India Leads APAC in AI Adoption: Dell Technologies Report Highlights Regional Trends and Challenges

India Leads APAC in AI Adoption, Driven by Government & Industry Push: Dell

"The journey to consistent ROI is complex and requires comprehensive support across every stage - strategy, use case development, data preparation, governance, optimization, and scaling AI implementations. Dell Technologies and NVIDIA commissioned IDC to conduct a comprehensive analysis of enterprise AI adoption trends across APAC, offering strategic recommendations for businesses on how to drive AI success with technology partners. The results of this research are published in the IDC InfoBrief, Creating your AI Implementation Blueprint (doc ##AP242506IB, January 2025). Why It Matters: AI, GenAI and ML are transforming industries across APAC but many organizations struggle with talent shortages, integration complexities and aligning AI strategies with business objectives. The IDC InfoBrief "Creating Your AI Implementation Blueprint", commissioned by Dell, highlights how technology partners can help businesses bridge these gaps, ensuring a smooth AI adoption process while maximizing efficiency, innovation and competitive advantage. Unlocking AI's full potential: Key insights from "Creating Your AI Implementation Blueprint" As AI adoption accelerates across APAC, organizations are taking a more strategic approach to integration, focusing on GenAI use cases that enhance operational efficiency, boost productivity and deliver personalized customer experiences. However, AI implementation is not without challenges - businesses continue to grapple with a shortage of skilled talent, particularly in developed markets where competition for AI expertise drives up costs. Additionally, the success of AI initiatives hinges on the availability, quality and governance of data. Addressing these factors through a combination of internal investment and external collaboration is key to unlocking AI's full potential. The IDC InfoBrief outlines several key findings related to AI adoption in APAC: AI and GenAI Driving Business Innovation: AI adoption is on the rise in the region, with the AI-centric server market in APAC expected to reach US$23.9 billion by 2025. India's enterprise AI journey is marked by rapid expansion, particularly within government sectors. Already, 4% of Indian organizations outpace their industry peers in AI and ML adoption, signaling advanced adoption locally. APAC spending on GenAI has also gained momentum. This year, 84% of APAC organizations intend to allocate between US$1 to 2 million towards GenAI initiatives. While organizations globally dedicate around 33% of their budgets to GenAI, 38% of AI budgets in APAC are allocated to GenAI, compared with 61% combined for predictive and interpretative AI. Although businesses see vast potential to enhance productivity and customer engagement with these technologies, many still face challenges in aligning AI initiatives with strategic goals and integrating AI into existing workflows. While 35% of ASEAN organizations are in the early stages of AI and ML implementations, 21% say that their capabilities are already progressing systematically, with adoption spanning multiple functions. Evolving AI Deployment Strategies: AI and GenAI deployment strategies are evolving in APAC, with public cloud (including multicloud) as the top choice in 2024. However, there is a growing need for private AI and on-premises deployment, driven by security, cost efficiency, improved data sharing and collaboration and industry-specific requirements. Businesses are shifting from generic to specialized AI models, with CIOs prioritizing data security, system integrity and optimized infrastructure choices across public, multicloud, hybrid and private cloud environments. Key Challenges and Considerations in Scaling AI and GenAI: Enterprises face key concerns when scaling GenAI, including rising IT costs, regulatory and compliance risks, while meeting energy efficiency commitments. Skills gaps can delay digital transformation, slow product development and impact quality outcomes - over 72% of enterprises in APAC stress the need for data and AI knowledge in new hires to bridge the gap in skilled AI talent. Security and privacy remain major concerns. IT teams must enhance readiness for GenAI adoption, while organizations expect external service providers to ensure AI system security, privacy, trust, infrastructure modernization and custom AI model development. Despite the challenges, businesses see GenAI as worth the effort since it is a driver of operational efficiency, improved customer satisfaction and the creation of new business models. Laying the Groundwork for AI Success: Organizations in APAC are taking a structured, phased approach to AI adoption, prioritizing high-impact use cases that deliver measurable benefits while managing risks. A