Singapore invests boldly in artificial intelligence (AI) but businesses struggle to scale enterprise-wide, a new global study by the IBM Institute showed Thursday.
According to the study, surveyed Chief Executive Officers (CEO) are committed to advancing AI solutions across their organization even as they face challenges from accelerating technology adoption.
The annual IBM CEO study, which surveyed 2,000 CEOs globally, including 210 CEOs across ASEAN and Singapore, revealed that executive respondents expect the growth rate of AI investments to more than double in the next two years.
Meanwhile, just over half of Singapore CEOs (52 percent) are actively adopting AI agents and preparing to implement them at scale.
The study also showed AI investment surges, but gaps in data infrastructure persist.
The study found that 80 percent of Singapore CEOs are more likely than their 65 percent of their global counterparts to prioritize AI use cases based on return of investment (ROI).
However, only 23 percent have reported that their AI initiatives have delivered expected returns so far, suggesting a mismatch between investment priorities and results realized.
Meanwhile, 58 percent of Singapore CEOs identify integrated enterprise-wide data architecture as critical for cross-functional collaboration, and 68 percent view their organization’s proprietary data as key to unlocking the value of generative AI.
However, organizations may be struggling to cultivate an effective data environment: half (52 percent) of respondents acknowledge that the pace of recent investments has left their organization with disconnected, piecemeal technology.
“As AI adoption accelerates creating greater efficiency, and productivity gains, the ultimate pay-off will only come to CEOs with the courage to embrace risk as opportunity,
“Meaning, focusing on what you can control, especially when there is so much you can’t,” IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn commented.
“When the business environment is uncertain, using AI and your enterprise data to identify where you have leverage is a competitive advantage,
“At this point, leaders who aren’t leveraging AI and their own data to move forward are making a conscious business decision not to compete,” he added.
Abraham Thomas, Managing Partner, IBM Consulting, ASEAN, said business leaders in ASEAN are under pressure to demonstrate ROI from AI while needing to invest in long-term capabilities to stay competitive.
“This balancing act is made even more complex by the region’s fragmented digital landscape, with varying national regulations and inconsistent standards for cross-border data flow,
“Singapore stands out with its national AI strategy, and businesses must follow suit by building adaptable data foundations and investing in talent that can turn AI ambition into real results,” he added.
The findings also showed CEOs face competing pressures of short-term ROI and long-term innovation.
Only 23 percent of Singapore CEOs report that AI initiatives have delivered expected ROI over the last few years, and 14 percent have scaled enterprise-wide.
Just over half (52 percent) say their organization is realizing value from generative AI investments beyond cost reduction.
77 percent acknowledged that the risk of falling behind drives investment in some technologies before they have a clear understanding of the value they bring to the organization, but only 40 percent say it’s better to be “fast and wrong” than “right and slow” when it comes to technology adoption.
CEOs also call for more agility and budget flexibility, according to the study.
58 percent admit their organization struggles to balance funding for existing operations and investment in innovation when unexpected change occurs.
62 percent say more budget flexibility is needed to capitalize on digital opportunities that drive long-term growth and innovation.
CEOs also see strategic leadership and specialized talent as essential to unlocking AI value, amid expertise and skills gaps.
75 percent of Singapore CEOs say their organization’s success is directly tied to maintaining a broad group of leaders with a deep understanding of strategy and the authority to make critical decisions.
72 percent say that differentiation depends on having the right expertise in the right positions with the right incentives.
CEOs say roughly one-third (32 percent) of the workforce will require retraining and/or reskilling over the next three years in Singapore, while 67 percent say their organization will use automation to address skill gaps.
48 percent say they are hiring for roles related to AI that did not exist a year ago.