Enterprises across Singapore have moved beyond debating whether AI delivers value and are now navigating how to deploy it at scale, securely and sustainably, according to a report from Dell Technologies.
This is based on a survey conducted by Vanson Bourne, covering 2,950 business and IT decision-makers across 35 countries, including 100 across Singapore.
Findings show that enterprises that close the gap between AI ambition and operational readiness are best positioned to lead the country’s next phase of growth.
As AI moves from experimentation to business-critical deployment, success depends on more than AI software. It requires a modern foundation of secure data, AI-ready infrastructure, controlled energy footprints, and trusted partnerships.
For organisations navigating macroeconomic pressure and rising governance demands, modernising that foundation is now the deciding factor in whether AI scales into predictable, measurable business value.
Nearly three of every five (58%) Singaporean organisations say they cannot keep pace with the speed of change, and 60% lack an actionable roadmap spanning AI, data, and security.
Macroeconomic pressure is sharpening the stakes — 93% say they are being more selective and outcome-driven in their technology investments, and 79% will not move forward with new AI initiatives without proven business outcomes and a defined risk management plan.
“Singapore businesses aren’t questioning AI’s potential anymore, they’re drawing a hard line on ROI and risk,” said Andy Sim, , Dell Technologies VP and managing director in Singapore.
Sim said nearly four of every five local enterprises won’t greenlight new AI projects without proven business outcomes and a clear risk plan.
“Ambition is outpacing readiness, and shiny AI software can’t overcome legacy infrastructure, data security gaps, or rising energy constraints. Until companies resolve these behind-the-scenes bottlenecks, most AI projects will stay stuck in pilot mode,” he added.
Further, as AI becomes business-critical, data governance has moved from a compliance function to a strategic priority. Among respondents, 80% say their data and IP are too valuable to place in third-party generative AI tools, and an equal proportion cite regulatory compliance as a core concern.
Also, 79% have already slowed or paused AI adoption due to security and compliance issues, with most requiring partners to demonstrate clear risk management plans before any new initiative moves forward.
In addition, legacy environments were not built for AI at production scale, with 82% of organisations in Singapore identifying storage performance and data access, rather than compute capacity, as their primary technical barrier, and 76% say their data centres are not yet ready to support demanding AI workloads.
In response, 88% plan to consolidate onto fewer, more capable platforms, and 94% now mandate integrated cyber-recovery capabilities as a baseline requirement.
Power has also emerged as a defining constraint on growth, placing sustainability at the heart of infrastructure planning. Among respondents, 89% cite energy limits as a core purchasing factor, and 86% say they will only scale AI where energy footprints can be kept under control.
Further, the gap between centrally approved AI strategy and day-to-day workforce behaviour is widening fast. Among respondents, 92% of respondents report employees using personal devices to access AI tools for work, and 73% have found unapproved AI tools on company devices.
The trend even extends to spending, with 77% saying teams are purchasing AI tools on departmental credit cards without IT oversight.
At the same time, 87% say legacy PCs are actively limiting their ability to adopt AI-enabled applications, making endpoint modernisation an urgent priority alongside infrastructure investment.
That momentum is set to reshape the workplace, with 93% of Singaporean organisations believing AI PCs will play a central role in their future workplace strategy.
Enterprise expectations of technology partners are shifting fundamentally. Across the region, 83% of organisations report replacing transactional vendors with strategic partners who co-create multi-year roadmaps and share responsibility for business outcomes.
Nine of every 10 believe their existing partners should be doing more, and 95% expect security to be embedded into every proposal rather than treated as a separate consideration.
