AI momentum drives business transformation in Southeast Asia, SAP research shows

Businesses across Southeast Asia are accelerating their adoption of artificial intelligence, transitioning from initial experimentation to widespread deployment. SAP's latest research indicates that the success of these AI initiatives hinges on critical factors: trusted data, robust governance, and essential human oversight.

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Southeast Asia has moved beyond asking whether to adopt AI and is now focused on how to scale it for real business impact.

Mr. Liher Urbizu, president and managing director of SAP Southeast Asia, noted a significant increase in Singaporean businesses engaged with agentic AI, with adoption rates more than doubling in the past year to 60 percent. Businesses in Singapore anticipate substantial returns, estimating nearly $9.8 million over the next two years, a figure that has almost doubled from the previous year's projection.

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The potential is enormous, but so are the requirements. Trusted data, strong governance and skilled human oversight will determine success.

"Southeast Asia has moved beyond asking whether to adopt AI and is now focused on how to scale it for real business impact," Urbizu stated. He emphasized that as organizations build on this momentum, the priority is shifting towards embedding AI across core business operations. "The potential is enormous, but so are the requirements. Trusted data, strong governance and skilled human oversight will determine success," he added.

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AI is no longer just supporting individual tasks; it is orchestrating and executing complex business processes across functions.

Agentic AI represents a fundamental shift, moving beyond supporting individual tasks to orchestrating and executing complex business processes across various functions. For instance, AI agents can now manage significant portions of accounts payable and procurement, transforming employee roles from transaction processing to overseeing outcomes, managing exceptions, and driving business performance. SAP has consolidated its enterprise AI capabilities into the SAP Business AI Platform to support this evolution.

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When you’re automating a task, imperfect data may be manageable. When you’re automating end-to-end business processes and enabling AI agents to make decisions or take actions, the quality, governance and accessibility of data become critical.