TECHTALKS

A.I. investment boom yet to deliver major transformation

DT · Nov 7, 2026, 4:24 AM

AVANADE APAC president Bhavya Kapoor urges businesses to move beyond incremental AI improvements and focus on measurable transformation as new research reveals gaps between AI investment, organizational readiness and financial returns. — PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF AVANADE

Nearly eight in 10 business leaders in the Asia-Pacific region believe their organizations are spending too much on incremental artificial intelligence (AI) improvements rather than transformative initiatives, according to a new Avanade study.

The Build Beyond Limits: AI Reality Report, released Wednesday, 4 November, found that 79 percent of APAC respondents believe AI investments remain focused on modest operational improvements, while only 17 percent said their organizations had fundamentally redesigned how entire teams operate.

Despite this, 76 percent described their teams as established, advanced or AI-first, while 73 percent expressed confidence in their ability to use AI effectively.

The study also revealed gaps in financial accountability, with 68 percent saying their organizations had yet to formally calculate and review returns on AI investments.

Meanwhile, 76 percent believed their companies publicly portrayed themselves as more advanced in AI adoption than they actually were.

Only 43 percent said their organizations used business value and return-on-investment targets to measure AI progress.

“Too many organizations 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,” Avanade chief AI officer Ben Beath said.

Avanade Asia-Pacific president Bhavya Kapoor emphasized that businesses must distinguish between improving existing operations and fundamentally transforming them through AI.

“Incremental AI improvements can create real value, but improving existing operations and fundamentally transforming a business are different ambitions,” Kapoor said.

The research, conducted by Vanson Bourne in August and September 2026, surveyed 3,600 business decision-makers worldwide, including 1,400 in APAC, from companies generating more than $500 million in annual revenue.