A report from the research company Ovum points to increased
activity in the Asia Pacific managed services sector, which is
expected to account for £2.14bn worth of business by 2005.
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) upped the ante when it
launched its Expan managed hosting services (MHS) last week. MHS
will enable multinationals, application service providers and those
in Internet-related businesses to outsource their communications
networks and Web-hosting needs.
SingTel plans to invest $272m to establish a network of Internet
data centers (IDCs) in major Asian countries such as Singapore,
Japan, Hong Kong and Sydney.
Expan's tie-up with technology partners and access to satellite and
cable infrastructure allows it to offer integrated regional
communication networks and Web-hosting services to corporate
customers.
Titus Yong, the director of regional marketing/managed hosting at
SingTel, said, "SingTel is the only pan-Asian-managed hosting
service provider with a network of overseas offices and joint
ventures. As a result, customers can have network diversity and
easy access to bandwidth."
Other players in the outsourcing market welcomed the SingTel
announcement, including managed service providers (MSPs) and other
service providers who operate over a network on a subscription
basis.
Bruno Lee, the managing director of MSP iWorld Networking, said,
"The launching of Expan is a good sign for the market on the whole
as end-users will have more choices available. This is a
development to cater to a particular segment of the market."
Jonathan Leung, chief marketing officer of NetTasking, another MSP,
said, "The primary challenge is the overall low market awareness of
the importance of a properly managed IT infrastructure. Most
companies in Asia Pacific have the misconception that only large
companies are required to implement this task within their IT
organizations."
Leung, who is also acting chairman of the recently formed MSP
Association Asia-Pacific Chapter, added that the challenge for MSPs
lay in educating the market. "The main objective of the chapter is
to educate the Asia-Pacific market about the MSP industry and the
tangible benefits it brings," he said.