AI adoption is accelerating across Australia, but according to Lenovo's James Robertson, many organisations are leaping before they look - and paying the price.
"Anyone can deploy technology," Robertson said. "But without that use case, it makes it a lot harder to see that return on investment."
In an exclusive interview with TechDay, Robertson, who serves as Lenovo Australia's Enterprise and Public Sector Sales Director, outlined the company's AI roadmap, why hybrid models are gaining traction, and how businesses can avoid the all-too-common pitfall of launching AI initiatives with no clear strategic goal.
AI's tipping point
With artificial intelligence now firmly on the boardroom agenda, Robertson believes the shift from hype to implementation is well underway.
"Organisations are constantly seeking ways to optimise operations," he said. "AI is being adopted more and more - not to cut jobs, but to streamline manual tasks and reduce inefficiencies."
Lenovo's Global CIO Playbook, which surveys technology leaders across ANZ, underscores this trend. According to Robertson, it found that 82% of businesses with over 200 employees and 68% of those with over 20 staff are actively adopting AI in some form.
"AI has had a lot of promise for a long time," he explained. "But now it's about delivering on that promise in a measurable and scalable way."
Strategy before scale
Despite the momentum, Robertson noted that many businesses are still stumbling at the first hurdle - jumping into AI with no clear problem to solve.
"You can't just dive into AI and expect it's going to deliver a result," he said. "Without having a business reason to put AI in place, people end up spending money with no ROI."
The key, he said, is understanding what inefficiencies exist, where technology is currently being leveraged, and whether IT is viewed as a cost centre or a business enabler.
Lenovo's advisory work with clients begins by identifying these business challenges. "We talk about, what is the ROI we're trying to achieve? There's no one-size-fits-all. Every business is different."
The CIO Playbook
To help guide decision-making, Lenovo - alongside industry analyst group IDC - publishes an annual Global CIO Playbook, packed with insights from ANZ executives.
"It's a joint initiative," Robertson said. "We want to make sure that when we talk to CIOs and CFOs, we're talking with a level of intelligence across multiple organisations."
The report identifies poor data quality and management as the number one challenge to AI success. It also found that 46% of businesses plan to prioritise AI service providers that understand hybrid architecture, privacy, and data strategy.
"The feedback from CIOs was clear - many had deployed AI pilots, but without addressing business requirements, they saw no return," Robertson added.
From pilot to production
Transitioning from experimentation to full-scale deployment is another hurdle.
Lenovo's "pocket to cloud" approach - which spans edge devices like Motorola phones through to data centre infrastructure - is helping customers scale their initiatives.
"Our approach allows you to tap a phone on the side of a laptop and instantly transfer data," said Robertson. "It sounds futuristic, but it's happening."
This ecosystem integrates with strategic partners including Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Microsoft, and Qualcomm. It's designed to support Lenovo's "AI for all" vision, empowering businesses and consumers across the region.
"Our hybrid AI factory platforms are all about flexibility," he said. "We can scale up or down depending on workload and location."
The hybrid AI advantage
One of Lenovo's newest offerings is its Hybrid AI Advantage platform - an advisory and implementation service helping clients embed AI at every layer of their business.
"It covers the full stack - infrastructure, data models, and industry-specific use cases," Robertson explained. "We want to help customers move from experimentation to measurable outcomes."
Validated solutions are already being tailored for industries like manufacturing, retail, and aged care. The latter, Robertson revealed, is an area of personal passion.
"I've worked with someone who's using AI in aged care - passive voice listening, chatbot integrations, even remote diagnostics through wearable glasses that connect patients to nurses in real time," he said.
"It's about creating a better life or better care for people - not just deploying technology for technology's sake."
Advice for leaders
Asked where businesses should start, Robertson was clear: focus on the data, then on scalability.
"There's that old saying, 'junk in, junk out,'" he said. "The data must be clean, the infrastructure ready, and the outcome aligned with the business strategy."
He also warned against over-engineering or locking into rigid platforms.
"Make sure it's flexible. You don't want to build something that doesn't scale. If you do get ROI and can't scale it - you're back to square one."
Finally, he urged leaders not to sideline their existing talent.
"Some people in these businesses have been around 15–20 years. The amount of institutional knowledge they hold is huge," he said. "It's not about reducing team size. It's about upskilling and giving people new ways to contribute."
When it comes to AI transformation, Robertson summed it up simply: "Start small. Learn quickly. Be strategic. And don't be afraid to ask for help."