Within the C-suite of forward-thinking organizations, something remarkable is happening. More executive leaders are now focused on an inspirational alternative to the legacy status quo "Return to Normal" mindset.
According to the latest market study by IDC, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APeJ) "Future of Work" spending is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 18.4 percent and reach $196.2 billion by 2026.
IDC expects APeJ FoW spending to grow at a year-over-year rate of 19.9 percent in 2023 compared to 21.5 percent in 2022. Despite the slowdown of the growth rate, the total spending of the market continues to increase over the forecast period.
Future of Work Market Development
IDC defines the Future of Work (FoW) as a fundamental change to the work model to one that fosters human-machine collaboration, enables new skills and worker experiences, and supports a re-imagined physical workplace and border-less digital workspace.
This IDC market forecast presents spending forecasts from 2022 to 2026 for the three pillars -- space, augmentation, and culture -- that make up the Asia-Pacific FoW market.
The total spending in all three segments of the market is estimated to have reached $99.8 billion in 2022.
With the widespread adoption of hybrid work, organizations are investing in devices and enterprise applications to foster a better workplace and improve productivity.
Furthermore, business technology spending is expected to accelerate due to investments in workplace augmentation to achieve better customer and employee experience.
Robotics and drone technology category has the largest spending in the work augmentation market accounting for more than 50 percent of the augmentation spending in 2023 since organizations are investing in better communication and collaboration tools for their workforce.
Other services and materials technology category which is primarily consisted of implementing and maintaining (IoT) solutions and 3D printing materials has the largest spending in the workspace market in 2023.
This IDC forecast analyzes the Asia-Pacific FoW market size in work augmentation, workspace, and work culture segments, citing data from the IDC Worldwide Future of Work Spending Guide.
It integrates FoW-related data from other Spending Guides based on the definition of FoW pillars, technology categories, and use cases. The report also presents the spending forecast of the APeJ FoW market by each pillar, including key drivers and inhibitors.
"Work models, both remote and hybrid, continue to advance, and are propelled by the move to the cloud and intelligent digital workspaces," says Dr. Lily Phan, research director at IDC.
Outlook for Future of Work Applications Growth
According to the IDC assessment, rising digital transformation spending and shifting dynamics of work augmentation and workplace technologies are spurring the FoW market in the upcoming years.
Organizations that rethink how work gets done stand a chance to be awarded "Asia Pacific Best in Future of Work" leader at IDC Future Enterprise Awards. You can nominate your organization.
That said, I believe that we're on the verge of a new work paradigm for knowledge and front-line workers. We are the few leaders who dare to let go of a legacy industrial age mindset from a bygone era, and will gladly change. We are fearless. Join us.