Team AsiaPac
Keppel Data Centres (Keppel DC) has joined forces with AsiaPac Technology to launch hybrid and multi-cloud services amid plans to help customers modernise infrastructure offerings to supercharge digital transformation efforts.
Operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of M1 -- which in turn is a division of Keppel -- AsiaPac will enable clients of Keppel DC to “transform or enhance” existing infrastructure to maximise the potential of secure hybrid multi-cloud frameworks, motivated by a desire to improve agility and resiliency levels.
Specifically, AsiaPac -- recently honoured as Cloud Partner of the Year at the recent Channel Asia Innovation Awards in 2021 -- will provide regional enterprise customers with data centre colocation and managed cloud services. Meanwhile, Keppel DC plans to develop "sustainable, carrier neutral and network dense" edge data centres across Asia Pacific and Europe, launching initially in Southeast Asia.
“As one of the leading enterprise solutions providers, AsiaPac will be complementing Keppel DC with the depth and breadth of our cloud consultancy and managed services,” said Andrew Cheng, managing director of AsiaPac.
“This collaboration will unlock opportunities arising from the synergies between Keppel DC and AsiaPac, as we stay at the forefront of delivering innovative next-generation infrastructure and services that are adaptable to today's fast-paced environment.”
In addition, the partnership will aim to offer intra-Asia interconnectivity across Keppel DC’s data centres, leveraging the Bifrost Cable System, a multiple fibre pair, high-capacity submarine cable system that Keppel is developing with other partners, connecting Singapore directly to North America, with other planned systems in the pipeline.
Under the ambit of the connectivity platform in Keppel’s Vision 2030, the alliance forms a longer-term strategy to enhance Keppel’s value proposition to clients, by packaging the data centre solution, stronger intra-Asia connectivity, and hybrid multi-cloud services, into an "integrated, synergistic" offering.
“As a leading data centre developer and operator in the Asia Pacific, Keppel DC is no stranger to providing reliable and secure data centre solutions for its clients,” added Wong Wai Meng, CEO of Keppel DC. “By partnering AsiaPac, Keppel DC is able to enhance its suite of services to offer clients turnkey cloud implementation solutions.”
Maximising cloud services
Building out managed services capabilities in response to evolving customer buying patterns now ranks as a leading priority for channel partners across Southeast Asia, as the ecosystem embraces subscription-based selling.
According to State of the Channel research -- commissioned by Channel Asia and delivered in partnership with Tech Research Asia -- growing annuity revenue currently stands tall as the no.1 strategic objective for value-added resellers, system integrators and solution providers in the region.
Within this context, 61 per cent of partners ASEAN-wide are undergoing a “significant change” in how business operations are run, with 71 per cent developing a new strategic plan as a direct result of COVID-19.
“Partners in ASEAN understand the need for urgent change,” observed Mark Iles, executive analyst of Tech Research Asia. “Building annuity revenues is a positive step forward and means partners don’t have to press the reset button every year and take revenue back to zero.”
Ran in conjunction with Channel Asia and Tech Research Asia, the in-depth research surveyed more than 100 partners based in ASEAN, spanning the key markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Findings offer the clearest and most objective indication yet that technology providers are finally overhauling business models to maximise OPEX investments, following years of market intention rather than decisive action.
Beyond growing annuity revenue, key focus areas in order of importance include attracting new customers, enhancing end-user experience levels and building new revenue streams and products.
“Value-add is a moving target,” Iles cautioned. “But increased focus on customer experience is a welcome addition to partner priority lists, especially given the need for reinvention in a digital and remote world. Likewise, customers are seeking new solutions and different ways of innovating meaning partners have to respond with new products and offerings.”
Specific to technology, partners continue to prioritise cloud migration (both public and private), digital transformation and security as core solution focus areas, followed by delivering hybrid and multi-cloud services.
“2021 is the first time we’ve seen cloud migration as the no.1 priority for partners in ASEAN,” Iles noted.
Despite being traditionally slow to adopt cloud, Iles outlined a $37 billion regional market opportunity in relation to core infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) by 2023, at a compound annual growth rate of 32 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, SaaS represents $20 billion of potential within the next 18-24 months at an annual growth rate of 29 per cent.
“Both offer solid core services opportunities in both migration and ongoing management,” Iles said. “For every workload that moves to the cloud, 27 per cent has services attached for a partner which represents a great opportunity for the channel.”
