Public sector modernisation accelerates but 73% lack infrastructure for AI workloads on-premises

Public sector modernisation efforts accelerate amid infrastructure challenges: Report

Indian public sector organisations are accelerating AI adoption for improved services. Containerisation and hybrid cloud infrastructure are increasingly used to support AI workloads. However, infrastructure readiness and governance challenges slow widespread AI deployment. Many organisations lack the necessary infrastructure for on-premises AI applications. New Delhi: India's Public sector organisations are accelerating efforts to modernise their technology infrastructure as artificial intelligence (AI) adoption gathers pace, but infrastructure readiness, governance and security challenges continue to slow large-scale deployment, according to the 8th Annual Nutanix Public Sector Cloud Index Report. The report said governments and educational institutions are increasingly embedding AI into mission-critical functions such as service delivery, fraud detection, decision-making and resource management, while adopting containerisation and hybrid cloud infrastructure to support growing AI workloads. "The goals of improved efficiency, better citizen experience, and transformational capabilities are accelerating AI adoption in the public sector," the report said. It added that organisations are "increasingly embedding AI into mission-critical operations," but warned that "significant challenges remain, however, including infrastructure readiness, workforce capabilities, shadow AI, governance and regulatory compliance." According to the report, public sector organisations are increasingly turning to containers to modernise infrastructure as they prepare for distributed data environments, cyber threats and AI-driven innovation. "As government and education organizations prepare for a future shaped by distributed data environments, escalating cyberattacks, mission-critical applications at the edge, and AI-driven innovation, they are increasingly turning to containers to modernize their infrastructure," the report said. It added that this "reflects a broader modernization effort: balancing innovation with security, compliance, sovereignty, and operational resilience." The survey found that 87 per cent of public sector IT leaders expect application containerisation to increase over the next three years, while 86 per cent believe AI is accelerating container adoption. It also said 83 per cent are already building new applications using containers. Despite this momentum, the report said many organisations are still not equipped to support AI at scale. "Across public sector organizations, the mandate to deploy AI applications is often coming from leadership, driven by modernization goals, efficiency mandates, and mission impact. However, these directives do not always account for what is required to operationalize AI at scale, particularly the infrastructure needed to support it," it said. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said their current infrastructure is not fully ready for on-premises AI workloads. The report also highlighted governance risks, with 96 per cent of IT leaders reporting AI applications being implemented outside IT functions and 91 per cent saying such use creates business and mission risk. Meanwhile, 84 per cent said organisational silos make technology initiatives harder to execute. Summing up the findings, the report said, "In the age of AI, public sector IT leaders face a dual mandate: advancing mission outcomes while safeguarding sensitive data and intellectual property," adding that organisations will need the right infrastructure to support responsible, secure and scalable AI deployment across hybrid environments.

Nutanix ECI Report: Public Sector Modernisation Efforts Accelerate Amid Infrastructure Challenges

Nutanix today released findings from the public sector vertical edition of its eighth annual Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey. The findings show that public sector organisations, including federal, state, and local governments, K-12, and higher education, are incorporating AI into business operations ranging from benefits eligibility to fraud detection. Yet, they are facing barriers in infrastructure readiness, workforce capability, and governance. This drives the urgent need for public sector IT leaders to build modernised hybrid infrastructure that can support the growing needs of this diverse industry. Faced with a dual mandate to advance mission outcomes and safeguard public data, government agencies are turning to application containerisation to improve the speed, scalability, and security of their AI workloads, even as organisational silos increase the risk of unmanaged shadow AI. * Government and education IT leaders surveyed in the Nutanix Public Sector Report overwhelmingly agree (91%) that unvetted AI usage creates mission and security risks. * A key takeaway from the Nutanix ECI research is that 73% of public sector infrastructure is currently unready to run complex AI workloads on-premises. * Findings from the Nutanix industry study indicate that 87% of public sector technology leaders expect their reliance on application containerization to scale up over the next three years. The findings point to a sector at a critical juncture. AI is already running across government and education environments, from containerised applications to hybrid infrastructures and, increasingly, direct service delivery. But the foundation underneath is uneven, as organisations juggle legacy on-premises systems, private clouds, and the migration of legacy systems to modern cloud infrastructure simultaneously, often without a unified control plane. "The proliferation of unvetted AI, or 'Shadow AI', has emerged as the defining governance challenge for the public sector. Across Asia Pacific and Japan, the conversation has shifted from AI ambition to operational readiness. The organisations moving ahead are those that stop chasing every new capability in isolation and instead consolidate their foundations. By prioritising secure, containerised architecture, these leaders are establishing the guardrails required to harness AI confidently, ensuring they earn and sustain public trust as AI becomes further embedded in citizen services." said Daryush Ashjari, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Solution Engineering, APJ - Nutanix. For public sector IT leaders, this creates a clear mandate. AI workloads that touch citizen services, public safety and educational outcomes demand infrastructure that can deliver performance, maintain regulatory compliance and support mission governance, not just centrally, but at the point of delivery, where data sovereignty directly affects the communities government exists to serve.