Singapore businesses are moving quickly in AI adoption, but growing data complexity and cybersecurity concerns could limit long-term returns, according to new research from Hitachi Vantara.

The data storage, infrastructure and hybrid cloud management subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. released its findings in the Hitachi Vantara State of Data Infrastructure 2025 Report, a global study examining how organisations are preparing their data environments to support AI at scale.

The report is based on a survey of more than 1,200 C-level executives and senior IT leaders across 15 markets worldwide. The Asia and Oceania sample included 425 respondents, with 51 senior leaders surveyed in Singapore.

The findings suggest that while Singapore enterprises are among the most active adopters of AI in the region, many remain uncertain about their ability to sustain business value as deployments expand.

High AI usage, but uneven confidence in long-term ROI

Nearly all Singapore respondents (96 per cent) reported some level of AI use, highlighting strong momentum in AI adoption across industries.

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Two-thirds (66 per cent) said their organisations have already seen success using AI, reflecting early gains from automation, analytics and emerging AI-driven decision-making tools.

However, confidence declines when it comes to sustained returns. Only 23 per cent of Singapore leaders rated their organisation as having strong, industry-leading readiness to achieve long-term ROI from AI.

This gap points to a growing disconnect between deploying AI systems and building the operational foundations needed to support them at scale.

Hitachi Vantara’s research found that as AI workloads increase, data infrastructure challenges are shifting from technical concerns to strategic risks. Many organisations are struggling with fragmented data environments, which can weaken governance, visibility and resilience.

Among Singapore respondents, 52 per cent said data complexity makes it more difficult to detect a security breach, reinforcing the link between infrastructure sprawl and cyber risk.

In addition, 64 per cent agreed that if leadership fully understood how fragile their data infrastructure is, it would “keep them up at night,” highlighting a potential gap between technical experts and executive decision-makers.

The findings suggest that AI adoption alone does not resolve underlying data management weaknesses and may expose them further as systems become more interconnected and mission-critical.

Singapore enterprises taking a more risk-aware approach

Despite these challenges, Hitachi Vantara noted that Singapore firms are demonstrating a more disciplined approach to AI adoption compared with earlier phases of experimentation.

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As AI becomes embedded in business operations, enterprises are placing greater emphasis on governance, security and reliability, particularly as AI tools begin to influence high-stakes decisions.

“AI success is no longer about experimentation alone. It depends on whether data environments are resilient, governed and trusted,” said Joe Ong, vice president and general manager for ASEAN at Hitachi Vantara.

“Singapore businesses are clearly ahead in adoption, but the next phase will be defined by how well they manage complexity, security and performance as AI scales,” he added.

The report concludes that while AI adoption in Singapore is widespread and early success is common, rising data complexity and security risks could undermine confidence and returns if left unaddressed.

As AI investment accelerates, organisations will need to simplify data environments, strengthen governance frameworks and improve infrastructure visibility to move from early wins to sustained value creation.

The ability to build trusted and resilient data foundations may ultimately determine which enterprises can fully capitalise on AI adoption in the years ahead.

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The lead image in this article was generated by AI.

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