Singapore-based AsiaPac Technology has undergone a business transformation of remarkable proportions. What began over three decades ago as a distributor of IT products has evolved into a technology service provider driving multi-cloud and digital transformation projects across the region.
The architect behind much of this change is the company’s CEO Andrew Cheng, who described the evolution as nothing short of a “massive change”. Recounting the company’s origins, he said: “We started as an IT products distributor. One of the key products was laptops and we were seen as a laptop distributor for probably 10 years.”
Recognising the limitations of being a laptop distributor in a highly competitive market, Cheng spearheaded the first major pivot into enterprise IT. “But this wasn’t just adding a few more brands; it was a fundamental shift. That’s when I brought in enterprise products from Sun Microsystems, Oracle and IBM,” he said.
The real catalyst was Sun Microsystems, which AsiaPac had represented in Singapore, paving the way for company to sell enterprise offerings such as databases and backup software. This enterprise focus would define AsiaPac for another 10 to 15 years as the company sought to hone its skills to deliver a range of business technology services.
The next seismic shift arrived with the advent of cloud computing. When Amazon Web Services (AWS) entered the Singapore market in around 2009, established IT service providers hesitated to become its partners, but Cheng saw an opportunity to build up AsiaPac’s cloud capabilities at a time when cloud adoption was still in its infancy.
AsiaPac’s move to cloud paid off handsomely. It secured an early landmark deal to build the Singapore health ministry’s HealthHub digital health platform, training its engineers in the US and building AWS capabilities. Its cloud expertise laid the foundation for winning a government-wide tender which later cemented its reputation for driving large-scale, critical cloud deployments.
Not too long later, foresight dictated yet another evolution. Amid growing industry consolidation, Cheng saw that supplier lock-in was going to be a risk. “I cannot rely on AWS alone, so I went to Microsoft. That’s how we transformed ourselves into a multi-cloud service provider,” he said, adding that AsiaPac today is also a partner of Google Cloud, as well as Chinese cloud providers including Alibaba Cloud and Huawei Cloud.
With its multi-cloud expertise, AsiaPac focused on building unique value and intellectual property around managing complex cloud environments. It has also developed a managed services platform, cloud implementation playbooks, as well as digital transformation frameworks that guide clients on connectivity, automation, application programming interface (API) integration and data platforms, positioning AsiaPac as a “boutique consulting company”, Cheng said.
We went from being a distributor to a systems integrator to cloud computing with the same group of people. I have an engineer who used to repair notebook PCs but he’s now delivering cloud solutions Andrew Cheng, AsiaPac
It has also developed a deep bench of enterprise IT capabilities, which Cheng believes is rare. “Besides multi-cloud, we can do datacentre modernisation and networking, plus end-user computing,” he said, contrasting this with larger players that might only focus on specific areas like project management or cloud migration.
Recognising the need for scale, AsiaPac made the decision in 2018 to be acquired by M1, a subsidiary of Keppel, an infrastructure asset manager and operator. “Since then, we have grown the business by seven times,” Cheng revealed. The acquisition has also fuelled AsiaPac’s expansion into Malaysia and Vietnam through various acquisitions to tap local capabilities in cyber security, storage, compute and application development, among others.
Cheng described AsiaPac’s regional expansion as building a “string of posts,” with Singapore serving as the “common kitchen” that integrates capabilities to serve multinational clients looking for regional support structures. This is augmented by Keppel’s datacentre footprint, offering clients access to 35 datacentres across 13 countries.
The synergy with M1 is another key differentiator. Cheng, who also oversees M1’s enterprise business, is integrating the telco’s connectivity with AsiaPac’s services. “Connectivity, plus datacentre modernisation, cloud and managed services, is the secret sauce,” he said, adding that this will allow M1 to offer more value to enterprise clients, beyond connectivity.
Anticipating market needs is central to AsiaPac’s ability to remain relevant in the market. Cheng participates in vendor advisory panels, seeing concerns raised by clients in those panels as opportunities. He has also established teams to explore technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.
While the emergence of generative AI caught Cheng by surprise, he quickly formed a dedicated team to leverage the technology, tapping Google Cloud’s strengths in AI alongside existing AWS and Microsoft Azure capabilities. The focus on quantum stems from anticipating future threats to data security, which is relevant given the link to Keppel’s datacentre infrastructure.
But what makes AsiaPac’s growth story remarkable is its ability to upskill employees as its business transforms. “We went from being a distributor to a systems integrator to cloud computing with the same group of people,” he said, adding that the company’s culture of agility and continuous learning made this possible. “I have an engineer who used to repair notebook PCs but he’s now delivering cloud solutions.”
The firm’s adaptability, coupled with the use of automation, allows a relatively lean team – growing from 20 staff initially to nearly 400 regionally – to compete effectively, even against global system integrators, its main competitors.
Despite facing competition from lower-cost regional players, Cheng is confident of the flight back to quality, asserting that clients will ultimately value expertise and reliability for critical systems. “But we must constantly evolve to make sure we’re on the forefront of technology and we see customers who are willing to pay for good skillsets,” he said.
From its beginnings selling laptops, AsiaPac’s journey is a testament to its foresight, adaptability and courage to embrace change. It’s a company, as Cheng puts it, that aims to be not necessarily the biggest, but to be one that stays ahead of the curve. “I run a business that helps run our country. We don’t need to be big, but we need to be relevant.”
