Expanding enterprise networks in APAC: From core to cloud, AI, and beyond

Global enterprises are looking at the Asia Pacific region with increased interest in expansion. And with good reason. Growth is accelerating, markets are diversifying, and supply chains are evolving. For IT leaders tasked with expanding enterprise networks in APAC, the pressure is on. A diverse connectivity infrastructure and regulatory landscape can seem impenetrable from the outside.

But there is a way to create fast, resilient networks that are ready for the future in APAC. The answer lies in understanding the region’s unique connectivity realities. And knowing who can help you turn them into a competitive advantage.

Business opportunities in the Asia Pacific region

The business opportunities in Asia Pacific are increasingly attractive for North American and European enterprises. It has expanding economies, rapid digitization, and the fastest-growing internet user base on the planet. And recent geopolitical emphasis has shifted focus away from tier 1 markets (like China, Japan and New Zealand) and made countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines the new focus for cost-effective manufacturing.

But doing business in Asia means having access to resilient, always-on connectivity and making region-specific, not just globally-consistent, decisions. However, the connectivity landscape is anything but uniform. There’s robust fiber in some cities, long lead times and last-mile gaps in others. Some cross-border traffic doesn’t always behave the way global templates expect. US and European companies expanding into Asia need to localize their network strategy. 

Internet in Asia: Trends, realities and opportunities

Enterprise networks in APAC face a set of realities unlike anywhere else in the world. It’s a region of rapid infrastructure development and investment. 

Connectivity trends in APAC and ASEAN countries:

Internet in Asia Pacific is changing fast, it’s getting faster, more accessible, and more diverse:

• Fiber broadband penetration is forecasted to jump from 38% to 67% by 2028.
• Government programs like India’s Digital India, China’s Digital Silk Road, and the ASEAN Smart City Networks are accelerating connectivity upgrades.
• Enterprise 5G connectivity is expected to grow at 40% CAGR between 2025 and 2030.
• 65% of businesses in the region have upped their investment in high-speed broadband to support cloud, AI, and data analytics.

Connectivity realities of the APAC region:

Many global enterprises trying to establish enterprise networks in APAC have faced challenges. IDC’s research shows that the top three issues when buying networks in APAC are:

1. 40%: Preventing outages and ensuring reliability. 28% of businesses report revenue losses of up to US$5M from outages or poor performance, and 23% report losing more than that.
2. 37%: Finding the right providers
3. 37%: Negotiating prices and costs 

This is due to the following challenges:

• Geography and last mile: APAC’s density can be an advantage in urban centers. However, once you move to industrial parks, logistics corridors, or secondary cities, access choices shrink and delivery timelines stretch. 
• Uneven infrastructure: The APAC region is made up of 40+ countries that have varying infrastructure levels. Connectivity in South Asia can be very different from East Asia’s. For example, Singapore has world-class fiber and fast delivery. Comparatively, establishing internet in Indonesia is much harder. Connectivity outside Jakarta can still feel fragmented, especially across its 17,000+ islands. You need a localized approach to every country.
• Resilience challenges: Earthquakes, tsunamis, and seasonal weather disruptions mean dual lines aren’t enough. Networks need embedded technology diversity to stay online.
• Cross-border performance: Many ASEAN workloads traverse SG–MY–TH–ID paths and onward to regional clouds. Route asymmetry, peering nuances, and jitter can impact user experience.
• Cloud strategies: And as workloads move into Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud (often in Singapore for regional access) the need for optimized, secure, low-latency connections grows. Security also needs to be layered in at the cloud level. This can require a full ecosystem of providers and technologies that need to be sourced in-region.
• Saas platform usage: SaaS performance (for applications like Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Workday, SAP) hinges on routing traffic to the right data center with minimal latency.
• AI adoption: In China and beyond, AI adoption is already here. Agent AIs and productivity assistants are moving from concept to reality. But AI introduces an even higher bar. The core network must intelligently route to the most optimized path, ensure uptime, and protect sensitive data. IDC’s research showed that 94% of organizations in APAC say their networks limit large data/AI projects.

• Talent and operational efficiency: Regional IT teams are lean. So managing dozens of providers (for all of the above) can take up valuable time and resources.
• Compliance and regulation: Unlike the US or EU, APAC has no single regulatory framework. Each country enforces its own rules on cybersecurity, telecom licensing, spectrum allocation, data sovereignty, and cloud adoption. Consequently, enterprises expanding across multiple ASEAN markets (e.g., Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia) face inconsistent processes, documentation, and approval times. All of which can slow down network rollouts.

Why enterprises choose Expereo to support expansion in APAC

When building enterprise networks in APAC, you need uptime across every location, resilience built in, and full visibility down to site level. But given the regional variations and challenging compliance landscape, the simplest way to get everything you need without the complexity is to work with a trusted connectivity partner who is knowledgeable in the region.

Expereo’s APAC managed services make sure you have a network that is:

• Future-proof for AI. As AI adoption accelerates, Expereo builds networks that are agile enough to keep pace with workloads that demand more capacity, more speed, and more security.
• Resilient by design. We combine DIA, FWA, satellite, and LEO satellites into hybrid networks that stay online even in the most challenging geographies.
• Cloud and SaaS optimized. We design networks around the apps your enterprise relies on. Ensuring low-latency performance from APAC to global cloud data centers. We help you build out your full ecosystem, connecting you with the right technology providers, deploying SASE for security and SD-WAN from optimized traffic routing.
• Vendor-agnostic. We know which providers can deliver quickly, which incumbents are safe but slow, and which partners are best avoided. We curate the right mix without the lock-in.
• Local knowledge, global scale. We understand the cultural, regulatory, and physical challenges of operating in APAC and ASEAN markets. From subsea cable failures in Vietnam to rural last-mile issues in Malaysia, we’ve seen it and solved it.
• End-to-end visibility. With expereoOne, enterprises gain a single pane of glass for performance monitoring, lifecycle management, invoicing and customer service. You gain real-time visibility of orders, tickets, SLAs, and spend, with proactive alerts.
• On the ground, 24/7 support. We operate in over 40 APAC countries and 190 worldwide. We also have 30+ POPs. You don’t need to worry about time zone delays, communication breakdowns or technical issues. Our on-the-ground support in the local language means it’s all taken care of for you.

For more information, check out our APAC managed services brochure here.

Connect enterprise networks in APAC at the speed of life

Ultimately, expanding into APAC depends on a network that can keep up with the speed of life. With Expereo, enterprises don’t just connect sites; they connect to their future.

Get in touch to discuss your APAC connectivity needs. Or explore how we supported Socomec in setting up dedicated connectivity in China in this case study.