Lenovo CIO Playbook 2026: ASEAN+ firms go all-in on AI

Enterprises across Asia Pacific—including ASEAN+—are moving decisively from AI pilots to full-scale deployment, with nearly all organizations planning to boost AI spending in 2026.

By the numbers

• 96 percent of Asia Pacific organizations plan to increase AI investments over the next 12 months
• Average AI spending growth is projected at 15 percent
• 88 percent expect positive ROI from AI in 2026, with an average return of 2.8x
• 86 percent now deploy AI using hybrid architectures combining on-prem, edge, and cloud

What’s happening

According to the Lenovo CIO Playbook 2026 – The Race for Enterprise AI, commissioned by Lenovo with insights from IDC, enterprises are shifting from experimentation to execution across generative AI, agentic AI, AI infrastructure, and security tools.

ASEAN+ mirrors the broader regional momentum, with 96 percent of organizations planning to increase AI investments—underscoring AI’s growing role as a core engine of enterprise growth and competitiveness.

“When 96 percent of organizations are planning a 15-percent on average increase in AI investment, it tells us that AI decisions are now being made at the core of enterprise strategy,” Sumir Bhatia, president for Asia Pacific at Lenovo, said in a press release.

Driving priorities

CIOs across Asia Pacific cite revenue growth, profitability, and customer experience as their top three business priorities as AI becomes deeply embedded in enterprise strategy.

From ROI to outcomes

This year’s Playbook marks a shift from validating AI business cases to delivering measurable outcomes. 

While confidence remains high, CIOs are applying tighter governance and operating models to ensure AI investments scale beyond pilots.

Still, execution remains a challenge: only about half of AI proof-of-concepts successfully reach production.

AI beyond IT

AI adoption is expanding across the enterprise.

• 66 percent of Asia Pacific organizations are already piloting or systematically adopting AI
• In ASEAN+, the figure rises slightly to 67 percent

Customer service, marketing, operations, finance, and industry-specific functions are among the fastest adopters. Notably, half of surveyed organizations report that non-IT departments are now funding AI initiatives—elevating the CIO’s role as an enterprise-wide orchestrator.

Agentic AI gains traction

Interest in Agentic AI is expected to double in the next year. While 21 percent of organizations already report significant usage, nearly 60 percent are exploring or planning limited deployments, especially in telecommunications, healthcare, and government.

However, readiness remains uneven. Only 10 percent say they are prepared to scale Agentic AI today, citing security, governance, data quality, and integration complexity as major hurdles.

“Enterprises want AI that operates within core workflows and delivers consistent outcomes,” Fan Ho, Lenovo executive director and GM for Asia Pacific solutions & services, said in the same press release.

The big picture

Hybrid AI has emerged as the default enterprise architecture. In ASEAN+, 81 percent of organizations prefer hybrid models to balance performance, security, and regulatory demands—particularly as inferencing workloads grow.

What to watch in 2026

• AI inferencing costs will outpace training by up to 15x

• AI-enabled devices and AI PCs are becoming a top IT investment priority

• Scaling—not ambition—will define AI success

—Ed: Corrie S. Narisma