The world is becoming ever smaller – and the business world is leading the charge. Software is as global an industry as any, and in many ways, leads the charge to leverage new manufacturing centers and new product markets in emerging regions of the world.

Asia today is at the top of the list of global priorities for many software companies. The largest software vendors have significant operations in multiple Asian nations, and emerging competitors are looking to Asia earlier than they used to.

More and more software vendors seek not only to send product development work offshore, but also to leverage a global development cycle – very often based or anchored in Asia. At the same time, new opportunities to market products to the burgeoning populations and unique markets in Asia, continues to be a compelling avenue of growth for software vendors worldwide.

It is possible to succeed in Asia with a good understanding of its regional intricacies. In order to lead in Asia, however, it is critical to set forth strong leadership in a culturally-sensitive manner.

Exploring the world as a whole, and looking not just in technology but in all markets, the last 4-5 years have been dominated by attention given to India and China. The supply chain opportunities are tremendous, due to the low costs and industrial drive into technology and manufacturing in the region, particularly in China.

But beyond that, software vendors are increasingly looking to both India and China as emerging end markets – although China generally receives more attention than India in this respect. One of the reasons for this could be around concentrations of targetted audiences. Of China’s more than 1.2 billion people, the 300 million people living along the coast, are also those with the greatest economic leverage. In India, the addressable population is more evenly distributed across its large land area, with infrastructure still a big challenge.

But more than just an offshoring destination, India deserves attention as a significant consumer end market in its own right. Enterprise software sells well – banking, supply chain, and other vertical markets are all booming. These industries will continue to feel the need to automate as India continues to become wealthier, as it eventually overtakes China as the world’s most populous country.