Lenovo’s detailed CIO Playbook 2024 was launched at its TechDay ’24 event in Sydney earlier this month, with the theme of “It’s all about Smart AI”, with a stack of insightful findings headlined by organisations by APAC organisations planning to increase AI spending by 45% in 2024. There’s also a great interview with Vlad Rozanovich, SVP – WW Sales, Lenovo ISG, and the full media roundtable briefing on the new Playbook report – please read on, and watch!
Lenovo’s new ‘CIO Playbook 2024 – It’s all about Smarter AI’ report (download here) provides a comprehensive overview of AI adoption in Asia-Pacific (AP). The detailed IDC report, commissioned by Lenovo, surveyed over 900 CIOs, including 130+ in ANZ reveals that organisations in AP are planning to increase AI spending by 45% in 2024 compared to 2023.
It also noted the massive shift in CIO priorities from last year with AI topping the list. Notably, revenue and profit growth have shifted from the top priority in 2023 to number #3 in 2024, while customer experience and satisfaction have surged two spots to come in the top 2 priorities. This underscores a strategic shift towards cutting-edge innovations and a customer-centric approach in the evolving business landscape.
However, divergence emerges between business leaders and CIOs on AI technologies. Business leaders want to prioritise GenAI to enhance customer experience and drive outcomes, while CIOs express cautious optimism. Ranking Gen AI as the 4th tech priority, CIOs are prioritising AI technologies that address security, infrastructure, and talent considerations.
There’s full details of the report below, including a video recording of the detailed media roundtable that goes through the CIO Playbook 2024 report, but first, here’s Vlad Rozanovich, SVP – WW Sales, Lenovo ISG, speaking with me during Lenovo’s TechDay ’24 in Sydney earlier this month, and before the media roundtable that is also available to watch in full further in this article:
Kumar Mitra, MD – CAP & ANZ, Lenovo ISG, revealed, “The AI Playbook echoes what we have been hearing from the customers. CIOs in ANZ are most confident about AI, with 83% expressing certainty that it will create a competitive advantage, and 38% of them consider it to be a game changer for their organisations. Higher investments in GenAI and machine learning, followed by deep learning systems underscore their desire to elevate operational efficiency, security, decision-making processes, and customer experiences.”
Here is the media roundtable in full, the rest of this article is below, please watch and read on!
GenAI: Key Trends for ANZ CIOs in 2024
While Japan (2%) and ANZ (2%) lag in GenAI investments made in 2024 behind ASEAN+ (11%), India (28%) and Korea (33%), 79% CIOs in Japan and 77% in ANZ are planning to invest in GenAI.
Among the ANZ CIOs surveyed the following was observed:
| GenAI Investment (Invested + Planning) | Top 2 Areas of Interest | Recruitment difficulty for AIpositions (Extreme + moderate) | Top 2 Prep Tools for GenAI |
| (2% + 77%) 79% | 1. Business Intelligence 2. Productivity | 43% | 1. Networking Infrastructure 2.Employee Skill development |
- Adoption challenges – Monitoring AI misuse/Hallucinations (incorrect predictions) (35%) and model capability limitations (27%) are top 2 concerns for Australian CIOs
- Deployment challenges – Job security (45%) and lack of requisite training in AI tools (38%) are key pain points for CIOs in Australia.
Bring AI to the Data – 69% of AP CIOs prefer AI workload in a non-public cloud environment; 76% CIOs in Australia already using AI to enhance their security framework
Furthermore, the survey reveals that AP companies will adopt a balanced approach to AI workload deployment. On average, 31% of AI workloads will be deployed on the public cloud, 28% on the private cloud, and an additional 28% on hybrid cloud solutions.
Doug Fisher, SVP – Chief Security Officer, Lenovo, added, “The allocation of 13% of AI workloads at traditional data centers signifies a growing recognition of the importance of edge computing, bringing AI capabilities closer to the source of data generation. Interestingly 76% of CIOs in Australia are also already using AI to enhance their security framework with 13% planning to invest.”
Sumir Bhatia, President, AP, Lenovo ISG, noted “We are bringing AI everywhere through our pocket-to-cloud solutions, and an ecosystem of 50+ ISVs and 165+ AI solutions. With domain experts and smarter technologies, we’re powering AI for All and transforming the customer experience.”
