Explosion of data seen to stunt growth of some Asia-Pacific firms

Most businesses in the Asia-Pacific region do not have comprehensive plans on how to deal with the rapidly growing amount of data they handle every day.

The lack of such a plan on how to efficiently store and take advantage of terabytes of data that companies have on their consumers may prove to be a constraint to growth, said US-based technology giant HP.

“Managing information better will allow companies to make better business decision, resulting in positive results for their operations,” said Damien Wong, HP software general manager for Southeast Asia.

In a recent study commissioned by HP, research firm Coleman Parkes said close to eight in 10 companies in countries like the Philippines stated that the explosion of content—driven largely by better access of consumers to the Internet—adds complexity to “an already complex world” of business.

At the same time, 62 percent of respondents said they were under pressure to cut costs on information-related processes and systems.

According to Wong, part of the problem lies with the companies—most still do not have a clue as to who really is in charge of the information gathered.

The Coleman Parkes study showed that 37 percent of firms leave it to their respective IT departments to manage the information trove, while 31 percent leave it to their CEOs or board of directors.

In a recent briefing, Wong told reporters in Manila that most business leaders in Asia-Pacific, given the region’s cultural traits, have proven to be more conservative in making new investments, especially in technology.

As a result, the information a typical Asian company has gathered about its clients and other stakeholders over the years tend to be scattered in different parts of the establishment.

Adding to the problem, Wong said, was the fact that the region was growing much faster than any other part of the world.

“There needs to be a fundamental shift. Information is being managed in silos and this is causing inefficiency,” Wong said. “Companies need to manage their data properly so they can harvest the benefits.”

Wong said HP, through its set of enterprise-grade software, can help companies capture, manage, efficiently store, protect and analyze their data.

For instance, HP’s Integrated Archive Platform lets a company manage up to a petabyte (1,000 terabytes) of data—equivalent to 300,000 users and about 20 million e-mail messages a day—in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Also, HP’s Information Management Software delivers an integrated solution for managing information. HP’s consulting services will aid a company in analyzing its data, which a company can use to learn more about its market and formulate business strategies accordingly.