Kuala Lampur:Digital Realty's 2026 Global Data Insights Survey reveals a strong surge in artificial intelligence (AI) investments across Asia Pacific, highlighting significant variations in how different markets are translating these investments into business value.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, nearly 59 percent of respondents in the Asia Pacific region anticipate increasing their AI investments by more than 25 percent in 2026 compared to 2025. This is slightly higher than the 55 percent of respondents globally with similar expectations. Additionally, over one-third of respondents have identified high-impact AI use cases, with a similar proportion observing measurable business outcomes from AI.

The survey, which included 2,131 IT decision-makers from 19 countries, indicates that enterprises are at varying stages of AI deployment and have different priorities. In Australia, for instance, 33 percent of organizations are realizing AI return on investment, significantly higher than the 16 percent average across the region. Moreover, 47 percent of Australian organizations have real-time AI in deployment, compared to 36 percent regionally.

In Japan, compliance is a key focus, with 30 percent of respondents prioritizing adherence to AI and data privacy regulations, a priority for only 18 percent across Asia Pacific. In Singapore, half of the respondents consider the lack of specialized AI infrastructure a challenge, compared to 40 percent regionally.

South Korean companies prioritize reliable interconnection for AI execution, with 24 percent ranking it as the top requirement for a successful AI strategy, as opposed to 14 percent across the region. Additionally, 46 percent report having integrated interconnection across major cloud and infrastructure platforms.

The survey also reveals that as AI investment increases, infrastructure and data-location strategies are becoming more intertwined with AI deployment. An overwhelming 92 percent of respondents in Asia Pacific link their data-location strategy to their AI plans, and 88 percent are already employing a distributed data approach. However, only 22 percent describe their hybrid infrastructure as fully integrated, underscoring the challenges in connecting data, compute, clouds, and partners across markets.

Digital Realty emphasizes the importance of making deliberate decisions regarding the location of workloads and data as AI strategies evolve. Through its PlatformDIGITAL, the company provides AI-ready infrastructure and connectivity, facilitating the integration of data, applications, clouds, and ecosystems as enterprises advance their AI initiatives.