A recent IDC survey showed that such investments in the markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are expected to reach an average of 39.8 percent in 2013.

Commissioned by CA Technologies in July 2012, the survey sought 120 IT C-level executives as respondents. The respondents were "as either primary decision makers, or those who influence their organisation's ICT investment decisions."

Traditionally, the allocation for IT innovation follows the 80/20 principle with only 20 percent earmarked for related initiatives. Daily operations and maintenance costs usually receive the lion's share of 80 percent.

This year, however, the focus on innovation exceeded expectations as the average budget went up to 38 percent from 20 percent.