APAC businesses must embrace change according to Adobe 2022 Digital Trends Report

Introducing 2022 Digital Trends - APAC in Focus. This annual Adobe survey, produced in collaboration with Econsultancy, captures insights from senior decision-makers and practitioners in the marketing and advertising industries across Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand.

The report explores the role of technology and its impact on consumers, businesses and economies and points to opportunities for companies to refine their digital strategies to drive sustained growth in 2022 and beyond.

The past two years have led to extraordinary and profound changes in sectors and economies worldwide. The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated digital interactions and deepened millions of consumers’ online usage. In growing economies like Thailand and Indonesia, government efforts to promote digital transformation, including investments in wireless networks, have led to greater acceptance and adoption of digital services.

At the same time, other markets across the region have propelled their technological prowess and are entering a new era of unprecedented change and innovation. With superior manufacturing capabilities, homegrown specialised talent and a large consumer base of digital enthusiasts, APAC digital leaders set global benchmarks in eCommerce, virtualising services in healthcare and education, smart mobility and digital urbanisation.

The scale and momentum of these digital trends are cementing shifts in consumer behaviours and needs. 77% of our surveyed APAC practitioners experienced a surge in new customers through digital channels, and 76% observed new and changing customer journeys.

This rewiring of consumer mindsets in Asia Pacific creates opportunities for businesses that embrace an agile mindset, collaboration and speed up time-to-value. Over the course of 2021, companies that overcame organisational and technology silos and worked across functions to quickly move as one came out in front.

Today, many APAC organisations face how to embed the agile methodologies developed in the crisis “war-rooms” into long-term business operations. This report reveals that many companies struggle with legacy working cultures, mindsets, and practices, limiting their ability to respond to shifting consumer behaviours and evolving market dynamics.

The flow-on effect of outdated working practices, combined with growing employee expectations in the new world of remote and hybrid work, is limited access to digital skills and capabilities. 83% of senior executives are concerned about necessary skills levels in their organisation. In fact, despite being home to a large base of technology talent, skill shortages are seen as more significant barriers to successful experience delivery in APAC than they are to any other region in this study.

In 2022, change will continue to be front and centre in business. 85% of APAC senior executives expect the pace of change experienced in 2020 and 2021 to persist for the foreseeable future

The 2022 study reveals that APAC organisations are focused on several approaches:

• Collaboration: 77% of senior APAC executives believe that marketing and IT need a shared vision to unlock creativity and innovation. However, only 27% agree that their disparate marketing and technology teams collaborate successfully today.
• Optimisation: 54% of APAC practitioners believe that investing in work and project management solutions is crucial to increase team productivity in the new hybrid world of work.
• Privacy: APAC organisations are granting their customers more control over their data, with 64% of APAC practitioners considering their organisation ‘effective or very effective’ in giving customers control over how their data is being used.
• Personalisation: APAC organisations are placing a greater onus on using data with consent to create real customer value, with 60% of APAC practitioners considering their organisation to be ‘effective/very effective’ in using first-party data to personalise the customer experience.

In the face of prevailing disruption, this year’s report explores the forces, trends and technologies that business leaders need to consider when crafting their digital strategies to be better positioned to succeed.