Across Asia-Pacific, cloud strategies are evolving. A growing number of businesses are taking on a cloud-first but not cloud-only approach, instead adopting infrastructures to their needs. This shift is likely driven by the demand for flexible, scalable systems amidst market developments, and the increasing use of advanced AI and machine learning programmes.
With the region’s cloud spending expected to hit USD 250 billion this year, over half of APAC enterprises are being predicted to overhaul at least 50 percent of their cloud architecture by 2027. In anticipation of this, Singapore’s recent S$150 million Enterprise Compute Initiative reaffirms the national push to support local small and medium size enterprises in leveraging AI more effectively in their transformation journeys.
The race to migrate to the public cloud has therefore become a broader push for modernisation. Conversations have evolved from ‘Should we move?’ to ‘How do we evolve what we already have?’. Cloud modernisation today isn’t about migration alone; it’s about rearchitecting for long-term adaptability.
AI, real-time personalisation, and connected ecosystems all require systems that can scale horizontally and intelligently respond to new demands.
We’re seeing a shift towards intentional modernisation: beyond chasing the newest platform, it’s about building a cloud foundation that balances innovation, agility, and security with cost-efficiency and operational resilience.
- Birendra Balakrishnan, CRO and Co-Founder, Vertis
Organisations are also learning that success comes not from adopting the latest tech, but from aligning their architecture with the way their business delivers value—across every channel, team, and touchpoint.
Looking at cloud-first industries and challenges faced
In certain sectors like finance, healthcare, and the government, there is significant pressure to digitise due to increasing system demands. Whether they are financial providers needing to support millions of users across different products, or public agencies building better access to their services, the drivers remain the same: scale, speed, and reliability.
When it comes to scale, many organisations are also still running on legacy systems, leading them to face technical and operational challenges. Built in a different era, these are often ill-equipped to scale or integrate with modern applications. Infrastructures that are fragmented across teams or departments are another concern, making standardisation and visibility difficult.
Being unable to scale likely means that data is segmented into siloes, making retrieval and consolidation more tedious. Healthcare for instance, largely still operates on siloed patient records, manual processes, and a lack of integration between digital systems. This often results in compromised care delivery and operational efficiency.
In finance, it becomes challenging to support multiple services like banking and investment platforms, while also ensuring speed, security, and compliance. This is made more complex when these older systems are not designed to handle today’s volume of activity, or the need for real-time responsiveness across channels.
Lastly, the elevated bar for compliance, data privacy, means that enterprises must constantly be maintained to instil customer confidence and as regulations evolve. These sectors do not have the luxury of cutting corners with customer data, citizen records, or critical infrastructure.
As a result, ‘cloud-only’ strategies are becoming less common. Instead, many organisations are opting for hybrid models that support modernisation while maintaining strong governance.
When are modernisation efforts the most effective?
Given the landscape today that is fast evolving alongside technology, the solution has never been to overhaul everything at once. Modernisation efforts are more effective when approached in phases and tailored to fit the organisational needs. This includes rethinking workflows, responsibilities, and outcomes.
Hybrid cloud setups are often a strong fit, providing the flexibility to innovate, while retaining control over mission-critical components such as sensitive data or compliance-heavy operations.
Alternatively, enterprises can consider making core architectures consistent and introducing reusable components such as shared tools and rule engines. This makes it easier to integrate new elements or systems without having to rebuild from scratch. It is this kind of platform-first thinking that enables sustainable scaling, without creating unnecessary complexity.
Most importantly, before embarking on any transformation initiative, organisations must first assess the full scope of impact. This applies not only to internal systems, but also to the end-user experience. Success begins with thoughtful planning that actively incorporates the perspectives of all key stakeholders, including technical teams, business users, and service recipients.
For organisations ready to take that step, the call to action is clear: treat the planning stage not as a formality, but as a strategic advantage.
