October 20168 By Cecily Ng, Area Vice President, Asia Enterprise Sales, SalesforceThere has been a lot of talk about how we are at the beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a time in which technology will change every aspect of how we live.While buzz words and trends come and go, I genuinely believe we are seeing the start of a new era where cloud-based, mobile technology will fundamentally change everything. Smartphones, wearables, subscription-based entertainment, and an endless selection of apps have changed how we work, play and stay in touch.However, the benefits of this cloud-enabled age go beyond just greater productivity and convenience for the individual. It is creating growth and innovation for the nation and helping Asia thrive on the global stage. Across the region, Asian governments are looking at smart city initiatives, a result of increasing connectivity and convenience from the cloud. These initiatives offer new job opportunities, exciting careers, and help provide solid livelihoods. What is behind this growth? It's everywhere ­ from the smallest startups to the largest enterprises in Asia. Asia is primed as the fastest growing mobile app development market ­ a fact that is not surprising with the cloud profoundly changing the way apps are developed and deployed. Today, the cloud provides platforms that make building great apps more about clicks than code, and marketplaces that offer a chance for developers to reach a network of customers overnight.Of course, consumer-driven businesses have been jumping into the cloud to gain market advantage. Companies like Shopline and ReferralCandy, both technology-enabled startups, have shaken up entire sectors by offering services and value completely aligned to what today's "connected consumers" want.These disruptive offerings simply would not have been possible before the advent of the cloud. How Cloud is Shaping the Asia of TomorrowThe U.S. based Salesforce helps companies achieve customer success through its customer relations management solutions and business software on the cloud. Founded in 1999, the company has branches globally, including in the APAC region in markets such as Australia, Hong Kong, India and Singapore.IN MY VIEWAsian players like Maserati China and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology rely on the always-on scalability of the cloud to help support their rapid growth whilst creating personalised engagement with all of their stakeholders.Quite Simply: The cloud lets SMBs punch way above their weight and grow faster than ever before. For larger-scale enterprises, leveraging the cloud lets Cecily Ng
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