Indonesia has the Biggest IT Spending in Southeast Asia without Maximal Utilization

Indonesia spends the biggest amount in Information Technology (IT) all over Southeast Asia. In 2011, Singapore placed second in the list. But International Data Corporation’s predicts that Singapore’s IT spending in 2012 will be below Thailand.

Indonesia’s IT spending reaches USD10.9 billion in 2011. This year, the number is predicted to increase 18.3% to USD12.9 billion. Said number consists of 11.5 billion for purchasing hardware, 759 million for service and 522 million for purchasing software. With that amount, Indonesian IT budget places 19 of the biggest IT budget all over the world.

The number actually is still able to increase with the many software hijacking in Indonesia. According to another IDC’s report as written by Kompas Tekno, the loss of software piracy in Indonesia reaches USD1.46 billion. Roughly, it can be summarized that if those pirated software gets paid, Indonesia will spend 4 times of the current cost for software.

Unfortunately, as reported by The Jakarta Post, the benefit of the huge budget spent for IT is not spread evenly all over Indonesia. Indonesia’s IT development is still focusing in Jakarta and its surrounding areas. Indonesia’s IT penetration is low compared to the other countries.

The development of technology in Indonesia is also mentioned to have not reach the traditional field that supposedly able to grow with IT such as farm. According to IDC researcher, Indonesian government hasn’t prioritized in the IT development which investment will only benefit in the long term. Indonesian government still prioritizes on the field that gives big benefit in short term such as mining.