Talent shortages holding back Thailand's AI adoption

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by Thai enterprises remains at the early to mid-stage, attributed to limited AI talent, fragme...

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by Thai enterprises remains at the early to mid-stage, attributed to limited AI talent, fragmented data, narrow governance frameworks, and an unclear return on investment (ROI), says tech firm Lenovo.

"Thailand is a strategically important market for Lenovo in Asia-Pacific with a fast-growing digital infrastructure, strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, and government support for the Industry 4.0 approach and AI adoption," Sumir Bhatia, president for Asia-Pacific in the Infrastructure Solutions Group of Lenovo, told the Bangkok Post.

He said enterprise AI adoption in Southeast Asia is accelerating and Thailand is advancing steadily, behind some other markets in the region.

Lenovo's CIO Playbook 2025 revealed 68% of organisations in Southeast Asia use hybrid or on-premise AI infrastructure, focusing on performance, security and compliance to enhance productivity and competitiveness.

Many enterprises are still exploring due to AI talent gaps, fragmented data, weak governance, and unclear ROI, all slowing large-scale AI rollout, noted the firm.

Despite these gaps, momentum is building. With sustained investment, supportive policies and enterprise commitment, Thailand is well-positioned to accelerate its AI journey, said Mr Bhatia.

Lenovo is promoting its "Smarter AI for All" vision in Thailand through purpose-built, AI-ready infrastructure that extends from the edge to the cloud, he said.

"Our hybrid AI approach combines more than 80 AI-enabled products across servers, storage and devices, giving businesses the flexibility, speed and security to unlock value from their data anywhere," said Mr Bhatia.

Data, hybrid infrastructure and partnerships are essential for delivering secure, scalable and responsible AI, according to Lenovo.

Challenges ahead

Thailand faces challenges such as high adoption costs, limited technical expertise, energy efficiency concerns, and the need for clear ethical frameworks.

Lenovo delivers cost-effective consumption models, easy deployment and sustainable infrastructure that cuts costs while powering advanced AI workloads, he said.

"We see demand for AI-driven infrastructure remains robust in manufacturing, banking, retail and beyond," said Mr Bhatia.

He said economic shifts and geopolitical tensions impact the tech sector, but Lenovo's global footprint and more than 30 manufacturing sites across 11 markets give it agility to adapt and lead. The company continues to invest in R and D and drive growth in infrastructure solutions.

Coming of agentic AI

Agentic AI will transform enterprise IT from being a support system to a co-pilot, where AI reasons, plans and acts alongside humans, according to the firm.

Lenovo's Future of Work surveys show while 79% of IT leaders believe AI will free employees for more impactful work, nearly 90% say today's digital workplaces need an overhaul to realise this potential.

To bridge this gap, infrastructure must become AI-native, secure, scalable, and optimised for both real-time and proactive workloads across edge and cloud.

The company said Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage solution enables enterprises to deploy agentic AI that delivers faster insights, automates tasks, and drives measurable outcomes in productivity and customer service.

"This helps businesses shift from AI experiments to delivering real enterprise value," Mr Bhatia said.

According to Lenovo, governance is key to building ethical, secure and reliable AI.

Governance should not be an afterthought -- enterprises need clear governance, risk and compliance (GRC) from the start to embed ethics and accountability into AI adoption, he said.

"Our CIO Playbook 2025 shows in Asean+, regulatory compliance jumped from the No.12 to the No.2 priority for AI strategies, highlighting its rising importance in Thailand and the region," said Mr Bhatia.

Chief information officers (CIOs) now view strong governance as building trust and long-term resilience.

To scale AI responsibly, businesses need solid frameworks, transparency and a culture of accountability, he said.

"GRC isn't just a checklist -- it's the foundation for trusted AI," said Mr Bhatia.

Keys for CIOs

He said CIOs must invest in modern data platforms, ensuring accuracy, consistency, accessibility and embedded governance.

Equally vital is training teams in advanced analytics to turn data into actionable insights, said Mr Bhatia.

Moreover, CIOs must ensure data storage and processing can support rapid growth while addressing compliance and latency needs.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).