A recent survey by Avanade found that 96% of organizations in the Asia-Pacific region already use artificial intelligence (AI) to support decisions, but confidence in AI output has declined from 48% in 2023 to just 26% in 2024.
Bhavya Kapoor, the Asia-Pacific president of technology consultant focused on Microsoft, noted that AI's decline in trust is an indicator of a more knowledgeable and mature market, adding that the initial frenzy of pilot AI leads to a deeper understanding of its complexity and what is called “deprived trust.”
Kapoor explained in an interview with Computer Weekly that the deficit is not rooted in the rejection of the technology itself. Instead, it stems from a greater awareness of the inherent challenges faced by early adopters today.
“Now, people are more aware of risk and governance issues and are aware that AI is generating information that is not necessarily accurate when models are not properly trained,” Kapoor says. “Many organizations started early with pilots without thinking about all of that, and that's what makes the trust deficit.”
This observation is because many organizations across the region are aware of their early stages of AI adoption. AI enthusiasm and budgets are growing, but Avanade's research found that almost half are still in the pilot or proof of concept phase and are working on the next step.
Kapoor spoke with over 60 C-Sweet Executives at a recent meeting in Singapore, where almost everyone was using generator AI. However, less than 10% of people took thorough consideration of the strategic implications of governance, scalability and corporate culture. He drew in parallel with the early days of e-commerce and ride apps when users were hesitant to store payment information in those apps.
“When we first started using Uber, I don't think any of us stored our credit card numbers with them,” he said. “But now, you've been storing your credit cards there for years. It's only a matter of time before people get more comfortable.”
To address the trust deficit, organizations must move from isolated AI experiments to building robust enterprise-wide foundations. This includes creating a clean and reliable data platform and establishing a strong governance framework. This is the area where Avanade advises clients to adopt a long-term perspective to prevent the siloed chaos that has impacted their data architecture projects.
The direct result of this sophisticated risk awareness is a new urgent focus on cybersecurity. Kapoor said the widespread implementation of generator AI has greatly expanded the threat surface, forcing businesses across the region to address long-standing weaknesses.
“I say for decades, Asian companies have underinvested cybersecurity,” Kapoor said. “Even if there's one AI use case to pilot, it's important to have guardrails because data from the entire organization is there.”
Avanade, AI and Cyber Security offer important business opportunities, especially in the medium-term market. This is a segment that is not serviced, defined as a company with revenues of between $1 billion and $7 billion.
Kapoor noted that mid-market businesses are often more agile and bold, but usually operate on smaller technology teams and therefore need partners who can provide a range of technology services, from design, construction and operation to security.
At the same time, Avanades have doubled in the region, particularly in the major markets of Indonesia, India and Japan. “We believe that Indonesia's potential has not yet been mentioned, and we are making a big investment there,” Kapoor said, revealing the recent launch of our local Microsoft DataCentre as a key enabler.
In Japan, Avanade is looking at unique drivers for AI adoption. “As Japanese people are not native English speakers, a lot of translations are done by the co-pilot,” Kapoor said.