strong AI foundation requires a marriage of people, process and technology. Key focus areas include investing in AI-ready infrastructure, fostering AI-centric teams, aligning AI strategies with business goals and implementing robust data governance to drive decision-making and long-term AI success. Strong Reliance on Specialized AI Expertise to Overcome Challenges: APAC businesses recognize the value of partnering with strategic experts to build scalable infrastructure and bridge skills gaps. Organizations currently cite talent shortages, data privacy concerns and integration complexities as key barriers to AI success. Many businesses in the region rely on external developers (60%) for AI applications, while only 30% develop AI in-house and around 10% use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) AI solutions. Successful organizations are turning to technology partners for AI roadmaps, robust and scalable infrastructure, expert implementation support and workforce training to bridge internal capability gaps and accelerate AI deployment. Vendors who offer comprehensive, adaptive and scalable solutions will be well positioned to address these changing business needs. Industry-specific key findings: Banking and Financial Services, Manufacturing, Energy, Healthcare, Retail Various industries across APAC are being transformed by AI, GenAI and ML, with organizations adopting AI-driven strategies to improve operations, enhance customer experience and drive innovation. The region is rapidly adopting GenAI use cases, with 87.4% of APAC organizations deploying more than 10 GenAI use cases in 2024 and 25.6% saying they will have more than 100 GenAI use cases in 2025. These use cases span numerous business functions including IT operations, marketing, supply chain management, HR and more - with business leaders becoming key decision-makers. Banking and Financial Services: The banking and financial services sector is leading AI and GenAI adoption in APAC, with 84% of organizations already using AI and 67% deploying GenAI. 72% of APAC banking and finance professionals believe GenAI will disrupt the sector in the next 18 months. Key applications include fraud detection, anti-money laundering and operational efficiency improvements. With AI and GenAI spending in financial services projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25 - 31% from 2023 to 2028, organizations are scaling AI initiatives across multiple functions, from customer service and HR recruitment to procurement and legal compliance. Banks favor composing AI solutions (47.8%) - where organizations fine-tune an existing GenAI model on top of an enterprise AI platform - for flexibility, but require expert support in security, data management and infrastructure. Manufacturing: With 78% of APAC manufacturers using AI and 54% adopting GenAI, the industry is driving supply chain optimization, predictive maintenance and quality control. AI-powered demand forecasting and real-time production monitoring are reducing downtime, minimizing waste and enhancing operational precision. 49% of manufacturers prefer composing AI solutions and seek specialized expertise in manufacturing execution systems (MES), supply chain integration and workforce upskilling. 52% of manufacturers believe GenAI will disrupt the sector within 18 months, accelerating automated production, predictive lead scoring and digital twin models - advancing smart manufacturing and agile, high-precision production lines. Energy: APAC's energy sector is adopting AI (83%) and GenAI (73%) to enhance grid optimization, predictive maintenance and energy distribution, improving efficiency and reducing downtime. 42% of energy companies are fine-tuning models, using enterprise data to improve smart grids and energy platforms. Many energy companies rely on external vendors due to skills and infrastructure gaps, requiring specialized support for data management and workforce upskilling. 54% believe GenAI will disrupt their business models in the next 18 months. Top use cases include sales enablement, cybersecurity, enhanced risk management and digital twin models. Investment in AI infrastructure and responsible AI practices are priorities, with global firms building AI hubs in APAC to drive innovation in grid management and accelerate the transition to cleaner energy. Healthcare: 86% of healthcare companies in the region are using AI, with 59% adopting GenAI to enhance diagnostics, predictive analytics and personalized treatment plans. AI-driven use cases like real-time patient monitoring and demand forecasting streamline workflows, reduce errors and improve patient care. 58.2% of healthcare organizations prefer composing AI solutions, tailoring them to specialized needs like diagnostics, while external vendors help address AI skills gaps and regulatory complexities. 