The Asia-Pacific region has taken a step forward and begun to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its business processes. The companies operating in this region have witnessed how the new technology can help them achieve and bring a positive impact to their business.

However, not everyone is sailing the same boat! Many companies are facing challenges while adopting AI in the preliminary phases and its full-scale implementation.

AI Value Report 2025: A Valuable Report from Avanade Trendlines

A report named "AI Value Report 2025" has been published by The Avanade Trendlines. The report states that 87% of mid-market firms in APAC have made strategies to increase their budgets for generative AI projects by up to 50% in the coming year.

On the contrary, 85% are concerned that they will lose their business to competitors if they are unable to adopt AI; hence, looking for a swift implementation is a top priority.

The report further states that despite this enthusiasm, nearly half are stalled at the business case (48%) or proof of concept (44%) stages of AI deployment.

An industry expert, Bhavya Kapoor, Avanade’s President for the Asia Pacific, has commented on this new trend: "Coupled with rapid advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) and the region’s appetite for innovation, mid-market companies in the Asia Pacific are at a pivotal juncture of their growth and transformation."

He further conveyed his message towards the published report, stating that "The report identifies several obstacles hindering progress, including outdated technology infrastructure, inadequate data governance, and a lack of workforce readiness."

Additionally, he said, "Specifically, 95% of leaders are expediting plans to modernize legacy systems, and 76% acknowledge that poor data quality and governance are inhibiting AI advancement. To address data concerns, 44% of companies plan to implement new data platforms, while 41% are establishing governance standards."

Witnessing the revolution in the market due to AI, Avanade launched seven new AI services for mid-market organizations. These services work around the artificial intelligence ecosystem and consist of:

1. AI-powered migration and modernization
2. Building and modernizing AI applications
3. Unifying intelligent data and analytics platforms

The main aim of these solutions is to provide high-end innovation services within a limited budget for mid-market needs.

“With the right partnership and strategic guidance, mid-market companies can leverage technologies like AI to unleash their potential and emerge as the next generation of market leaders and industry titans,” Kapoor added.

APAC AI Outlook 2025: Experts on AI

There is another study that IBM conducted known as "APAC AI Outlook 2025." This report showed that Indian companies are accepting the power of AI for their business operations. These organizations have started investing in AI tools that can deliver long-term returns in the near future.

The report provides detailed statistics regarding the long-term, which are described below:

1. 26% of firms expect that AI will help them in the long term in the innovation ecosystem.
2. 21% of companies see that there will be revenue generation.
3. 12% of organizations believe that it will lead to cost savings.
4. 12% of businesses are with employee productivity.

The main focus of all these activities is to gather mid-size companies and educate them towards implementing AI in their workflows so that they can achieve higher returns on investment (ROI).

However, the report also stated the challenges side of the companies which they usually face, which are mentioned below:

1. 46% of companies have Data accessibility issues.
2. 42% of organizations have employees with limited AI skills.
3. 38% of businesses have integration and scalability issues.

All these are significant hurdles that organizations must overcome to adopt AI powers and use them to their fullest.

"In 2025, AI is set to be the game-changer for Indian enterprises, revolutionizing productivity and enabling unprecedented scalability,” said Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India & South Asia. “As we work towards the vision of a Viksit Bharat, the focus will be on leveraging AI responsibly to drive real business value—moving beyond low-risk experiments to strategic initiatives that provide a competitive edge and improved ROI. Additionally, the rise of small, high-performing AI models will redefine efficiency, delivering task-specific results that rival larger models at a fraction of the cost,” he added.

The Road Ahead

Lastly, proper plans should be developed to address these challenges, which is important for mid-market firms. When proper strategies are implemented, they will take firms from early-stage AI adoption to achieving tangible business outcomes.

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