Singapore – The road to AI adoption in Singapore is riddled with potholes, according to new research from data streaming pioneer Confluent, Inc. Despite a promising future where 69% of IT leaders foresee increased investments in Generative AI (GenAI) over the next two years, several challenges are slowing the rollout.

Key hurdles include the seamless integration of new data sources (69%), fragmented data ownership (68%), and a lack of skills and expertise in AI/ML management (65%). These issues are not unique to Singapore, as similar trends are seen across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Breaking Down the Barriers

The 2024 Data Streaming Report: Breaking Down the Barriers to Business Agility & Innovation, surveyed 4,110 IT leaders across 12 countries, including 161 respondents from Singapore. The report highlights how organizations use data streaming to innovate, accelerate AI adoption, improve business agility, power customer experiences, and tackle data management challenges.

Suvig Sharma, Area Vice President (AVP), ASEAN, Confluent, emphasized the importance of real-time data for AI technologies. “Companies in Singapore are limiting their growth and performance if they invest in AI but not real-time data. Relevant real-time data is the fuel AI technologies need today to deliver maximum value in a timely, secure, and scalable way for organizations and their customers. Outdated or ungoverned data is not only contributing to ineffective use of AI but also poor and unreliable business decisions,” Sharma said.

Data Streaming: The Strategic Priority

In 2024, a significant 82% of Singapore respondents view data streaming as a strategic or important IT investment. Over 73% believe data streaming platforms can mitigate their AI and data-related challenges. Moreover, a striking 93% consider these platforms critical to achieving their data goals.

Unlocking AI’s Potential with Data Streaming

The report underscores the pivotal role of data streaming in enriching AI workloads. By tapping into a continuous stream of real-time data, businesses can ensure their AI models generate accurate and relevant results. In Singapore:

• 69% anticipate an increase in GenAI investments in the next two years, closely followed by data streaming investments (59%).
• Over 90% of IT leaders see data streaming platforms broadening access to different data sources, ensuring the quality and context of ingested data.

Reaping the Benefits

Businesses are facing broader data-related challenges, such as:

• Uncertain timeliness or quality of data (68%),
• Governance-related disjoints (65%),
• Fragmented data ownership (62%),
• Inconsistency of data sources (61%),
• Data silos (58%).

Yet, the report reveals a promising ROI for data streaming investments. In Singapore:

• 93% of IT leaders cite a 2x to 10x return on data streaming investments.
• 93% report improved cybersecurity and 96% for data-driven operations.
• 90% believe data streaming platforms lead to more innovation in AI and ML development.

Embracing Data Products

Data products—live, refined, fully governed, and ready-to-use data assets—offer significant advantages. In Singapore:

• 69% report substantial benefits from adopting a data product approach.
• 95% find data products compelling for enabling confident data sharing across business units.
• 89% note meaningful cost allocation based on usage metrics.
• 90% observe more robust risk management.

Rajay Rai, Chief Information Officer at Trust Bank, highlighted the importance of real-time data processing, stating, “Everything we do is in real time because batch processing is an old way of thinking. The longer your data waits, the less value it has. So, as data comes through, you need to be able to act on it, or enrich it quickly.”

Kamal Brar, Senior Vice President, APAC, Confluent, added, “The 2024 Data Streaming Report shows that IT leaders in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Singapore are realizing what’s to lose and increasingly investing in continuous flowing of data alongside emerging Generative AI technologies. We’re excited to work more closely with them to connect applications and systems with data that is available in real-time, everywhere it’s needed. With a solid central nervous system enabled by data streaming platforms, companies in APAC can focus on accelerating innovation instead of navigating the maze of point-to-point connections.”