67% of healthcare companies believe GenAI will disrupt their business models within 18 months. AI investments are expected to increase - particularly in clinical excellence, operational efficiency and financial optimization, enabling a transformative shift inpatient care and treatment planning. Retail: The APAC retail sector is being reshaped with 82% of retail companies using AI and 63% using GenAI, alongside increasing investment in AI and GenAI agents. AI agents are now critical for retail businesses by driving personalized recommendations, predictive inventory planning and dynamic pricing strategies. 42% of retailers expect GenAI to disrupt their business models within 18 months, with other key use cases including digital commerce and augmented fraud analysis. Retailers are increasingly composing AI solutions (43.3%), but face challenges in data readiness and talent availability. To address this, retailers are focusing on building internal AI capabilities to improve customer experience and operational efficiency - while also relying on external vendors to fill AI skills gaps, particularly for tasks like data security and systems integration. "India is fast emerging as a frontrunner in APAC's AI landscape, with 4% of organizations already leading in adoption. To accelerate this momentum, Dell Technologies commissioned research to help businesses build actionable AI blueprints across AI, GenAI, and ML. The findings underscore a clear path forward: with the right strategy, scalable infrastructure, and expert partnerships for readiness assessments, roadmap design, and model development, organizations can fast-track AI implementation and unlock measurable outcomes -- from enhanced customer experiences and operational efficiency to entirely new business models that fuel long-term growth", said Venkat Sitaram, Senior Director & Country Head, Infrastructure Solutions Group Specialty Sales, India, Dell Technologies. "The Asia Pacific region holds immense potential to lead the way in AI adoption and innovation. Now is the time for enterprises to move beyond proof of concept (POC) and focus on achieving measurable return on investment (ROI)," said Chris Kelly, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure Solutions Group Specialty Sales, APJC, Dell Technologies. "The journey to consistent ROI is complex and requires comprehensive support across every stage - strategy, use case development, data preparation, governance, optimization, and scaling AI implementations. With the support from technology partners, enterprises can overcome adoption challenges and accelerate their path to impactful, results-driven AI outcomes."

Dell Technologies Releases New Insights: India Forges Ahead in AI Adoption, Driven by Government and Industry Leadership

Industry-specific key findings: Banking and Financial Services, Manufacturing, Energy, Healthcare, Retail Various industries across APAC are being transformed by AI, GenAI and ML, with organizations adopting AI-driven strategies to improve operations, enhance customer experience and drive innovation. The region is rapidly adopting GenAI use cases, with 87.4% of APAC organizations deploying more than 10 GenAI use cases in 2024 and 25.6% saying they will have more than 100 GenAI use cases in 2025. These use cases span numerous business functions including IT operations, marketing, supply chain management, HR and more - with business leaders becoming key decision-makers. Perspectives: "India is fast emerging as a frontrunner in APAC's AI landscape, with 4% of organizations already leading in adoption. To accelerate this momentum, Dell Technologies commissioned research to help businesses build actionable AI blueprints across AI, GenAI, and ML. The findings underscore a clear path forward: with the right strategy, scalable infrastructure, and expert partnerships for readiness assessments, roadmap design, and model development, organizations can fast-track AI implementation and unlock measurable outcomes -- from enhanced customer experiences and operational efficiency to entirely new business models that fuel long-term growth", said Venkat Sitaram, Senior Director & Country Head, Infrastructure Solutions Group Specialty Sales, India, Dell Technologies. "The Asia Pacific region holds immense potential to lead the way in AI adoption and innovation. Now is the time for enterprises to move beyond proof of concept (POC) and focus on achieving measurable return on investment (ROI)," said Chris Kelly, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure Solutions Group Specialty Sales, APJC, Dell Technologies. "The journey to consistent ROI is complex and requires comprehensive support across every stage - strategy, use case development, data preparation, governance, optimization, and scaling AI implementations. With the support from technology partners, enterprises can overcome adoption challenges and accelerate their path to impactful, results-driven AI outcomes."