Security & defence drive IT spend in Asia

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 02 August 2006 13:37

IT Industry - Market

Security & Defence initiatives are stimulating strong spending on IT in the Asian Public Sector, according to a new study. The regional market (excluding Japan) for spending by this public sector segment saw IT spending increase to US$3.8 billion in 2005.

Singapore-based IT market researcher Springboard Research, which released the report, expects security & defence spending to grow to US$5.4 Billion by 2009.  Currently, IT spending in the security & defence space is the largest segment of Public Sector spending, representing 22% of total technology expenditure in the Public Sector.

“With the ever-present threat of terrorism and the continuing modernization of militaries in Asia, we are seeing IT spending in the Security & Defence segment leading other segments as governments in Asia leverage technology as a key part of their security strategies,” said Jonathan Silber, senior market analyst for the Public Sector for Springboard Research.  “Technology is now coming to the forefront in defence and internal security, and sophisticated intelligence and border control solutions are receiving far more focus in the post 9-11 world.”

The study revealed that China currently has the largest IT expenditure in the Security & Defence segment in Asia, just slightly higher than Australia, with the market in 2005 being close to US$1.3 billion.  India is expected to be the fastest growing market with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.6% from 2005-2009.  Australia and Singapore are in a near tie when looking at the highest IT Spending on Security & Defence on a per capita basis, while Singapore had the highest percentage of IT spending going into the Security & Defence segment at almost 30% of total Public Sector IT spending in 2005.

“While the Security & Defence segment is by far the largest sub-vertical within the Public Sector for IT spending, the growth rate is on par with other, much smaller sub-verticals like Government Healthcare, Taxation/Finance, Social Services, and Public Works.  We believe this continued growth will present increasing opportunities for IT vendors focused on providing solutions to help meet the unique needs of this segment,” added Mr Silber. 

The largest individual body in the region focused on Security & Defence is the Australian Department of Defence, with an estimated IT expenditure exceeding US$600 million in 2005, followed by the Ministry of National Defence in China with IT expenditures exceeding US$400 million.