Linus Lai is a member of the Asia/Pacific Software and Services Research Group. He has more than 20 years of IT experience in the region. Based in Sydney, Australia, he has experience in several cloud, software, and services programs in Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), which covers a wide range of technology and services markets across 13 countries.

In this role, he is responsible for providing insights and analyses in enterprise adoption, integration, and management of these solutions. This includes sourcing strategies, vendor selection, and identifying emerging trends in business and technology solutions across technology buyers in the region. Linus is a founding member of IDC Asia/Pacific’s Emerging Technology Advisory Council and is a recipient of numerous awards for country, regional, and quality research contributions. In his previous role as head of research in Southeast Asia, he developed and grew IDC’s presence in the region.

Linus is frequently quoted in various publications and media outlets and is a regular presenter at industry forums, client events, and strategic workshops. Prior to joining IDC, Linus worked with a large outsourcing service provider that focused on retail banking solutions.
Linus holds a master of science degree from the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom.

Brian is a results-driven professional with extensive experience in presales, senior leadership and a track record of success in the IT industry. Leveraging a strong background in Communications, Cyber, Unified Observability, Automation and Performance Engineering, Brian has excelled in diverse roles throughout his career ranging from in-field engineering through to senior management across professional services, hardware, enterprise software and SaaS companies.

Being a skilled immigrant to Australia, and continuing to collaborate with the EMEA, APJ and America theatres, Brian bring a global perspective and adaptability to multicultural environments. With 20+ years’ hands-on presales experience in APJ roles, he possesses deep industry knowledge, relationships and a proven ability to develop and lead high-performance presales engineering teams.

Brian has extensive cross-functional experience with all the moving parts of a technology sales organisation, including sales, channel, professional services, customer success, product management and field marketing. His focus is on aligning presales to support an increase in customer intimacy, value and revenue generation.

Brian is a frequent main stage public speaker for SKOs (“Sales Kick-Off’s”), podcast interviews and industry events, and enjoys connecting with and inspiring audiences.