Only 14% of enterprises in Asia Pacific have reached full cloud maturity, even as virtually all organisations acknowledge that AI is intensifying their dependence on cloud infrastructure, according to a new global study by NTT DATA.
The report, Cloud-led innovation in the era of AI: The new rules for driving value with cloud, surveyed more than 2,300 senior decision-makers across 33 countries, including 830 respondents across 14 APAC markets. It found that 91% of APAC organisations say current cloud investment levels are putting their AI, cloud-native, and modernisation initiatives at risk.
Legacy systems remain the primary barrier
Over half of APAC organisations cited legacy applications and data platforms as the primary obstacle to innovation, yet fewer than half — 47% — expressed satisfaction with their modernisation progress. The study positions cloud not merely as infrastructure, but as the execution layer for AI, arguing that enterprises that fail to evolve their cloud foundations risk constraining the value of their AI investments.
“AI is accelerating faster than enterprise cloud maturity. Cloud has moved well beyond infrastructure and is now the execution layer for AI. Organizations that fail to evolve their cloud foundations risk constraining the growth and value of their AI investments.” — Charlie Li, President and Global Head of Cloud and Security, NTT DATA
Six imperatives for AI-era cloud strategy
NTT DATA outlined six priorities for enterprises seeking to close the maturity gap. These include developing AI and cloud strategies in parallel, adopting hybrid and sovereign cloud models, and modernising legacy application stacks. The firm also flagged cloud cost management as a critical but underserved challenge, with more than half of surveyed organisations reporting difficulties in this area.
On security, the study revealed a confidence gap between cloud leaders and the broader enterprise population: 68% of cloud-mature organisations reported high confidence in their security posture, compared with just 36% of others. NTT DATA said this gap underscores the importance of governance fundamentals — clear roles, responsibilities, and regular audits — as technology ecosystems grow more complex.
Sovereign cloud adoption is projected to grow 50% over the next two years, while organisations expect a threefold increase in fully managed cloud platforms, reflecting a broader shift toward outsourced complexity and greater operational control.
