Mid-market organisations across Asia Pacific are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) with optimism, according to a new report from Avanade. Many predict up to fourfold returns on AI investments within 12 months. However, workforce readiness, data governance, and technology infrastructure gaps remain significant hurdles to achieving these ambitious goals.
The Avanade Trendlines: AI Value Report 2025, which surveyed 4,100 global business and IT decision-makers, highlights the opportunities and challenges facing mid-market organisations as they explore AI’s potential.
Key findings from the report include:
- Growing interest in AI: Organisations rank the adoption of tools like Microsoft Copilot as their top goal for 2025, focusing on driving revenue growth and fostering collaborative workplace cultures.
- Increased investments: 87% of respondents plan to raise budgets for generative AI projects by up to 50%.
- Competitive pressure: 85% fear losing their edge without rapid AI implementation, making fast-tracking these initiatives a priority.
- Implementation barriers: Almost half of organisations are stuck at the business case (48%) or proof-of-concept (44%) stages.
Concerns over infrastructure and data governance
Despite enthusiasm, the report reveals persistent challenges with infrastructure and data quality:
- Modernisation of legacy systems: 95% are accelerating efforts to update outdated systems to better support AI initiatives.
- Data quality and governance issues: 76% cite poor data governance as a significant barrier, while 94% identify data protection as a critical concern.
- Future investments: Organisations are channelling budgets towards data platforms (27%), automation (17%), and security and resilience (15%).
To address these gaps, companies are adopting stricter governance practices. Nearly half (44%) aim to introduce new data platforms, and 41% are setting governance standards to safeguard sensitive information.
Avanade introduces new AI services to bridge the gap
In response to these challenges, Avanade has launched seven new AI services tailored for mid-market organisations. These offerings combine Avanade’s expertise with Microsoft’s AI-powered tools, enabling organisations to adopt scalable, enterprise-grade AI solutions.
The services include:
- Accelerate Revenue Generation: Equips sales teams with AI-powered tools to boost productivity, improve customer engagement, and drive revenue.
- AI-Powered Migration and Modernisation: Supports cloud migrations to Microsoft Azure with expert guidance, mitigating risks and enabling AI-ready digital foundations.
- Build and Modernise AI Apps: Helps create AI-driven applications, modernise legacy systems, and establish scalable architectures.
- Drive Business Transformation with Copilot: Offers tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot to unlock new value and safeguard against risks.
- Modernise ERP: Provides AI-driven ERP platforms to lower costs, improve decision-making, and enable new business models.
- Unify Intelligent Data and Analytics Platforms: Simplifies complex data estates and enhances access to insights.
- Unify Threat Protection: Combines advanced threat intelligence and security tools to detect and respond to cybersecurity incidents efficiently.
AI to drive regional transformation
Bhavya Kapoor, Avanade’s President for Asia Pacific, shared the potential impact of AI in the region. “Asia Pacific is a dynamic economic region with its present and future success underpinned by factors such as diverse demographics, regional collaboration, and tremendous potential for high growth,” Kapoor said.
She added, “Coupled with rapid advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) and the region’s appetite for innovation, mid-market companies in Asia Pacific are at a pivotal juncture of their growth and transformation.”
Kapoor emphasised the importance of strategic partnerships. “With the right partnership and strategic guidance, mid-market companies can leverage technologies like AI to unleash their potential and emerge as the next generation of market leaders and industry titans.”
As mid-market organisations in Asia Pacific look to scale AI initiatives, Avanade’s new services aim to bridge the gap between ambition and execution, helping businesses achieve sustainable growth in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.