Generative AI is set to revolutionise IT as 78% of IT leaders in the Asia-Pacific region say the role of AI in their organisations is well-defined, according to the latest State of IT report from Salesforce.
The figure is poised to grow as 88% believe generative AI, specifically, will soon have a prominent role in their organisations. Leaders are proceeding with caution, however, with 66% concerned about generative AI’s ethics.
Findings are based on a double-anonymous survey of IT decision-makers with a seniority of director or higher conducted from February 28 through April 5, 2023. The survey generated 4,325 responses across 29 countries worldwide, including Singapore.
The study found that ongoing digital transformations are sapping IT capacity. IT teams are challenged to keep up with shifting KPIs, changing business needs, technological evolution, and economic pressure.
Close to two-thirds (64%) of APAC IT organisations say they have trouble keeping up with demands from the business.
The situation is anticipated to worsen as 78% project increased demand over the next 18 months. In response, 90% of APAC IT leaders say they’re increasingly focused on driving operational efficiencies.
Also, teams seek to scale app development. Demand for apps is on an unceasing upward trajectory – whether it is customer-facing apps or employee-facing apps.
However, only 30% of APAC IT organisations can support all app development requests they receive. To scale their capacity, 77% have adopted low-code or no-code tools, and 46% use composability – standardised, reusable building blocks of packaged capabilities in favour of custom code.
Only 4% of IT departments in New Zealand and 9% in South Korea can support all app development requests – the lowest in APAC.
Further, teams take an “all of the above” approach to security as threats loom. While rapidly evolving technologies bring about new innovations, they can also introduce new security vulnerabilities bad actors could exploit.
About seven in every 10 (69%) APAC IT leaders have trouble balancing business and security objectives, prompting them to adopt an array of defence measures.
About three in every five (58%) APAC IT organisations use data encryption, for example, and 48% use multi-factor authentication.
“In the current economic climate, IT leaders are under more pressure than ever to do more with less and move quicker with their projects,” said Sujith Abraham, SVP and general manager for Salesforce ASEAN.
“IT leaders that harness the power of AI and automation will enable the business to drive differentiation through increased levels of speed, productivity and personalisation at scale,” said Abraham.
