AI spending among organisations has increased by 2.7x in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region (ASEAN+1), and 3.3x in Asia-Pacific (APAC), highlighting the regions’s adoption readiness, according to the third edition of “Lenovo’s CIO Playbook 2025 —- It’s Time for AI-nomics,” commissioned by Lenovo with insights by IDC.
The study, presented by Lenovo during an event in Makati City, surveyed more than 2,900 respondents, including over 900 IT and business decision-makers (ITBDMs) from 12 APAC markets, including India, South Korea, Japan, ASEAN+ (Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia), and Australlia and New Zealand (ANZ).
Meanwhile, evolving business priorities each year reflect a deeper understanding of what it takes to drive AI growth, along with a growing awareness of its risks. Ethical issues and biases remain the top AI risks this year, yet only 24% of organisations globally and 25% in APAC have fully enforced AI GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) policies.
In ASEAN+, 24% of CIOs report having fully implemented enterprise AI GRC policies, aligning closely with global and APAC trends. This underscores the urgent need for a structured approach to what has become the topmost priority for businesses in APAC.
In the Philippines, specifically, there is emphasis on innovation, digital infrastructure, and talent development to drive AI integration across key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, BPO, and healthcare. Initiatives like the National AI Roadmap (2021–2028) and plans for a National Center for AI Research reflect a coordinated push to enable research, upskilling, and practical deployment of AI technologies, contributing to a broader effort to position the country as a meaningful player in the regional AI ecosystem.
“As the Philippines advances its vision of becoming a key player in the regional AI landscape, Filipino businesses are accelerating their digital transformation with a clear focus on AI solutions that are innovative, responsible, and ROI-driven,” Michael Ngan, President and General Manager, Lenovo Philippines.said.
While there is gradual rise in AI spending, the journey toward full-scale adoption is still evolving AI, with 47% ASEAN+ organisations either evaluating or planning to implement AI within the next 12 months. This is lower than both APAC (56%) and global (49%) averages, with ROI challenges emerging as a key barrier to faster adoption.
Singapore leads as the regional hub with advanced AI maturity, while other ASEAN+ nations are still in the early stages of adoption due to limited resources and AI expertise.
The study also found out that generative AI commanded 42% of AI implementation spends in 2025 in ASEAN+, with customer service emerging as the top use case.
In terms of infrastructure, 68% in ASEAN+ are using hybrid or on-prem, while the remainder depend on public cloud.
“Globally, 63% of organisations choose on-premise and hybrid infrastructures for AI, and ASEAN+ is leading with a higher adoption rate. This demonstrates a clear focus on driving innovation while ensuring security and compliance for the unique demands of AI,” noted Kumar Mitra, Executive Director, Infrastructure Solutions Group, CAP & ANZ, Lenovo.
According to Debdut Maiti, Director, Solutions & Services Group, Greater Asia Pacific, Lenovo, AI adoption is not just about the short-term gains.
“Organisations need to invest in the efficiency of the design, deployment and integration of AI solutions to their operations that enable tracking of the impact,” he said.
