AI Appreciation Day 2026: Tech leaders shift focus to infrastructure and data governance

World AI Appreciation Day 2026: Tech Leaders Outline the Blueprint for AI's Next Phase of Growth

What was once centered on experimentation and generative AI capabilities is now focused on enterprise-scale deployment, governance, cybersecurity, data readiness and infrastructure. The conversation around Artificial Intelligence has evolved significantly over the past year. What was once centered on experimentation and generative AI capabilities is now focused on enterprise-scale deployment, governance, cybersecurity, data readiness and infrastructure. On World AI Appreciation Day 2026, technology leaders from across the industry reflected on this evolution, emphasizing that the real measure of AI's success will not be how quickly organizations adopt it, but how effectively they build trusted, secure and scalable AI ecosystems that deliver long-term business value. "The Long-Term Opportunity Lies in Making AI A Practical and Inclusive Part of Everyday Computing" "AI Appreciation Day is an opportunity to recognise how artificial intelligence is evolving from a specialised technology into an everyday productivity tool for individuals, businesses and communities. At Acer, we believe on-device AI will be central to the next phase of this transformation by enabling AI workloads to be processed locally through AI-ready hardware and dedicated neural processing capabilities. This can deliver lower latency, stronger privacy and reduced dependence on cloud-based processing and token-based services, helping lower the long-term cost of AI usage and making it more accessible even in environments with limited connectivity." "By bringing intelligent capabilities directly to personal computers, Acer is helping democratise AI adoption and enabling students, professionals, creators and enterprises to use AI more confidently, responsibly and sustainably. The long-term opportunity lies in making AI a practical and inclusive part of everyday computing, empowering more people to learn, create, innovate and solve problems." - Sooraj Balakrishnan, Head of Marketing, Acer India. "AI Adoption Has Clearly Moved Beyond Experimentation To Real Business Deployment" "AI adoption has clearly moved beyond experimentation to real business deployment, but the next phase will be defined by how effectively organizations scale it. Today, the challenge is no longer access to AI, but aligning architecture, governance, and cost models to deliver sustained value. As enterprises increasingly explore agentic and physical AI, success will depend on placing the right workloads on the right infrastructure across cloud, edge, and on-premises, while building strong governance frameworks from the outset. The organizations that will lead are not the fastest adopters, but those that approach AI with clarity on economics, execution, and long-term resilience." - Srinivas Rao, Managing Director, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Lenovo India. "On A Day Meant To Celebrate AI's Progress, It's Worth Remembering That None Of It Works Without The Infrastructure Layer Underneath" "On a day meant to celebrate AI's progress, it's worth remembering that none of it works without the infrastructure layer underneath. High-density computing puts real strain on power and cooling systems, and getting that right is what actually lets AI scale reliably. This layer determines whether AI adoption holds up outside a lab environment. That's the foundation we build at Vertiv." - Rakesh Kumar, Infrastructure Solution Head, Vertiv. "AI Has to Be Treated As A Business Enabler with An Owner And A P&L Outcome" "Most enterprises are no longer asking whether AI works. They've seen it work in a pilot. The harder question, and the one that actually determines value, is whether it works reliably across a live business process, month after month, with the same data mess, the same edge cases, and the same regulatory scrutiny that every other system in the enterprise has to survive. That's a far higher bar than a proof of concept clearing a demo. Three things separate organisations that get past the pilot stage from those stuck there. - First, data readiness. AI is only as trustworthy as the data feeding it, and most enterprises underestimate how much foundational work -- cleaning, structuring, and governing that data -- has to happen before a model can be trusted with a real decision. On AI Appreciation Day, the most useful thing we can appreciate about AI isn't the technology itself. It's the discipline it's forcing on enterprises to finally fix the data and governance foundations they should have fixed years ago." - Sachin Panicker, Chief AI Officer, Fulcrum Digital. "AI Appreciation Day Is An Opportunity to Recognise That Every Advance In AI Depends on The Infrastructure That Powers It" "Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming how organisations operate. It is reshaping investment priorities, redefining digital infrastructure and influencing the future competitiveness of industries ranging from manufacturing and healthcare to financial services and logistics. As AI moves from pilots to production, the conversation is shifting from what AI can do to whether the underlying infrastructure is ready to support it at scale. The next chapter of AI will depend as much on resilient power, scalable compute, high-performance connectivity and sustainable infrastructure as it does on advances in models and applications. Organisations that invest in robust, future-ready digital infrastructure