Lenovo Releases CIO Playbook 2024 on AI Adoption in Asia-Pacific

Lenovo today unveiled the ‘CIO Playbook 2024 – It’s all about  Smarter AI’ report, providing a comprehensive overview of AI adoption in Asia-Pacific (AP). The IDC report,  commissioned by Lenovo that surveyed over 900 CIOs, including 150+ in India reveals that organizations in AP are  planning to increase AI spending by 45% in 2024 compared to 2023. 

It also noted the massive shift in CIO priorities from last year with AI topping the list. Notably, across AP revenue and profit growth have shifted from the top priority in 2023 to number #3 in 2024, while customer experience and satisfaction have surged two spots to come in the top 2 priorities. This underscores a strategic shift towards cutting-edge innovations and a  customer-centric approach in the evolving business landscape.

However, divergence emerges between business leaders and CIOs on AI technologies. Business leaders want to  prioritize GenAI to enhance customer experience and drive outcomes, while CIOs express cautious optimism. Ranking GenAI as the 4th tech priority, CIOs are prioritizing AI technologies that address security, infrastructure,  and talent considerations. 

Amit Luthra, MD – India, Lenovo ISG, revealed, “The AI Playbook echoes what we have been hearing from the  customers. CIOs in India are most confident about AI, with 95% expressing certainty that it will create a competitive  advantage, and 57% of them consider it to be a game changer for their organizations. Higher investments in GenAI  and machine learning followed by deep learning systems, underscore their desire to elevate operational efficiency,  security, decision-making processes, and customer experiences.” 

GenAI: Key Trends for Indian CIOs in 2024 

CIOs across India (28%) and Korea (33%) lead in GenAI investments in AP, followed by ASEAN+ (11%), ANZ  (2%), and Japan (2%). In India, AI has significantly influenced top technologies including Cybersecurity and Threat  Detection, Intelligent Automation and Robotics, and Automation for enhanced efficiency. Among the Indian CIOs  surveyed the following was observed: 

● Adoption challenges– High dependence on third-party support (55%) & security (51%) are top 2 concerns for  Indian CIOs 

● AI Deployment challenges – Concerns over job security (62%) as well as lack of adequate IT support in  automation deployment (64%) are key pain points for CIOs in India. 

Bring AI to the Data – 69% of AP CIOs prefer AI workload in a non-public cloud environment; 84% CIOs in  India already using AI to enhance their security framework 

Furthermore, the survey reveals that AP companies will adopt a balanced approach to AI workload deployment.  On average, 31% of AI workloads will be deployed on the public cloud, 28% on the private cloud, and an additional  28% on hybrid cloud solutions. 

Scott Tease, VP – HPC & AI, Lenovo, added, “Additionally, the allocation of 13% of AI  workloads at traditional data centers signifies a growing recognition of the importance  of edge computing, bringing AI capabilities closer to the source of data generation.” 

At the same time, 84% of CIOs in India are already using AI to enhance their security  framework with 14% planning to invest.  Sumir Bhatia, President, AP, Lenovo ISG, noted "We are bringing AI everywhere  through our pocket-to-cloud solutions, and an ecosystem of 50+ ISVs and 165+ AI  solutions. With domain experts and smarter technologies, we're powering AI for All and  transforming the customer experience." 

Key AP Trends among CIOs Across BFSI, Telco, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Government and Retail in 2024 

India Insight 

● In India, primary use cases for emerging technologies such as GenAI include risk and fraud detection in BFSI. ● The Indian manufacturing sector leverages AI-enabled predictive maintenance systems, aiding enterprises in  autonomous real-time monitoring of equipment and anomalies.  

● High-performance compute platforms (55%) and automation of digital infrastructure (39%) are expected to be  areas with the highest spending in 2024.Edge Implementations will Supercharge AI; 30% increase in Edge investments by CIOs in India 

● A 30% YoY jump in India and a 25% YoY increase in spending on Edge  technology across AP 

● With Edge devices set to generate large volumes of real-time data, new use  cases for AI models will emerge. Accordingly, Indian CIOs feel Real-time  

analytics (70%) and Video surveillance & Security (53%) use cases will  experience the most significant impact from AI. 

Data, Security and Skills are the Key Challenges for AI in 2024 CIOs report that the top technology challenge for AI is GenAI's reliance on extensive datasets, a resource most  organizations lack. In terms of business challenges, Job security and lack of requisite AI skills tops concerns for IT  employees in mature markets. Notably, India exhibited the highest job security within the region. 

Most available operational AI jobs, notably in DataOps  (75%), SecOps, and DevOps (75%) remain accessible  and relevant, representing key entry points as organizations continue their AI journey. Yet 45% of AP and Indian enterprises struggle to hire for AI-related positions, more than doubling the usual hiring effort.  This talent gap compels organizations to pivot towards internal solutions, emphasizing the imperative to upskill existing employees.