According to a report by NetApp, as global organisations gear up for an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered future, India is emerging as a key player in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, leveraging its early investments in data infrastructure to drive AI readiness.
The report highlighted the challenges and opportunities businesses face in navigating the complexities of data management for AI. It also categorised APAC nations as ‘AI-leading’ countries, with 73 per cent of respondents stating that their data is fully or mostly optimised for AI, surpassing the global average.
As per the report, among these nations, India stands out for its proactive approach. Despite the growing demand for AI and data management investments worldwide, Indian executives’ current focus on data management (44 per cent) outweighs their priority for the future (37 per cent). This reflects India’s past investments and its leadership in AI adoption.
Globally, 79 per cent of technology leaders emphasised the importance of unifying data to achieve AI goals. This sentiment is even stronger in APAC, with 85 per cent of executives recognising data unification as critical. The findings suggest that companies prioritising this strategy are more likely to meet their 2025 AI objectives.
It mentioned that while AI adoption brings transformative opportunities, it also amplifies security concerns. In APAC, 72 per cent of respondents reported an increase in security challenges due to an increase in AI adoption. Globally, nearly three in five tech leaders (59 per cent) identified AI-driven security challenges as a leading global stressor. However, strategic measures are yielding results, with a 17 per cent decrease in cybersecurity as a top priority since 2023.
On the sustainability front, the report noted that as AI adoption accelerates, a third of global tech executives anticipate major shifts in corporate sustainability processes and another third expect new government energy policies and investments. Though its focus has declined year-on-year, to 72 per cent in 2024 from 84 per cent of companies in 2023, carbon footprint reduction remains a top priority, especially in regions with high AI adoption. In APAC, three in every four respondents indicated the importance of carbon footprint reduction. With 57 per cent of respondents indicating “high” or “extremely high” impacts, increased data and computation due to the rise of AI have brought significant contribution to their companies’ sustainability initiatives.
The report is based on insights from more than 1,300 IT executives in nine markets, the US, EMEA (France, Germany, Spain and the UK) and APAC (Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan and Singapore), and sheds light on the critical investments and strategies required to scale up AI capabilities by 2025.
