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Singapore enterprise comms and collaboration spend set for steady growth
The widespread enterprise adoption of remote operations that bolstered the demand for comms and collaboration products and services is set to persist
Supported by the growing demand for conferencing services, communication platforms, and enterprise social networking and collaboration tools across enterprises, the total addressable market size of communications and collaboration (C&C) products and services in Singapore, in terms of revenue opportunity, is set to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% between 2020 and 2025.
This is according to a study from GlobalData, which adds that communications and collaboration software, comprising communications platforms and enterprise social networking and collaboration platforms, represents the fastest growing market segment, with its revenue opportunity expected to expand at a CAGR of 12.4% between 2020 and 2025.
Within the overall C&C market – comprising hardware, software and services – collaboration will account for the largest share of the overall addressable market value through the forecast period.
While traditional C&C service propositions such as fixed voice, mobile voice services and audio only-conferencing services will see their enterprise spending decline over the forecast period given the widespread shift towards unified communications, web and video conferencing, managed IP telephony and mobile data services are expected to see healthy growth over the same period.
GlobalData believes a key factor driving rapid growth in this segment is the fact that most of the new platforms are cloud-based, making their deployment simple and on-demand. Also, said the analyst, the majority of the large-scale enterprises in Singapore are already used to cloud implementations and therefore have been quick to embrace cloud-based C&C platforms for an agile communications infrastructure.
Another key driver has been the region’s response to Covid-19. The analysis pointed out that the widespread enterprise adoption of remote operations following the pandemic bolstered the demand for C&C products and services in 2020 and 2021. Moreover, while remote working mandates are gradually being rolled back in Singapore, the persistence of flexible work arrangements by local organisations is set to continue to drive the demand for C&C products and services. This is calculated to see the combined market value for C&C go on to reach US$2.2bn by the end of 2025.
While the large enterprise segment, that is those with over 1,000 employees, will account for the largest share of the total enterprise C&C spending opportunity in Singapore through the forecast period, the combined spending opportunity from micro (1-50 employees), small and medium (51-1,000 employees) enterprises will increase at a marginally faster CAGR of 6.3% over the forecast period.
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The analysis noted that Singapore government support in the form of a Productivity Solutions Grant through Infocomm Media Development Authority and Enterprise Singapore will support small and medium-sized enterprises in their adoption of IT services, including C&C.
And, added Sandeep Kolakotla, lead technology analyst at GlobalData, as per the Singapore Ministry of Manpower, businesses are currently still required to implement remote work for at least 50% of their workforce and must ensure staggered shifts and flexible working hours for the remaining.
“These government directives therefore will sustain demand prospects for efficient C&C products and solutions at least in the short- to medium-term period,” he said.
“Besides being a major financial services centre in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore is a prominent technology hub, particularly in Southeast Asia, with several digitally powered startups choosing the city-state as a base location,” said Kolakotla.
“According to Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), around 40% of South-East Asian ‘unicorns’ [companies with a valuation of more than $1bn] are based out of Singapore. A growing enterprise sector with presence of a huge number of small and medium businesses especially makes Singapore a major market for C&C solutions and services.”