today will be better positioned to accelerate innovation, adapt to changing business needs and scale AI with confidence. At Colt Data Centre Services (Colt DCS), we see this evolution as an opportunity to innovate continuously by developing AI-ready data centres that deliver the performance, sustainability and operational excellence required for the next generation of AI workloads. AI Appreciation Day is an opportunity to recognise that every advance in AI depends on the infrastructure that powers it, providing the compute, connectivity, resilience and sustainability needed to support AI at scale. The organisations that will achieve the greatest long-term advantage will be those that invest not only in smarter AI, but in the resilient, scalable foundations required to support its continued growth." - Pratap Mane, President & Country Head - India, Colt Data Centre Services (Colt DCS). "India's Data Infrastructure Maturity Today Will Shape How Confidently The Country Scales AI In The Years Ahead" "Artificial Intelligence has evolved from experimentation to enterprise-scale execution, making AI Appreciation Day an opportunity to recognise the critical role of data foundations in enabling this transformation. Our 2025 State of Data Infrastructure Report is based on a global survey of 1,244 business and IT leaders across 15 countries, including 104 respondents from India. It found that 89 percent of Indian organisations have either widely adopted AI or consider it essential to their operations, compared with a global average of 69 percent. This momentum is being matched by strong national ambition, with India's AI ecosystem continuing to gain scale and depth." "At Hitachi Vantara, our focus is on helping organisations unify fragmented data estates and build governance into their systems by design, ensuring AI outcomes are consistent, secure, and dependable at scale. India's data infrastructure maturity today will shape how confidently the country scales AI in the years ahead." - Hemant Tiwari, Managing Director and Vice President for India and SAARC, Hitachi Vantara. "AI Race Is No Longer Won by Algorithms Alone, It Is Won By The Strength of A Nation's Semiconductor And Compute Ecosystem" "World AI Appreciation Day is a reminder that the global AI race is no longer won by algorithms alone, it is won by the strength of a nation's semiconductor and compute ecosystem and the expertise in knowledge and talent it has developed. As AI workloads grow more specialized across manufacturing, mobility, healthcare and critical infrastructure, customized silicon will be the foundation of secure, high-performance, and energy-efficient intelligence." "India generates nearly a fifth of the world's data yet captures only a fraction of its value. Closing that gap is our defining opportunity: to build a sovereign AI stack rooted in indigenous semiconductor design, trusted compute infrastructure, and world-class engineering talent. The intelligence economy will be led by the nations that master the full stack, from silicon to systems to software. That is the stack India is building, and the one LTSCT is proud to help design." - Dr. Sandeep Kumar, Chief Executive, L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT). "From Automated Threat Detection, Mitigation, Response, And Resilience, AI Is The Future of Enterprise Operations" "AI is getting embedded in our digital infrastructure across sectors, contributing to increased production, accelerated innovation, maximized operational efficiency, and enhanced cybersecurity, among other capabilities. While AI Appreciation Day allows us to recognize the benefits and progress made by businesses with artificial intelligence, we also have a collective responsibility to leverage it wisely. In the cybersecurity domain, AI-driven security operations represent a strategic transformation in how organizations safeguard their digital ecosystems. At Inspira Enterprise, we use AI as a growth accelerator that enhances human capabilities, driving organizations to make quicker, faster, and more secure decisions. From automated threat detection, mitigation, response, and resilience, AI is the future of enterprise operations. It is all the more critical for government and enterprises to promote AI-driven innovations that are built on ethical principles, optimized for operational excellence, and socially conscious. As AI continues to evolve, Inspira's commitment stays focused on building intelligent solutions that empower organizations, safeguard digital ecosystems, and create lasting value for society." - Chetan Jain, Managing Director, Inspira Enterprise. "The Greatest Contribution of AI To The Process Automation Industry Is Its Ability to Connect The Physical And Digital Worlds In Practical Ways" "The greatest contribution of Artificial Intelligence to the process automation industry is its ability to connect the physical and digital worlds in practical ways. Process industries have generated decades of data, and AI is turning that data into real-time insights that improve how critical infrastructure is designed, operated and maintained. What makes this shift significant is that AI is taking process automation beyond fixed rules toward greater operational intelligence, preserving workforce knowledge, driving efficiency, enhancing energy resilience, and creating new growth opportunities. AI also helps operators work faster where skilled talent is scarce, learning from experience to improve decision support over time." "At Honeywell Process Automation, AI is a catalyst for better outcomes. By combining deep domain