Businesses expanding in Asia, but connectivity lost while AI drains budgets

A call to action for leaders to prioritise connectivity, says new Global Business Connectivity Outlook Report

SYDNEY, Jan. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Expanding regionally and beyond is a growing priority for businesses across Asia. Yet with increasing investment in AI, leaders are blindsided when it comes to seamless connectivity across the region, says inaugural Global Business Connectivity Outlook Report launched recently.

The 2025-26 report by global Managed Services Provider (MSP), Coevolve, canvasses the views of leaders regarding their business outlook and technology strategies. The report revealed a striking paradox: while expansion is high on the business agenda - with over 70% of leaders planning to expand outside of their local region in 2026 – connectivity, the backbone of regional and global operations, isn't getting the investment or attention it deserves. Further, for more than 1 in 2 leaders, new markets are driving their expansion plans, followed by new products (24%), and personnel requirements (10%).

For business leaders in Asia, expansion doesn't come without its challenges. The report revealed that leaders are most concerned by the growing complexities of compliance (18%), technology (17%), and security (17%). At the heart of these challenges lies connectivity, and while almost three-quarters of leaders interviewed (70%) report that enhancing connectivity is essential, it is rarely spoken about at the board level, with AI, automation, and cyber resilience tending to dominate the conversation.

The report also found that AI is dominating business technology investment. When asked about their tech priorities to enhance connectivity, 1 in 3 leaders in the region said that they are investing in AI, followed by cloud (24%), and network architecture (19%). Further, when it comes to the spending itself, AI makes up close to half of spending (45%), followed by Cloud (33%), with only 8% directed towards network architecture.

Ciaran Roche, Coevolve CTO and Co-Founder, says, "It's staggering to see just how much network connectivity and security are being sidelined in favour of AI hype, leaving businesses in Asia exposed to risk, disruption, and digital fragility. At a time of increased regulatory pressures and issues with data governance, it is concerning that AI is nearly absorbing half of the technology budgets for Asian businesses – yet the foundational infrastructure that enables it is being neglected. You can't scale and grow across Asia on a broken foundation." 

Tim Sullivan, Coevolve CEO and Co-Founder, added, "It isn't a surprise that so many businesses are expanding within the Asian region and beyond; growth across the region makes sense from a strategic perspective. However, the emerging AI paradox among leaders is surprising. Companies are investing heavily in AI, yet we still haven't seen the full impact of AI on telecommunication networks and traffic flows across Asia. To help leaders overcome data and compliance complexities across Asia and other diverse geographies, connectivity truly needs to be on the agenda."    

The inaugural Global Business Connectivity Outlook Report canvasses the views of more than 50 global business leaders, drawing on in-depth interviews. The report serves as an independent pulse-check of the global business connectivity outlook for enterprises worldwide, including Asia. 

About Coevolve (https://www.coevolve.com/)

Coevolve is a leading global Managed Services Provider partnering with some of the world's most complex enterprises in key sectors, including professional services and manufacturing. With over a decade of experience supplying co-managed solutions and proprietary Smart Services, Coevolve delivers measurable business value relevant to its clients, improving access to key business applications at scale and with peace of mind.

CONTACT:
Gemma Manning
Gemma@manningandcogroup.com