Malaysia Mirrors APAC Trend In Rising AI Investments

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia mirrors the broader Asia-Pacific (APAC) trend of organisations accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) investments despite challenges in achieving measurable returns, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

In its Tech Leaders’ Priorities Survey, the premier global market intelligence and advisory firm said the findings show that organisations in Malaysia are accelerating AI investments despite many still grappling with challenges around return on investment (ROI), cost visibility, network readiness, and security.

“In Malaysia, 57.5 per cent of organisations say management is investing in AI based on its potential, sometimes without careful ROI analysis, while 35 per cent admit they are investing aggressively with little evaluation.

“40 per cent of Malaysian organisations say AI implementations have exceeded or significantly exceeded expectations,” it said.

IDC said the survey also found that among Malaysian organisations where AI implementation had failed to meet expectations, 80 per cent cited higher-than-expected costs or failure to achieve the anticipated ROI.

It said 50 per cent of organisations attributed the shortfall to AI not performing as expected, while 40 per cent pointed to inadequate network or connectivity performance.

The survey further revealed that 54 per cent of Malaysian organisations were concerned about losing oversight of AI-related costs and ROI as adoption deepens.

On future risks, IDC said 52 per cent of organisations cited emerging security risks as a significant concern, while an equal proportion expressed worries over reputational, financial or legal harm arising from anomalous AI behaviour.

Meanwhile, IDC said the survey also pointed to a growing disconnect between AI investment momentum and actual business outcomes across the APAC region.

“The findings show that 37 per cent of APAC organisations are investing aggressively in AI with little evaluation, while 61 per cent plan to prioritise AI or machine learning investments over the next 12 months.

“Yet only 40 per cent of APAC organisations say their AI implementations have exceeded or significantly exceeded expectations, suggesting that AI ambition is not always translating into measurable returns,” it added.
-- BERNAMA