I’m writing this from Barcelona, where I’m attending Integrated Systems Europe 2026. Walking the halls, meeting vendors, integrators, and executives, one theme keeps coming up in almost every serious conversation:

“APAC is our next growth market.”

What’s striking is not the intent. It’s the uncertainty. Many companies know they need to grow in Asia Pacific, but they don’t know how, where to start, or how to do it without burning time and budget.

That urgency has only increased. With geopolitical tension, economic pressure, and slower growth across parts of Europe and North America, whether you are a European or an American company, APAC is no longer optional. It is becoming the primary growth engine for the next phase of global expansion.

Yet the same mistakes continue to slow companies down. Here are five pitfalls I see repeatedly, and why they matter more now than ever.

1. Treating APAC as a Single Market

APAC is not one market. It is a collection of very different economies, cultures, B2B buying behaviors, and regulatory environments. Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and Greater China operate on fundamentally different dynamics.

At ISE, I hear many companies talk about “rolling out APAC” with a single model. That approach always fails. Successful organizations define strategy centrally, but execute locally, adapting market by market rather than forcing uniformity.

2. Over-Reliance on a Single Regional “Hub”

Another common assumption is that placing one full-time employee in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, or India provides regional coverage. It does not!

One person cannot effectively cover dozens of markets, partner ecosystems, languages, and cultural expectations, unless they have worked across all APAC markets for several years. Such value comes at a cost given the extensive market coverage and deep relationships established over the years. Otherwise, the result is slow traction and high fixed cost.

In practice, experienced fractional regional leadership typically delivers 20–30 percent lower cost than a full-time mid-level hire, while providing immediate reach across multiple markets without a long ramp-up.

3. Underestimating Channel Enablement Timelines

APAC revenue does not appear overnight. Partners need time to be recruited, onboarded, enabled, certified, and trusted by the local market. This takes several quarters, not weeks.

Many companies mistake early slow traction for lack of demand. In reality, the bottleneck is often poor channel orchestration.

Organizations that apply a structured, region-wide partner strategy consistently enter markets 30–40 percent faster than those relying on country-by-country pilots or opportunistic partner selection.

4. Assuming Your Brand Travels With You

Brand recognition does not automatically cross borders. A strong reputation in Europe or North America does not guarantee awareness or credibility in APAC.

In many Asian markets, partners do more than sell. They build your brand, educate customers, and create trust locally. Choosing the wrong partners or failing to equip them properly can stall market development before revenue even starts.

5. Ignoring Local Certification and Regulation

CE and US certifications are rarely sufficient across APAC. Many countries require additional approvals, testing, or documentation.

This is not a detail. It is a gating factor. Ignoring it can delay launches, block deals, or introduce compliance risk at the worst possible moment.

Why This Matters Now

What I’m hearing at ISE is clear: companies know APAC matters, but many are still approaching it with outdated assumptions.

The organizations that will win in the next cycle are not the ones that “test” APAC. They are the ones that design for it deliberately, using experienced regional orchestration rather than trial and error.

A fractional, region-experienced approach consistently delivers:

• 20–30 percent lower cost than equivalent full-time regional leadership
• 30–40 percent faster time to first meaningful revenue
• Reduced execution risk across multiple APAC markets simultaneously

The detailed benchmarks and data behind these figures are available on request.

APAC is no longer a future opportunity. For many companies, it is the growth engine that will define the next decade. The question is not whether to enter, but whether you do it deliberately or learn the hard way.

Visit Strategic Pathways for more information.