Lenovo Report: ASEAN+ AI Budgets Set to Grow by 15% in 2026

Enterprises across the Asia Pacific are rapidly advancing from AI experimentation to full-scale execution, with 96% of organizations planning to boost their AI investments over the next year, according to the 4th edition of the Lenovo CIO Playbook 2026 – The Race for Enterprise AI. This comprehensive report, commissioned by Lenovo and powered by IDC insights, reveals that on average, organizations anticipate a 15% growth in AI spending. The increase will span areas such as GenAI, Agentic AI, public cloud AI services, on-prem AI infrastructure, and AI security tools.

In ASEAN+ countries, this momentum mirrors the broader region, with 96% of organizations also planning to up their AI investments. This underscores AI’s critical role as a key driver of enterprise growth and competitiveness in Asia Pacific.

“When 96% of organizations plan to raise their AI investments by an average of 15%, it’s clear that AI is no longer an experiment but a core part of enterprise strategy,” said Sumir Bhatia, President of Asia Pacific, ISG, Lenovo. “The real differentiator will be how effectively organizations integrate AI into their infrastructure, operations, and security, ensuring that its value compounds over time.”

With AI becoming deeply embedded into enterprise strategies, CIOs in Asia Pacific are now prioritizing three key areas: driving revenue growth, enhancing profitability, and improving both business operations and customer experience.

A Shift Toward Outcomes-Led AI Adoption

Building on last year’s focus on validating AI ROI, the 2026 Playbook highlights a shift toward outcomes-led AI adoption. While confidence in AI’s value remains strong, CIOs are placing greater emphasis on ensuring their AI investments yield sustained, measurable impact.

88% of organizations in the region expect a positive ROI from AI by 2026, with an average return of 2.8x—meaning for every US$1 invested, companies anticipate generating US$2.85. However, scaling AI beyond initial pilots continues to pose a significant challenge, emphasizing the need for robust governance, efficient operating models, and lifecycle management.

AI Expands Beyond IT

AI adoption in Asia Pacific is no longer confined to IT departments. 66% of organizations are either piloting or systematically adopting AI, while 15% remain in early stages and 19% are still considering adoption. In ASEAN+, the trend is similar, with 67% actively piloting or adopting AI, 15% in early stages, and 18% exploring adoption.

AI is increasingly being deployed across various business functions, including customer service, marketing, finance, operations, and industry-specific applications. This trend is reshaping how organizations operate and compete. Notably, half of the organizations surveyed revealed that non-IT departments are now funding AI initiatives, amplifying the role of CIOs as enterprise-wide orchestrators of AI projects.

Agentic AI: The Next Big Opportunity

The growing interest in Agentic AI is evident, with expectations for its adoption to double in the next 12 months. Currently, 21% of Asia Pacific organizations report significant usage, while nearly 60% are exploring or planning limited deployments, especially in industries like telecommunications, healthcare, and government, where operational complexity and scale are highest.

Despite this enthusiasm, readiness for large-scale implementation remains inconsistent. Only 10% of organizations consider themselves ready for full-scale Agentic AI adoption, with 41% requiring over a year to meaningfully scale. Key barriers include security concerns, governance, data quality, and integration complexities.

“Agentic AI is transforming how intelligence is embedded within enterprises,” said Fan Ho, Executive Director and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Solutions & Services Group, Lenovo. “With nearly 60% of organizations exploring Agentic AI, it’s clear that enterprises seek AI that integrates seamlessly into core workflows, meets security and governance standards, and consistently delivers results.”

Hybrid AI: The New Standard for Enterprise Architecture

As AI workloads scale, infrastructure strategy is becoming a defining decision for CIOs. The Playbook reveals that 86% of organizations in Asia Pacific now incorporate on-premises or edge environments as part of their hybrid AI architectures, making hybrid AI the default model for enterprise AI deployments.

In ASEAN+, 81% of organizations favor hybrid AI architectures to balance performance, security, and regulatory requirements. Key drivers include data privacy, advanced security needs, and the ability to optimize latency and cost while managing large-scale AI inferencing and mission-critical workloads.

Key CIO Priorities for 2026

The Lenovo CIO Playbook 2026 outlines three crucial imperatives shaping the future of AI in enterprises:

1. AI Inferencing as the Value Engine: Inferencing costs over a model’s lifecycle can be up to 15 times higher than training costs. By 2030, 75% of AI compute will be dedicated to inferencing, with 80% of enterprises relying on distributed edge infrastructure.
2. Employee Productivity as a Strategic Priority: AI devices are emerging as a key enabler of employee productivity. Local inferencing and AI-powered PCs are now the #2 IT investment priority, with 50% of enterprise PC purchases expected to shift toward models equipped with on-device AI agents.
3. Scaling AI as the Defining Challenge: While 88% of organizations expect positive ROI, only about half of AI proof-of-concepts reach full production. As a result, scaling AI—not ambition—remains the critical gap for enterprises.

As enterprises across the Asia Pacific double down on AI investments, the focus will shift to ensuring that these technologies are deployed efficiently, scaled effectively, and continuously integrated to drive tangible results across all facets of business.