Asia In Brief Staff at services giant DXC\u2019s Australian outpost will go on strike this week after 14 months of negotiations over a new pay agreement failed.<\/p>\n
The union representing the workers, Professionals Australia (PA), told The Register \u201cMany DXC employees have not received a pay rise in five years\u201d and pointed out that the cost of living in Australia has increased \u201cby more than twenty-four per cent\u201d over that time.<\/p>\n
The Union also pointed out that Australian banks and government agencies outsource IT work to DXC, meaning the strike action is potentially disruptive to the public.<\/p>\n
A DXC spokesperson sent The Register the following statement: \u201cWe respect the right of our employees to participate in protected industrial action. We continue to bargain in good faith and look forward to finalising the new agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran war and inflation may slow APAC IT spend<\/p>\n
The war in Iran may slow IT spending across the Asia-Pacific region according to analyst firm Forrester.<\/p>\n
Frederic Giron, a VP and senior research director at the firm last week forecast<\/a> that tech spending in the region will grow 9.3 percent in 2026, \u201cdriven by software, services, communications equipment, and tech outsourcing.\u201d<\/p>\n The analyst also predicted hardware sales would lead growth, surging by 13.7 percent thanks to hyperscalers building AI-optimized data centers.<\/p>\n But Giron also worries that exchange rate fluctuations will hurt APAC buyers.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Australia, software inflation is running at nearly four times the general consumer price index,\u201d he observed, before noting that tariffs and component shortages are sending hardware prices higher.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 9.3 percent growth figure includes these price increases, which means the real volume of technology acquired is growing more slowly than the headline suggests,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Giron also warned the war in Iran may further slow spending, because 75 percent of the oil that flows through the Strait of Hormuz goes to China, India, Japan, and South Korea.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the disruption persists beyond Q2 2026, the GDP compression across energy-importing APAC markets will tighten IT budgets \u2013 particularly in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and parts of South Asia,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n Rival analyst firm IDC has already predicted spending on PCs will decline in the region.<\/p>\n IDC last week found<\/a> shipments of PCs across Asia last year grew by 11.6 percent to reach 106.6 million units.<\/p>\n This year, the firm expects shipments to decline 13.7 percent due to component shortages.<\/p>\n Maciek Gornicki, IDC\u2019s APAC senior research manager for devices said memory-makers\u2019 move to prioritize datacenter products \u201cis disrupting PC supply, with vendors struggling to secure the memory components needed to build new systems.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect these shortages to drive prices higher and soften overall demand,\u201d he said. \u201cIn Asia-Pacific, vendors are anticipated to prioritize mature markets with higher ASPs to protect margins, while emerging economies \u2013 particularly Southeast Asia \u2013 will face the greatest impact from both product shortages and rising prices, as these markets are more reliant on low-end devices and consumers are especially sensitive to cost increases.\u201d<\/p>\n Japanese giants may combine power chip businesses<\/p>\n Toshiba, Mitsubishi, and ROHM have started talks to combine their semiconductor businesses.<\/p>\n As explained in a statement<\/a> from Toshiba, the three companies think collaboration might \u201crealize a business scale and technological foundation capable of competing in the global market \u2026 maximizing the corporate value of the integrated entity.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, Toshiba and ROHM started talks about collaborating on power semiconductors \u2013 chips that manage energy in electronic devices \u2013 and after Japan\u2019s government approved those talks on grounds that joint work would stabilize supply chains. The two are now \u201cadvancing discussions on collaborative manufacturing initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n The three companies are at pains to point out that last week\u2019s announcement of talks is just that \u2013 no decisions have been made, and a tie-up is not certain.<\/p>\n NEC dilutes datacenter strategy<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s tech services giant NEC has decided to adjust its datacenter strategy.<\/p>\n The company owns and operates around ten datacenters, mostly in Japan. In other countries, NEC deals with local players.<\/p>\n Last week, the company announced announced<\/a> it will move to a \u201cbest-mix model that appropriately combines self-ownership and partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n The company has also spun out two of its Japanese datacenters into a joint venture with the DigitalBridge Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank\u2019s infrastructure investment arm JEXI.<\/p>\n NEC says it will still build its own bit barns because the ability to offer secure hybrid clouds is an important part of its value proposition.<\/p>\n Superfast networks for fusion plasma control<\/p>\n