Enterprises across Asia Pacific are investing in artificial intelligence at nearly double the global rate of undisciplined spend — yet only 5 per cent of organisations worldwide report that AI initiatives have significantly exceeded expectations, according to a new IDC InfoBrief commissioned by managed network provider Expereo.

APAC leads on aggressive, low-evaluation AI investment

The survey of 800 technology leaders across APAC, Europe, and the United States found that 37 per cent of APAC organisations admit investing aggressively in AI with limited evaluation — nearly double the global average of 20 per cent, and well ahead of the US at 10 per cent and Europe at 13 per cent. In Singapore, more than one in three organisations report the same pattern. Pressure is most acute in Australia at 45 per cent and Vietnam at 44 per cent.

Returns remain elusive. Globally, only 19 per cent of organisations say their AI implementations have exceeded expectations. For APAC, the figure rises to 40 per cent — above the global average, but still leaving most deployments falling short. The most frequently cited reasons for underperformance in APAC are poor-quality training data at 49 per cent, cost overruns or missed ROI at 54 per cent — rising to 80 per cent in Malaysia — and AI not performing as expected at 46 per cent.

Network readiness emerges as a hidden bottleneck

The report identifies infrastructure as a critical constraint: just 9 per cent of APAC organisations describe their networks as fully ready to support AI, cloud, and digital workloads. In Indonesia, 48 per cent of organisations say their infrastructure will need upgrading or replacing soon. Singapore and Thailand both rank above the regional average in demand for flexible, scalable networks, with 58 per cent and 74 per cent of organisations respectively citing readiness gaps.

“AI only delivers on its promise when the infrastructure carrying it is built to support it. Getting the network right is no longer an IT decision; it is one of the most important conversations happening in the boardroom today,” said Ben Elms, CEO of Expereo.

Where foundations are in place, outcomes improve markedly: 87 per cent of APAC organisations with well-structured AI deployments report productivity improvements, and 82 per cent say the quality of work has improved. Security risk and cost oversight emerged as forward-looking concerns, with 41 per cent of APAC technology leaders worried about losing visibility over AI-related ROI as adoption deepens.