Industry analyst IDC has published its semi-annual estimate of spending on Digital Transformation for the Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan) which it expects to reach over $US380 billion in 2018, recording a double digit increase of 15.3% against $US334.8 billion spent in 2017.

IDC claims the manufacturing industry will have a major share of Digital Transformation spending in 2018, representing around 35% ($US135.3 billion) of the overall spending on solutions in 2018. From a technology perspective, connectivity services, applications and enterprise hardware are the leading technology categories contributing to the DX spending, as enterprises build out their digital platforms to compete in the digital economy.

"Digital transformation is gathering pace in the APeJ region. Stiff competition from early adopters are driving others to begin transformational efforts," said Ashutosh Bisht, Senior Research Manager, IDC Asia/Pacific.

"Innovation accelerators are the major catalyst towards transformation; Leaders in this space are prioritizing Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive and Robotics to achieve their business goals, also emphasis is observed in the IoT implementation," added Bisht.

For attaining their respective Digital Transformation strategic priorities, IDC believes enterprises will develop programs that represent a long-term plan of action toward these goals. Smart Manufacturing ($US79.9 billion) and Digital Supply Chain Optimization ($US42.2 billion) are the strategic priorities where enterprises will have the maximum spending in 2018.

Smart Asset Management, Digital Supply Chain and Logistics Automation and Manufacturing Operations are the three largest Digital Transformation programs in 2018. The programs that IDC predicts to witness highest growth over the five-year forecast (2016-21) include Construction Operations (40.7% CAGR) followed by Clinical Outcomes Management (37.5% CAGR) and Cyberthreat Detection and Prevention (36.5% CAGR).

Robotic Manufacturing, Freight Management and Asset Instrumentation use cases account for around 18% of Digital Transformation spending in 2018. On the flip-side, Robotic Process Automation-Based Claims Processing is expected to register fastest growth at five-year CAGR of 57.1% over the forecast period 2016-21 followed by Mining Operations Assistance (52.7% CAGR).