expertise with AI-enabled platforms like Honeywell Forge, we help industries improve reliability, resilience and sustainability while unlocking greater value from operational data, connecting people and assets to create smarter, more autonomous operations." - Ritwij Kulkarni, Vice President & Regional GM, Process Automation, Honeywell Technologies, India & APAC. "There Are A Lot of Examples I Could Use Here But The One of The Most Striking Is That AI Has Become A Tool For Building AI" "There are a lot of examples I could use here but the one of the most striking is that AI has become a tool for building AI. Working with frontier models has collapsed the time between an idea and a working method. Ideas for new ML techniques that would once have sat unexplored because the resource requirements were too high can now be built, evaluated, and either discarded or developed in days. Some of our own novel approaches exist because of this." "The same acceleration applies to governance. In UST Prism and our wider AI governance services we've been able to make assurance, evaluation and oversight of AI practical at the pace the technology now moves. That matters because, without it, governance is often treated as an afterthought. This is still one of the main reasons many AI proof of concepts never reach production." - Heather Dawe, Chief Data Scientist & Head of Responsible AI, UST. AI's Greatest Impact Will Be In Creating Workplaces That Are More Adaptive, Intelligent, Efficient, And Ultimately, More Human-Centric" "At WeWork India, we see AI as an enabler of better workplace decisions and experiences. We are embedding AI across the workplace lifecycle, from site selection and demand forecasting to occupancy and churn prediction, while also enhancing the member experience through Digital Keycard access, smart bookings, and personalised journeys on our mobile app. The same shift is transforming how we build. AI has compressed our product engineering cycles dramatically, letting us ship at a speed that was not possible before, and has driven step-change efficiency across our operations, sales and finance workflows." "Over the last three years, we have also built a spatial analytics platform that uses privacy-compliant computer vision and anonymised, aggregated data to understand how our spaces are actually used. These insights help us optimise layouts, redesign existing centres, inform the development of new workspaces, and move towards predictive building operations, where occupancy intelligence can optimise meeting room utilisation, lighting, and climate control. Our recent report, AI and the Future of Flexible Workspaces, published in partnership with Redseer, reinforces this shift." "The study found that 95% of Indian enterprises expect AI adoption to accelerate, AI hiring has grown sixfold since 2019, and India's AI talent pool now exceeds 700,000 professionals. As AI reshapes the way organisations work, we believe its greatest impact will be in creating workplaces that are more adaptive, intelligent, efficient, and ultimately, more human-centric." - Rupesh Kumar, Chief Product & Technology Officer, WeWork India. "AI Appreciation Day Shouldn't Just Be A Celebration Of Productivity, It Needs to Be A Reality Check For How We Manage Risk" "AI Appreciation Day shouldn't just be a celebration of productivity, it needs to be a reality check for how we manage risk. The defining feature of this era is the sheer velocity of AI adoption, and India sits at the front of that curve. Recent industry data puts weekly generative AI usage among Indian employees at 92% -- among the highest anywhere in the world. It's created a corporate culture driven by instant gratification, where timelines that used to take days are collapsed into seconds. This is unlocking undeniable innovation, but convenience always wins until the consequences catch up." Right now, speed has become the only priority. Anything that introduces a moment of friction, whether it's governance, compliance, or essential security checks, is being viewed as an obstacle rather than a necessity. Employees are eagerly feeding sensitive corporate data into unvetted large language models, and in India this shows up starkly. Shadow AI usage here runs as high as 58%, the highest of any market tracked." "Under the DPDP Act, 2023, that represents a governance and compliance exposure, since unauthorised processing or disclosure of personal data can itself constitute a reportable breach. We've seen this exact movie before with rushed cloud migrations, only this time it's happening faster and at a much greater scale. This isn't an argument against AI; its benefits are real and irreversible. But we are building an exponential future on a fragile foundation." "The way forward is shoring up defences at the speed of adoption. That means enterprise-grade exposure management platforms with proper data controls and clear policy on what can and cannot be shared with public models, and training that treats AI security and literacy as seriously as data privacy. Boards and CXOs must stop treating governance and cybersecurity as a compliance checkbox and start treating it as a necessary part of infrastructure itself. The fastest to adopt won't win as big as the ones that adopt it safely." - Rajnish Gupta, MD & Country Manager, Tenable India. "It Is Our Responsibility To Build AI Systems That Are Not Only Intelligent But Also Ethical, Explainable, And Resilient" "AI Appreciation Day allows us to reflect how artificial intelligence is evolving from an enabling technology into a trusted collaborator in solving complex healthcare challenges. We see the true value of AI in augmenting human expertise, helping clinicians make informed decisions, streamlining workflows, and accelerating innovation that ultimately improves patient outcomes. