How UK tech scale-up Tyk is growing its APAC business from Singapore

In the competitive, ever-evolving landscape of technology, being a market leader is no mean feat. Tyk, known for its API management solutions, was named as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for API Management. Headquartered in the UK, and newly minted as one of Tech Nation’s 2024 Future Fifty cohort companies, Tyk’s Asia Pacific (APAC) business has grown from strength-to-strength since entering the region in 2017.

We sit down with James Hirst, Tyk’s co-founder and COO, who shared insights into Tyk’s journey, learnings, and future plans.
 

The Genesis of Tyk in Asia Pacific

Tyk's story in APAC began in 2017, just a year after the company was founded as an open-source project. So, what sparked Tyk’s interest in the region? James responded, "It was the other way around! APAC was interested in Tyk, and we responded by investing in the region.”

As users in APAC were one of the first adopters of Tyk’s open-source product, Tyk decided to bite the bullet and opened their first overseas office in Singapore. Since then, Tyk has made the city-state its APAC hub with a full-service team. The region’s focus on smart cities and digital citizen services, as well as innovations in finance, insurance, and telecommunications, have created a fertile ground for Tyk’s solutions.
 

Growing global, building local

Internationalisation brought its own set of challenges. One of the most daunting tasks was building a strong local team, comprising commercial and engineering functions, while hiring remotely from the UK.

"How could we assess and recruit the right people with such a big time-difference and so little understanding of the local market?" James recounted. Tyk overcame this by leveraging local networks and hiring a senior leader from within their existing network who understood both the company's culture and the local market. Tyk also relocated a senior member of the team from London to Singapore to bridge norms and culture.
 

Another significant challenge was adapting their go-to-market (GTM) strategy. "We didn’t appreciate just how much of a change we would have to make," James admitted. The team reinvented their sales funnel to meet the needs of APAC prospects who preferred high-touch sales processes and formal procurement methods over self-service and free trials.

Doing business in Singapore and the broader APAC region presented unique differences compared to the UK. While cutting-edge capabilities might attract attention in the United States; in Singapore, the emphasis was on proven and tested solutions. Additionally, prospects in Southeast Asia often preferred purchasing through trusted partners and system integrators rather than direct sales, he said.
 

Establishing credibility through Accreditation

As Tyk is typically a part of critical infrastructure for an organisation, reliability of its solutions is key. Potential customers required reassurance of quality which meant Tyk had to go beyond demonstrating the innovativeness of its solution, to validating the solution’s security and ensuring consistent performance to earn their customers’ trust.

That was where being accredited by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) came in handy.
 

The accreditation has allowed Tyk to engage in a two-way dialogue with IMDA, aligning their priorities and roadmaps with the wider Singapore ecosystem.

On the topic of Singapore’s ecosystem, James further elaborated on the partnerships that have been a cornerstone of Tyk's success in the region. Collaborations with technology services companies, NCS and NEC, have enabled significant transformation projects and new product launches. Public sector partnerships, particularly with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and IMDA, have been instrumental in navigating the local ecosystem. Additionally, the UK Department of Business and Trade has provided strategic guidance and operational assistance, facilitating Tyk’s growth in the region.
 

Future Plans and Strategic Growth

“We’re very proud of the impact we’ve made with both the public sector and big corporate clients across Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Thailand. In fact, we’re pretty confident that anyone visiting these locations will at some point interact with services facilitated by Tyk API gateways,” said James.

The company is particularly excited about the growth and innovation in the startup and scaleup ecosystems in ASEAN. "We’re now part of the critical infrastructure of a number of fintechs in Indonesia, for instance," James elaborated. Tyk is partnering with accelerators, incubators, and the investor community to build early relationships with future APAC unicorns.

Tyk’s journey in Asia, shaped by strategic adaptation and robust partnerships, exemplifies how technology scale-ups can successfully navigate international expansion. With a focus on understanding regional nuances and building strong local teams, Tyk has established itself as a critical player in the APAC technology landscape. As the company continues to innovate and grow, it remains poised to support the digital transformation of public and private sectors across the region.