Key AP Trends among CIOs Across BFSI, Telco, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Government and Retail in 2024
| Vertical | Impact of AI (Gamechanger + Hygiene Factor) | GenAI Investment (Invested + planning) | Top 2 CIO Challenges | Edge Investment by 2024 | Top 2 Edge Use Cases |
| BFSI | 93% | 93% | 1. Cybersecurity & privacy 2. Data Management & Analytics |  28% | 1. Retail & CX 2. Remote monitoring & Telehealth |
| Manufacturing | 92% | 87% | 1. Digital transformation 2. Cybersecurity & privacy | 40% | 1. Industrial Automation & Manufacturing 2. IoT Device Management |
| Retail | 92% | 94% | 1. Cybersecurity & privacy 2. Digital transformation | 31% | 1. Retail & CX 2. Real-time Analytics and Insights |
| Telco | 89% | 89% | 1. Cybersecurity & privacy 2. Digital transformation | 19% | 1. Real-time Analytics and Insights 2. Retail & CX |
| Healthcare | 88% | 70% | 1. Digital transformation 2. Data Management & Analytics | 33% | 1. Real-time Analytics and Insights 2. Retail & CX |
| Govt | 83% | 89% | 1. Talent Acquisition & retention 2. Customer Experience | 14% | 1. Real-time Analytics and Insights 2. Video Surveillance and Security |
ANZ Insight
- The AI platforms market in ANZ is growing at a ~46% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), with sectors like banking and government emerging as the biggest spenders.
- The top priorities for CIOs in ANZ include addressing uncertain economic conditions by being more agile in responding to evolving market needs and delivering a higher customer experience using emerging technologies like GenAI.
Edge Implementations will Supercharge AI; 18% increase in Edge investments by CIOs in ANZ
- An 18% YoY jump in ANZ and a 25% increase in spending on Edge technology YoY across AP
- With Edge devices set to generate large volumes of real-time data, new use cases for AI models will emerge.
- Accordingly, Australian CIOs feel Retail and customer experience (40%) and Real-time analytics (38%) use cases will experience the most significant impact from AI.
Data, Security and Skills are the Key Challenges for AI in 2024
CIOs report that the top technology challenge for AI is GenAI’s reliance on extensive datasets, a resource most organisations lack. In terms of business challenges, Job security and lack of requisite AI skills tops concerns for IT employees in mature markets.
Vlad Rozanovich, SVP – WW Sales, Lenovo ISG, added “Recruiters leverage AI deployment to attract top talent, as individuals increasingly seek opportunities with companies at the forefront of AI innovation.”
Rick Chandra, CIO, Secure Parking, Australia, said “Partner selection is critical. The success of AI implementation relies on the talent and expertise of partners who understand the industry and share the same values.”
Most available operational AI jobs, notably in DataOps (75%), SecOps, and DevOps (75%) remain accessible and relevant, representing key entry points as organisations continue their AI journey. Yet 45% of AP and 43% of ANZ enterprises struggle to hire for AI-related positions, more than doubling the usual hiring effort. This talent gap compels organisations to pivot towards internal solutions, emphasising the imperative to upskill existing employees.
About the study
The CIO Playbook 2024 – It’s all about Smarter AI includes a study conducted among 900+ IT and business decision-makers (ITBDMs) across 12 markets in AP, including India, Korea, Japan, ASEAN+ (Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia) and ANZ, from multiple industry verticals spanning BFSI, Manufacturing, Retail, Telco, Healthcare, and Government. In line with Lenovo’s AI for All vision, the surveys across AP draw attention to the challenges, opportunities, and priorities in AI adoption amongst CIOs in 2024.
| Technology Investments / Markets | ANZ | INDIA | JAPAN | KOREA | ASEAN+ |
| Impact of AI (Gamechanger + Hygiene Factor) | 83% | 95% | 89% | 89% | 94% |
| GenAI Investments (invested + planning) | 79% | 93% | 81% | 95% | 91% |
| Edge Spending Increase 2024 (YoY) | 18% | 30% | 15% | 55% | 28% |