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in healthcare, it is our responsibility to build AI systems that are not only intelligent but also ethical, explainable, and resilient, ensuring technology continues to earn the trust of healthcare professionals and the patients they serve." - Shivakumar KR, Head of Enterprise Architecture, Data & Integration, Philips. "As AI Becomes Embedded In Every Industry, Sovereignty Is Emerging As A Strategic Imperative" "AI's greatest challenge is no longer intelligence, but trust. As AI becomes embedded in every industry, sovereignty is emerging as a strategic imperative. At NetApp, we see data as the foundation of every successful AI strategy, and sovereign AI in particular starts with trusted data. Indian organizations need an intelligent data infrastructure that enables them to innovate across clouds, environments, and AI platforms without compromising security, governance, or choice." "The challenge is no longer simply deploying AI, but ensuring it can be adopted responsibly, at scale, and on an organization's own terms. On AI Appreciation Day, it's worth recognizing that the true enabler of sovereign AI is not the model itself, but the trusted data foundation that allows organizations to innovate with confidence and turn AI ambition into real-world impact." - Vasanthi Ramesh, Vice President of Engineering and Site Leader, NetApp India. "On This AI Appreciation Day, We Celebrate Not Just What AI Can Do, But How Responsibly We Choose To Build And Use It" "Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the nervous system of Digital India. As AI transforms how we work, learn, and innovate, it is also reshaping the cyber threat landscape. Our latest India Cyber Threat Report 2026 highlights how AI-assisted phishing, identity compromise, and data integrity attacks are accelerating, with social engineering emerging as one of the most effective attack vectors. This makes responsible, transparent, and well-governed AI not just an innovation imperative, but a national cybersecurity imperative." "At Quick Heal Technologies Limited, we believe AI should strengthen trust, not compromise it. That belief drives our AI-first cybersecurity innovations, from our patented GoDeep.AI technology to solutions that help combat digital fraud, protect personal data, and defend organisations against external threats such as impersonation and brand abuse. As regulations like the DPDP Act raise the bar for data protection, AI will play an increasingly important role in helping organisations stay secure and compliant." "On this AI Appreciation Day, we celebrate not just what AI can do, but how responsibly we choose to build and use it. The true measure of AI is not how intelligent it becomes, but how effectively it protects people, businesses, and the digital future we are all creating together." - Dr. Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director, Quick Heal Technologies. "Forward-Looking Organisations Are Responding By Developing Practical Frameworks For Responsible AI Adoption" "On AI Appreciation Day, organisations should celebrate not only the possibilities AI creates, but also the steps needed to use it responsibly. Sustainable AI success will depend on treating security, governance and innovation as complementary priorities rather than competing objectives. Employees are often the first to identify opportunities for AI, bringing new tools into workflows long before formal policies are established. This reflects genuine enthusiasm for innovation, but it can also create blind spots around data protection, compliance and risk management. The challenge is not preventing the use of AI, but ensuring its use aligns with organisational and regulatory requirements." "Forward-looking organisations are responding by developing practical frameworks for responsible AI adoption. This includes understanding which AI tools are being used, setting clear expectations for employees and ensuring sensitive data remains protected. When governance supports innovation rather than restricting it, businesses can create a culture where AI delivers value without introducing unnecessary risk." - Parag Khurana, Country Manager, India, Barracuda Networks. "AI Should Support Human Judgement, Not Replace It, And Its Value Should Ultimately Be Measured In Time Saved" "The real promise of AI for India's MSMEs is not making a small business operate like a large enterprise. It is to remove repetitive work and make complex decisions easier, without taking control away from them. In accounting, AI can help surface errors before they become penalties, suggest the next step in a filing, simplify voucher posting, and make compliance workflows easier to navigate, so a business owner spends less time reacting to problems and more time running the business. However, adoption will depend on trust. Small businesses need AI that is accurate, explainable, secure and affordable, not a black box making financial decisions on their behalf." "At BUSY, our focus is on embedding intelligence into familiar accounting workflows so users gain speed without having to completely change the way they work. AI should support human judgement, not replace it, and its value should ultimately be measured in time saved, errors prevented and better decisions made." - Brijesh Agarwal, CEO, Busy Infotech.

