Avanade’s Build Beyond Limits: AI Reality Report reveals a gap between organisations’ confidence in their AI maturity and the extent to which they have fundamentally transformed operations in APAC.
Most respondents (76%) describe their teams as Established, Advanced, or AI-first in their AI journey, and 73% express high or complete confidence in using AI to achieve strategic goals. However, only 17% report fundamentally reshaping team operations based on AI capabilities.
Ben Beath, chief AI officer at Avanade, said: “Too many organisations are measuring AI progress by activity rather than impact. Deploying tools, running pilots and improving productivity are important milestones, but they are not the destination. What remains to be seen is whether organisations are truly changing and investing in how decisions are made, how work gets done and how value is created through AI.”
AI confidence and transformation gap
Responses from 1,400 participants across APAC revealed the following:
The majority (79%) say too much of their organisation’s AI investment focuses on incremental improvements rather than transformational opportunities.
Additionally, 68% agree their organisation has not yet formally calculated the financial return on AI investments or had results reviewed by finance or senior leadership.
The report found that 76% agree their organisation publicly presents itself as more AI-mature than it actually is.
“Our research shows that while organisations are seeing value from AI, many are still only applying it to existing ways of working, rather than reimagining what’s possible. The opportunity isn’t simply to keep pace. It’s to build beyond today’s limits,” Chris Howarth, CEO at Avanade, said.
Bhavya Kapoor, president, Avanade Asia Pacific, said: “Where transformation is the goal, that means redesigning workflows, responsibilities and decision-making, with clear ownership of outcomes. The real test is whether the intended change happens and its value can be demonstrated.”
