Q&A – Anagog’s Expansion in Southeast Asia
We announced our expansion into the Asia-Pacific region today and sat down with our partner AccelerAsia to discuss the business landscape, data privacy concerns and market factors in the region. AccelerAsia team members Cris Schiaffino, Senior Business Development Manager and Marvin Ng, Business Development Manager answered the following questions:
Why is AccelerAsia excited to work with Anagog in Asia-Pacific?
Asia-Pacific is going through massive digital transformation and increasingly becoming a data-driven region – a lot of its economies are formalizing and coming into the digital fold. Anagog, with its innovative mobile technology, can help in this transition as it is designed to help organizations better understand their users’ behaviors, leveraging mobility and contextual data. At AccelerAsia, we believe there are incredible opportunities for Anagog to establish strategic partnerships in this part of the world, and we couldn’t be more excited to be leading those efforts in Asia.
Why will Anagog succeed in this market?
In a competitive market, technology is key. We strongly believe Anagog’s mobile technology, combined with a team of capable and experienced people, is the key differentiator. The two crucial parts of the equation needed to drive success – an experienced team with a large network on the ground, along with world-class technology – are both present.
How concerned are people in Asia-Pacific with data privacy and data breaches?
Data privacy is important not just in Asia-Pacific, but everywhere in the world. People are increasingly concerned about their personal data being used without consent, or hackers gaining access to their confidential information and potentially holding it ransom. But when users are offered value-added services, and are assured that their data is in safe hands, they are willing to share their data in exchange for convenience or services. This is something organizations should focus on – data in exchange for better service. We can help organizations get better data so they can focus on providing better services.
How big is the mobile market in Asia-Pacific?
Internet penetration and social penetration in this region is growing at double digit percentages. In fact, social media penetration in Southeast Asia exceeds that in Western Europe, as does mobile connectivity — and in terms of sheer population, the latter is just over half the size of the former. In 2018, Southeast Asia became the region with the highest mobile penetration in the world (at 141 connections per 100 population).
Mobile app revenue in Asia-Pacific is expected to double between 2016 and 2020 to more than US $57 billion, making Asia the world’s number-one region for app revenue — and that revenue is only expected to increase in the coming years.
How are companies using data to market in the region (location-based, mobile ads, etc.)?
Companies are looking to use data to improve their core services. For example, usage-based-insurance allows customers to pay for motor insurance only when they are driving. This would, in turn, help them save on annual premiums on motor insurance if they drive less than they are projected to. Data is helping drive more personalized and granular services, as marketers are able to get exact metrics on consumer behavior patterns.
Which vertical markets will you be targeting to start with JedAI?
JedAI has attracted a lot of interest in the automotive vertical, a testimony of this is having Daimler, Skoda and Porsche participate in the Round B funding that Anagog recently raised. In Asia-Pacific, we see a lot of opportunities in the insurance market, particularly for UBI (Usage-Based-Insurance), travel, automotive and health. Ride-hailing applications and transportation providers also present great opportunities, as they seek to provide better services by understanding the behavior of their users in greater detail. Finally, banking is going through a massive digital transformation phase, and we believe we can play a role in helping financial institutions establish stronger and closer relationships with their customers with Anagog’s JedAI.
What features in Anagog’s JedAI are most appealing to people in Asia-Pacific?
First and foremost, JedAI’s ability to understand mobility status and location to better predict future behavior are key features. By understanding consumers better, companies can now focus on building better services that cater more closely to their users’ needs. The other interesting element is the ability for JedAI to be compliant with privacy regulations, which is very important in light of recent high-profile violations of user privacy of big brands. JedAI, unlike most other mobile solutions, runs its algorithms within the mobile device. This means that by default the data stays within the handset and users need to provide active consent to share that data before organizations can use it. This has proven to be really appealing for organizations that take privacy seriously.
What is the biggest selling point for JedAI in the APAC region?
Unlike most mature economies, which are largely stagnant, APAC is growing fast. There are untapped market opportunities for the right technology, and we believe that JedAI can satisfy the market appetite for innovative, data-compliant solutions. Asia’s urban centers are tightly packed together, and many developing economies are undergoing rapid urbanization. This means that brands and vendors have the potential to tap into a user base that is growing very quickly, and location and mobility can be the prime methods of bringing them into the fold and reaching out to them in innovative ways.
What are the main differences you see between the different counties in the region?
Southeast Asia is a very diverse region with different cultural and business norms across different countries which makes this place interesting and exciting. Generally speaking, Singapore and Hong Kong are the more mature economies, while Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines are in a rapid growth phase. However, this does not mean that the latter are more resistant towards adopting new technologies — indeed, many developing economies have shown a tremendous degree of enthusiasm to use cutting-edge technology to leapfrog and gain competitive advantages. APAC has a healthy mix of cooperation, competition, maturity and growth to make it a complete and robust ecosystem to absorb innovative technologies like Anagog’s.
To read more about our expansion news, see here.