AI Appreciation Day: Unlocking the True Potential of AI Begins with the Right Data

Artificial intelligence is transforming industries at remarkable speed, helping organisations strengthen security, improve operations and make faster, better-informed decisions. Yet as AI becomes more deeply embedded in business and technology strategy, the conversation is shifting from simple adoption to measurable impact. On AI Appreciation Day, it is worth recognising that the real value of AI lies not only in advanced algorithms, but in the quality, accessibility and responsible governance of the data that powers them. For years, video data was primarily regarded as a tool for security, compliance, and post-incident investigations. Once its immediate purpose had been served, much of that data was archived or deleted. Today, that perception is changing. Organizations are increasingly recognizing video data as a valuable strategic asset -- one that can generate operational insights, strengthen decision-making, and create value well beyond traditional security applications. This shift is transforming the role of video technology. Rather than simply helping organizations understand what has already happened, AI-powered video solutions are enabling them to identify patterns, surface critical information in real time, and respond more proactively to evolving situations. Across sectors such as transportation, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and critical infrastructure, video is becoming an important source of actionable intelligence that supports both security and operational excellence. However, AI can only deliver meaningful outcomes when it is built on the right foundation. The effectiveness of AI depends on access to high-quality, well-managed, and readily accessible data. Organizations juggling multiple systems often face challenges in connecting and utilizing information effectively, limiting the value they can derive from AI initiatives. Creating a strong data foundation is therefore essential to realizing AI's full potential. Equally important is the technology architecture supporting AI. Open and interoperable platforms enable organizations to integrate diverse technologies, facilitate seamless data exchange, and remain flexible as AI capabilities continue to evolve. By avoiding fragmented systems and enabling collaboration across ecosystems, organizations can future-proof their technology investments while accelerating innovation. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in security and operational workflows, its purpose should be to empower people -- not replace them. Intelligent systems can help operators prioritize information, reduce manual effort, and make faster, better-informed decisions. Human expertise, judgment, and accountability remain central to ensuring that AI is applied responsibly and effectively in real-world environments. Trust is another critical pillar of successful AI adoption. As organizations generate and process larger volumes of data, responsible data management, privacy, transparency, and governance become increasingly important. Building AI solutions on ethically managed and well-governed data not only strengthens confidence in AI-driven insights but also helps organizations navigate evolving regulatory expectations while creating long-term value. The growing importance of video data extends far beyond security. Organizations are discovering new opportunities to leverage video intelligence for improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer experiences, supporting predictive maintenance, and enabling smarter business decisions. As AI continues to mature, the ability to transform video data into actionable insights will become an increasingly powerful competitive advantage. This AI Appreciation Day, the focus should extend beyond celebrating advances in artificial intelligence to recognizing the critical role of trusted data, open technology ecosystems, and responsible innovation in making AI truly effective. Organizations that invest today in building accessible, interoperable, and well-governed data foundations will be best positioned to unlock AI's full potential -- delivering smarter, more resilient, and future-ready operations. (The author is Barry Norton, Fellow at Milestone Systems, and the views expressed in this article are his own)