Singapore named the most ideal IT hub in Asia

Nearly 9 in 10 businesses in the city said so.

Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai are identified as the top three cities as ideal IT hubs in Asia, according to a survey conducted by IDG Connect.

According to IDG Connect, current location has a huge bearing on where organizations in China, Hong Kong and Singapore would like to see an ideal location.

"We see that 86% of those in Singapore chose Singapore and 56% of those in Hong Kong chose Hong Kong (though another 20% opted for Shanghai). Those based in mainland China split their preference across Shanghai (34%), Beijing (22%), Shenzhen (15%)," it said.

IDG Connect explained that differences in data privacy regulations, compliance and governance rules across all three territories may play a part in that situation, with companies concerned about both the integrity of the sensitive information they store beyond their own borders and the complexities involved in negotiating hosting agreements and SLAs in other countries.

Most organizations in mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore have already invested in multiple technologies to redefine their growth models.

Across the sectors, IoT and big data analytics are the most widely adopted, accounting for close to 50-60% of companies surveyed.

The respondents also identified legacy IT infrastructure as amongst top hurdle, suggesting that many feel themselves constrained by the inability of the current technology estate to support their upgrade ambitions. It is slightly less a barrier for those in mainland China than those in Hong Kong and Singapore.