Enterprises across ASEAN+ are accelerating their transition from artificial intelligence (AI) experimentation to full-scale execution, with 96% of organisations planning to increase AI investments by an average of 15% in 2026, according to the Lenovo CIO Playbook 2026: The Race for Enterprise AI.
Commissioned by Lenovo with research insights from IDC, the fourth edition of the CIO Playbook reveals that AI has moved firmly into the core of enterprise strategy across Asia Pacific, including markets such as Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
AI Becomes Central to Enterprise Strategy
The study shows that CIOs are increasingly prioritising AI to drive revenue growth, profitability, and improved business and customer experiences, marking a shift from exploratory use cases to outcomes-led adoption.
“When 96% of organisations are planning a 15% on average increase in AI investment, it tells us that AI decisions are now being made at the core of enterprise strategy,” said Sumir Bhatia, President, Asia Pacific, ISG, Lenovo. He added that the key differentiator will be how effectively companies integrate AI across infrastructure, operations and security to generate long-term value.
Focus Shifts from ROI Validation to Measurable Outcomes
While confidence in AI remains high, organisations are applying greater discipline to ensure returns translate into sustained impact. According to the Playbook, 88% of Asia Pacific organisations expect positive returns from AI in 2026, with an anticipated average ROI of 2.8 times for every dollar invested.
However, scaling AI beyond pilot projects continues to pose challenges, underscoring the need for strong governance, operating models and lifecycle management.
AI Adoption Expands Beyond IT
AI adoption is also broadening beyond IT departments. Across ASEAN+, 67% of organisations are already piloting or systematically adopting AI, while nearly one in five are evaluating adoption.
AI is increasingly deployed across customer service, marketing, operations, finance and industry-specific functions. Notably, half of surveyed organisations report that non-IT departments are now funding AI initiatives, reinforcing the CIO’s role as an enterprise-wide orchestrator.
Agentic AI Gains Momentum, but Readiness Lags
The report highlights growing interest in Agentic AI, with usage expected to double over the next 12 months. While 21% of Asia Pacific organisations report significant use today, nearly 60% are exploring or planning limited deployments, particularly in sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare and government.
Despite the momentum, readiness remains uneven. Only 10% of organisations consider themselves ready for large-scale Agentic AI implementation, with security, governance, data quality and integration complexity cited as major barriers.
Hybrid AI Emerges as the Default Model
As AI workloads scale, infrastructure strategy has become a defining decision for CIOs. The Playbook finds that 81% of ASEAN+ organisations prefer hybrid AI architectures, combining on-premises and edge environments to balance performance, security, regulatory compliance and cost.
“ASEAN+ organisations have moved from AI experimentation to execution at scale,” said Nigel Lee, General Manager, Singapore, Lenovo. “With systematic adoption and integration into existing environments as top priorities, AI is now business-critical infrastructure”.
CIO Imperatives for 2026
Looking ahead, the Lenovo CIO Playbook 2026 outlines three key priorities shaping enterprise AI strategies:
● AI inferencing as the value engine, with inferencing costs expected to far exceed training over a model’s lifecycle
● Employee productivity as a strategic focus, driven by AI PCs and on-device AI agents
● Scaling AI as the critical challenge, as only about half of AI proofs-of-concept currently reach production
As enterprises across ASEAN+ double down on AI investments, the report underscores a clear message: success in 2026 will be defined not by ambition alone, but by the ability to operationalise AI at scale and deliver measurable business outcomes.
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