Hybrid cloud promises scalability and Hong Kong’s infrastructure is ready, so why are city’s businesses hesitating?
- SMEs are natural fit for embracing new technology, but only 28 per cent of city’s firms had digital plans in place in 2018, survey shows
- Security risks and gap in understanding of available solutions are among factors holding some back, experts say
Promising speeds that are up to 100 times faster than its predecessor, 5G networking is gradually rolling out around the world.
Its arrival is expected to spark a huge take-up of cloud services, which are now becoming more affordable, better and faster, and will encourage more companies to begin their transition to remote computing.
The cloud has a raft of benefits – including making collaboration and business analysis easier – which can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection.
Hong Kong is well placed among cities in Asia in terms of cloud readiness. The Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA) has ranked the city second in the 2018 Cloud Readiness Index based on cloud infrastructure, security and regulation.
[Hong Kong] has the competitive advantages to become the cloud technology hub in the region, [with its] reliable telecommunications infrastructure and exceptional broadband quality, and on top of that, free flow of information
However, despite the support of the government – including its promotion of cloud technology and the city as a prime location for secure data centre facilities, alongside the adoption of its own cloud services in the coming year – a significant portion of Hong Kong businesses have yet to embrace cloud technology.
According to the HSBC Digital for Business Market Study 2018, a market study undertaken by the international banking group last year, only 28 per cent of companies surveyed said they had digital plans in place. Some people in the industry are concerned that the city is falling behind in the move to cloud-based systems.