In our first-ever Asia-Pacific and the Middle East IT Spending and Staffing report, we set out to determine whether there are significant differences in IT spending between our main IT spending and staffing sample and those within three specific regions in Asia and the Pacific: Australia and New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, and the Middle East. As global IT departments deploy much of the same technology, deliver most of the same services, and tackle most of the same economic pressures, we hypothesized that our benchmarking data for North America and Europe would be largely similar to APAC and the Middle East. We found that companies in this region spend slightly more on IT and are more aggressive in adopting certain new technologies.
As shown in Figure 1-8 from the free executive summary of our Asia-Pacific and the Middle East IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2026/2027 study, the top IT initiatives are data analytics/business intelligence, artificial intelligence (AI), and data center automation.
To determine these priorities, we subtract the number of companies reducing their budget in each area from the number of companies increasing their budget. Only 4.0% of companies are lowering their AI budgets, with 59.0% increasing them, for a net of 55.0%.
However, in this case, it really is not the top priorities that show the major differences between the main sample and the APAC-Middle East sample. It is some of the newer technologies that are less of a priority in our main sample.
A net of only 18% of the main sample are increasing spend on AR/VR. For the APAC-Middle East sample, the net increasing is 33%. Furthermore, over a third of the main sample reports no activity with AR/VR versus only 24% for the APAC-Middle East sample.
Other examples include the Internet of Things (IoT), data center automation, and even the metaverse. Net investment in IoT for the main sample is 39% versus 47% for the APAC-Middle East sample. Net increases in spending for data center automation are 40% for the main sample and 49% for the APAC-Middle East sample. Metaverse, an idea generally thought to be overhyped and potentially dying in the US, is another interesting example. A net of over 20% percent of APAC-Middle East companies are reporting increased spending in the metaverse compared to only 9% for the main sample.
APAC-Middle East companies also show slightly higher IT spending as a percentage of revenue, though it should be noted that composite samples are not always great indicators of IT spending, as IT spending as a percentage of revenue is a metric largely driven by sector. For instance, companies in the financial services, healthcare, and high-tech sectors tend to spend more on IT than those in other sectors.
Overall, from a benchmarking perspective, the two samples are very similar. IT staffing mixes are very similar. The budget line items as a percentage of the total IT budget are very similar. Most top line items are very similar. Companies in these regions can simply expect that their total IT spend might be slightly higher than their main competitors, but well within our normal bands for benchmarking. We encourage companies to use this report along with our main IT Spending and Staffing study to get a clear benchmarking picture that looks at both regional differences and our deep sector analysis in the main study.
“Global CIOs face many of the same challenges and are using much of the same technology,” said David Wagner, senior research director at Avasant. “So, it comes as no surprise that there are a lot of similarities in spending. However, benchmarking requires nuance and understanding of economic and social differences. This report allows for greater context to be applied to benchmarking companies in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.”
Our APAC and the Middle East IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2026/2027 study is based on a detailed survey of more than 75 IT executives in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, and the Middle East countries on their IT spending and staffing plans for 2026/2027. The study provides IT spending and staffing benchmarks for midsize, large, and very large organizations and for the three regions. A description of the study’s metrics, design, demographics, and methodology can be found in the .
This Research Byte is a brief overview of the findings in our report, APAC and the Middle East IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2026/2027.
Avasant’s research and other publications are based on information from the best available sources and Avasant’s independent assessment and analysis at the time of publication. Avasant takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any error/omission or the accuracy of information contained in its research publications. Avasant does not endorse any provider, product or service described in its RadarView™ publications or any other research publications that it makes available to its users, and does not advise users to select only those providers recognized in these publications. Avasant disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. None of the graphics, descriptions, research, excerpts, samples or any other content provided in the report(s) or any of its research publications may be reprinted, reproduced, redistributed or used for any external commercial purpose without prior permission from Avasant, LLC. All rights are reserved by Avasant, LLC.
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