SYDNEY -- Asia Pacific’s IT and business services market grew by double digits in the first quarter, powered by strong cloud demand amid a slump in managed services spending, according to the latest state-of-the-industry report from Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.

The Asia Pacific ISG Index™, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts with annual contract value (ACV) of US $5 million or more, shows ACV for the combined market—both managed services and as-a-service (XaaS)—rose 10 percent versus the prior year, to US $5.3 billion, the region’s fifth straight quarter of year-on-year growth.

Asia Pacific was powered by strong demand for cloud services, with as-a-service spending climbing 19 percent, to US $4.5 billion. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) advanced 18 percent, to US $3.95 billion, while software-as-a-service (SaaS) climbed 30 percent, to US $556 million.

Managed services ACV, meanwhile, slumped 26 percent, to US $778 million, its weakest result since the third quarter of 2023 and coming on the heels of four straight quarters of double-digit growth averaging 31 percent per quarter. IT outsourcing (ITO) dropped 16 percent, to US $539 million, with application development and maintenance (ADM), up 7 percent, and multi-tower infrastructure, up 88 percent, the only areas of growth. Business process outsourcing (BPO) fell by 31 percent, to US $155 million, and engineering services (ER&D), broken out from BPO for the first time, declined 54 percent, to US $84 million.

A total of 57 managed services contracts were awarded in the first quarter, down 14 percent year on year. A major driver of the shortfall was a decline in the number of smaller deals, those between US $5 million and US $9 million, which slumped 26 percent versus the prior year.

“The Asia Pacific market continued to be driven by strong demand for cloud-based services, as companies forged ahead with digital transformation and AI adoption,” said Michael Gale, partner and regional leader, ISG Asia Pacific. “The focus remains on cost resiliency, productivity and IT modernization.”

Gale said the market is likely headed into a period of increased volatility, driven by heightened economic uncertainty and the impact of U.S. tariffs. “Organizations are assessing the indirect impact of U.S. tariffs and the potential for further economic disruption,” he said.

One potential sign of that impact, Gale said, is the sharp decline in the number of small deals during the first quarter. “That could be a signal that discretionary spending is under pressure,” he said.

Results by Industry, Geography

Most industries turned negative versus the prior year, with the exception of the media/telecoms sector, which advanced by triple digits, and the region’s second largest vertical, manufacturing, which advanced nearly 7 percent. On the other hand, financial services, the region’s largest vertical, fell by 28 percent year on year.

By geography, most markets were down versus the prior year. Australia-New Zealand, the region’s largest market, pulled back 35 percent year on year, while Southeast Asia and China both declined by more than 70 percent. Japan and India were the lone bright spots, both up by double digits.

2025 Global Forecast

Heightened uncertainty from trade policy, geopolitical tensions and evolving regulations are beginning to weigh on the industry’s second-quarter outlook, ISG said.

ISG’s forecasts for market growth in 2025 are based on two scenarios. In the first scenario, the tariff environment stabilizes by midyear, and the market sees faster decision-making in the second half. Under that scenario, ISG forecasts XaaS growth of 18 percent for 2025, unchanged from its January forecast. ISG’s forecast for managed services growth would be 1.3 percent, down from its January forecast of 4.5 percent.

In the second scenario, tariffs would extend through the third quarter or beyond, compounded by immigration enforcement, prevailing wage issues or retaliatory digital services taxes in the EU, resulting in a longer pullback in discretionary demand and delays in award conversion. In this more bearish case, ISG forecasts XaaS growth for the year would moderate to 15 percent, while managed services spending would be negative 2.4 percent, a nearly 700 basis-point swing from its January forecast.

“We remain cautious in our base case, but not pessimistic,” said Gale. “The signals from Q1 are fundamentally strong. The shift we’re seeing is not one of declining demand, but one of delayed commitment.”