India Leads Global AI Adoption With 70% Companies Actively Engaged In AI Projects: Report

India is setting the pace in the global AI race, with 70 per cent of its companies already having AI projects operational or underway, a significant lead over the global average of 49 per cent, according to a report.

The report outlines a stark divide between AI leaders and laggards worldwide. In regions identified as AI leaders, which include India, Singapore, the UK and the USA, 60 per cent of countries have AI projects either up and running or in pilot phases. This contrasts sharply with AI-lagging countries like Spain, Australia/New Zealand, Germany and Japan, where only 36 per cent have reached similar stages.

This data comes from a recent report by NetApp, which highlights the country's aggressive move towards integrating artificial intelligence across various sectors.

“The world today is driven by AI and data plays a critical role in enhancing AI capabilities,” said Puneet Gupta, Vice President & Managing Director, NetApp India/SAARC. “India is a country of humungous data sets. No surprise then, that India leads the world, and corporations are embracing AI to further their IT agenda. We are partnering with a diverse group of customers to build an intelligent data infrastructure that spans multiple environments and is the backbone of all AI projects. Clearly, the more unified and reliable your data, the more likely your AI initiatives are to be successful.”

Within industries worldwide, technology sectors are at the forefront with 70 per cent adoption, while banking and financial services, and manufacturing follow at 55 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. Healthcare and media & entertainment are significantly behind, with only 38 per cent and 25 per cent of companies in these sectors reporting active AI projects.

The scale of a company also influences AI adoption rates; larger firms with more than 250 employees are more likely to have AI projects, with 62 per cent reporting active or pilot projects compared to just 36 per cent of smaller companies.

Despite the promising landscape, challenges such as rising IT costs and data security concerns persist. However, Indian companies are proactively addressing these challenges by reallocating budgets and focusing on optimising their IT environments for AI.

The report also notes that global companies, irrespective of their current standing in AI adoption, are increasingly investing in the cloud to support their AI strategies. Security within public cloud usage is a priority, with a significant 82 per cent of Indian companies planning improvements in this area for the next year.