Insights. "The APEJ region will continue to be a fast-growing regional economic block, powered by the emerging economic engines of China and India."

Manufacturers have a lot of information available to them, but few put that information to work to improve the efficiency and timeliness of decision making. Leading organizations are building complete control loops over their processes to connect strategic (risk mitigation), tactical (speed and agility), and operational (consistency and control) decisions. There are good opportunities for IT vendors to develop an integrated business & IT vision and roadmap for manufacturing clients extending beyond the four walls.

Manufacturing Insights suggests IT vendors focus on value realization instead of new application investment. Doing this will allow IT vendors to provide thought leadership in areas which are close to the hearts of manufacturing clients, as well as to position and "gel together" products, services, and overall value proposition.

"IT vendors should bring an understanding of manufacturing and its segments to market. Deploy sub-industry segment experts to speak the language and provide in-depth understanding of manufacturers' business drivers, challenges, and processes. Besides focusing on helping manufacturers realize value in terms of costs and speed, look for opportunities to help them realize the much valued 3 'As' in their businesses – Agility, Adaptability, and Alignment. For example, building dynamic business processes enabled by dynamic IT," Mr. Tan concludes.

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