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Bakers report delves into APAC futureproofing strategies
With just days before the start of the New Year, Baker McKenzie has uncovered where APAC business think they’re at when it comes to being prepared for “the next tsunami of change”.
Emma Musgrave
Baker McKenzie’s new report, dubbed “The Age of Hypercomplexity: Technology, Business and Regulators in Asia Pacific”, has asked business leaders on how they’re coping with new technology coming in the market both now and in the future.
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“Despite the view that the pace of technological change will only increase, placing additional pressures on their businesses, most respondents (68 per cent) are confident that their organisations are to some extent adept at exploiting the benefits of new technologies,” Bakers’ report noted.
“Within this group, however, a much smaller percentage (25 per cent) say they are highly adept. Notably, large numbers of respondents (30 per cent) also admit they are barely keeping pace.”
The report acknowledged that while largely positive on the ability to harness new technologies, “the sentiment [business leaders have] between highly adept and somewhat adept is both interesting and revealing”.
“Particularly with reference to subsequent questions where respondents were asked if they considered their companies to be disruptors or disrupted: 25 per cent considered themselves to be disrupting and leading change, in line with the 25 per cent who said they were highly adept at exploiting the benefits of new technologies,” Bakers said.
“If this fine line serves as the demarcation between companies driving change (disruptors) and those scrambling to adapt (disrupted), being “somewhat adept” today is clearly not enough.”
Going forward, Bakers noted that “breaking through this ceiling” may prove to be critical if APAC businesses are to thrive in the current and future market.
“Complicating this matter further, our research shows that some business leaders may be getting overwhelmed and distracted with priorities other than the tech imperative,” the report said.
“Since 2017, the need to innovate and deal with tech disruption from competitors has dropped down the list of top macro challenges and complexities that businesses in Asia Pacific are prioritising. In their place, compliance and regulatory scrutiny and economic uncertainty have risen to the top spots as the US-China trade war causes uncertainties and a growing wall of regulatory and compliance requirements create major challenges for businesses, particularly those operating in multiple markets.
“Likewise, cost increases will be driven by regulatory and compliance issues according to 73 per cent of respondents, compared to 47 per cent of those surveyed that see cost increases tied to investment in new technology.”
