APAC companies ready for AI but struggling with where to begin

96% of senior IT professionals believe AI applications will drive productivity and business performance, according to new research from Seagate Technology.

However, an almost equal number of respondents (95%) believe further investments in their IT infrastructure are required to enable them to support their use of AI.

The research, "Data Pulse: Maximising the Potential of AI", explores the varying readiness levels of AI adoption and implementation by business segments across key markets in Asia Pacific (APAC) as well as the opportunities and challenges faced by organisations when looking to incorporate AI applications.

The study identified that 89% of organisations plan to implement AI technologies in the next 12 months in areas within the organisation including IT, supply chain logistics, product innovation and R-D, as well as finance and customer support.

However, two-thirds of respondents indicated they struggled to know where to start.

"Analysts, leading technology companies and thought leaders alike are discussing that companies that embrace AI will gain a significant competitive edge," says Seagate Technology global sales and sales operations senior vice president BS Teh.

"With its vibrantly growing economies, emerging pools of talent, and highly connected population, there are tremendous opportunities for APAC in reaping the benefits of AI. In order to take full advantage of the considerable benefits brought by AI, Asia Pacific organisations should proactively look to develop robust infrastructure and ecosystems to support the needs of data analytics and real-time data processing.

Despite robust adoption of AI technologies in the region, the report found that a significant number of organisations have not invested in the data and technical solutions required to support the technology fully.

89% of the respondents are planning to implement AI solutions, but 31% do not think enough is being invested.

One in five organisations indicated they were not ready or able to handle the increasing data streams from the use of AI applications.

While 95% of respondents believe there is an increasing need for robust data storage solutions with growing AI applications, 15% say they have not invested sufficiently in data storage to be ready for AI now or in the future.

It is estimated by IDC that the global datasphere subject to data analysis, may grow by a factor of 50 up to 5.2ZB in 2025, and the amount of analysed data that is processed by machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence may grow by a factor of 100 up to 1.4ZB.

Being able to expand network storage capacity quickly and cost-effectively without disrupting service level agreements is critical in today's world of data.

Already US$39 billion has been invested in AI worldwide, with Asia Pacific spending to reach US$4.6 billion by 2021.