Capturing the connectivity opportunity in Asia Pacific

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In a world of rapid innovation, understanding the business implications of the latest trends is critical for organisations looking to build a competitive advantage. Take for example Gartner’s top 10 strategic technology trends for 2018, which highlights the key technologies that are likely to impact firms such as intelligent apps and analytics, conversational platforms and blockchain platforms.

From event-driven IT to blockchain platforms, the key to the successful implementation of new technology is the underlying network infrastructure – alongside an organisation’s readiness to take advantage of new growth markets.

Investing in global connectivity

To help meet the demand for connectivity, Telstra continues to invest in its global network infrastructure, particularly in Asia Pacific, to drive innovation and help support the growth ambitions of its customers. Telstra owns and operates the largest subsea cable system in Asia Pacific, representing about 30 per cent of active capacity, as well as offering the largest integrated data centre footprint in the region.

Globally, cloud connectivity has driven much of the network capacity growth in recent years, in addition to the exponential increase in video, social media, and growth in Internet search traffic. As one of the top Internet backbone providers in Asia, Telstra enables carriers, cloud and content providers to keep pace with evolving market demands and thereby better meet the needs of customers in a world that is increasingly connected.

Earlier this year, Telstra announced it had entered into agreements to build two new international subsea cable systems connecting Hong Kong and the west coast of the United States. These cables will help provide lower latency, and have been driven by the need to meet the increasing demand for connectivity between Greater China, ASEAN and the US.

Telstra has also invested in a subsea cable network link between Perth and Singapore to help strengthen links to fast-growing South East Asian markets. This cable, called INDIGO, is being built in partnership with AARNet, Google, Indosat Ooredoo, Singtel and SubPartners and will provide faster speeds and up to 40 times more capacity than the existing cable when it enters operation in mid-2019.

Network availability through scale and diversity

The challenges facing businesses implementing new innovations are not limited to connectivity speeds. In a region such as Asia Pacific where natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons are common, threats to network availability are some of the highest in the world.

That’s why Telstra’s ‘Always On’ service was introduced. It offers businesses assured availability across the busiest subsea routes in Asia – between Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan on our three fully-owned and operated cable systems. Our latest enhancements include lower bandwidth options with the flexibility to help customers scale up as needed. The service utilises the unmatched scale and diversity of Telstra’s cable network to reroute traffic to an alternative in the event of an outage.

With more than five decades of experience helping customers connect in Asia, Telstra is well-placed to help organisations stay ahead as they ride the trends underpinning Asia’s digital transformation.