AI-Driven Automation and Cloud Modernization Fuel 15.7% CAGR Growth of Data Management Software in Asia/Pacific, Reaching $13.7B by 2029 — IDC - July 8th, 2025

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Software Tracker, the Data Management Software market in Asia/Pacific excluding Japan and China grew 10.0% in 2024, and is expected to accelerate with a CAGR of 15.7% to reach $13.7B by 2028.

Growth of the APeJC data management software market is driven by the integration of AI and GenAI into enterprise workflows, which requires scalable, real-time data pipelines for analytics and automation. Organizations are also increasingly prioritizing cloud-native platforms and metadata-driven integration tools to modernize their infrastructure and unify data across silos. This momentum is further reinforced by heightened regulatory scrutiny and the growing need for secure, intelligent data governance frameworks.

Chris Zhang, at IDC

APeJC organizations continue to adopt a hybrid approach, balancing on-premises infrastructure with accelerated migration to public cloud data services. Public cloud deployment is expected to outpace on-premises with a projected 31.1% CAGR growth, while on-premise deployment remains relatively flat, particularly in data lakes, NoSQL databases, and serverless integration tools. However, sectors such as banking, government, and manufacturing maintain strong investment in on-premises systems for compliance, latency, and operational control reasons.

Challenges persist, such as the shortage of skilled data engineers, architects, and platform administrators, particularly in emerging Southeast Asian markets, which could put downward pressure on market growth. Additionally, many large enterprises remain locked into legacy data infrastructure, with deeply embedded systems and siloed data architectures that are difficult to migrate or integrate. Cost concerns could also impact adoption of advanced data governance, metadata management, and AI-augmented data quality solutions in some market segments.

Regional Highlights

Australia and New Zealand: Enterprises are shifting from legacy relational databases to cloud-native platforms like distributed NoSQL, data lakehouses, and AI-augmented data catalog tools. Regulatory compliance, ESG data tracking, and strong investments in data lineage and quality solutions are driving demand for metadata management and data intelligence platforms.

India: Emerging as a regional hub for AI platform development and data engineering services, significantly boosting investments in DBMS modernization, master data management, and scalable open-source data frameworks. Strong government push on data localization and digital public infrastructure (e.g. India Stack) further accelerates the need for robust, scalable data integration and governance tools.

South Korea: Characterized by a high degree of enterprise maturity, with advanced implementations of hybrid DBMS environments and increased uptake of in-memory and time-series databases to support AI operations and IoT analytics. South Korea also sees strong demand for advanced data replication and masking technologies in regulated industries such as finance and healthcare.

Southeast Asia: Witnessing the fastest relative growth, driven by rapid digitization among SMEs, smart city initiatives, and cloud-first strategies in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Adoption of SaaS-based integration platforms, real-time data pipeline tools, and low-code/no-code DBMS solutions is expanding as enterprises strive to democratize data access and accelerate time-to-insight.

Hong Kong and Taiwan: Strong regulatory oversight is driving demand for metadata management, data lineage, and hybrid cloud deployments that balance compliance with modernization in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s advanced manufacturing sector is fueling investment in real-time analytics, time-series databases, and master data management to support industrial AI and IT-OT integration.

As organizations across APeJC accelerate their journey to become data-native and AI-enabled, the demand for intelligent, automated, and cloud-optimized data management platforms will continue to grow,” said Chris Zhang, research director, IDC Asia/Pacific. “Vendors must align with the region’s hybrid, multi-platform reality by supporting hybrid cloud architectures that address sovereignty and compliance while ensuring interoperability with third-party tools and federated data ecosystems. Strategic partnerships with local service providers and training programs will also be essential to scale adoption across diverse maturity levels and verticals”.

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