Posted by Singapore: As generative AI becomes a core element of business operations, organisations in Asia-Pacific (APAC) are turning to edge infrastructure. A new Akamai-commissioned research report reveals that traditional cloud architectures are struggling to meet the growing demands of AI. Companies are increasingly turning to edge infrastructure to support AI deployment and ensure compliance, performance and scalability.
The report, “The Edge Evolution: Powering Success from Core to Edge”, shows that centralised cloud systems alone can’t handle the scale, speed, and compliance requirements of AI applications. Edge services are essential to meet these needs, and APAC businesses must modernise their infrastructure to stay competitive.
Akamai’s findings align with IDC’s forecast, predicting that by 2027, 80% of CIOs in APAC will rely on edge services from cloud providers for AI inferencing. Public cloud services at the edge are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17%, reaching $29 billion by 2028.
As generative AI moves into full-scale production, 31% of APAC enterprises have already deployed AI applications, and 64% are still in the testing phase. However, many organisations are discovering significant limitations in their existing cloud architectures when it comes to handling AI workloads.
The report highlights key challenges faced by businesses in the region:
- Multicloud complexity: 49% of enterprises struggle with multicloud environments, dealing with fragmented data management and inconsistent tools.
- Compliance hurdles: 50% of top 1,000 organisations in APAC are facing difficulties keeping up with evolving regulations, slowing AI innovation.
- Rising costs: 24% of organisations cite unpredictable cloud costs as a barrier to AI implementation.
- Performance bottlenecks: Traditional cloud models create latency that impacts real-time AI performance.
“AI is only as powerful as the infrastructure it runs on,” said Parimal Pandya, SVP – Sales and MD Asia-Pacific, Akamai Technologies. “This IDC research paper reveals how Asia-Pacific businesses are adopting more distributed, edge-first infrastructure to meet the performance, security and cost needs of modern AI workloads.”
According to Daphne Chung, Research Director IDC Asia-Pacific, GenAI is shifting from experimentation to enterprise-wide deployment.
“As a result, organisations are rethinking how and where their infrastructure operates. Edge strategies are no longer theoretical — they’re being actively implemented to meet real-world demands for intelligence, compliance, and scale,” added Chung.
Key findings for APAC:
- China: 37% of enterprises have GenAI in production, with 61% testing it. Edge IT investment is increasing.
- Japan: 38% of enterprises have GenAI in production, and 84% see it as a major disruptor. Edge solutions for AI and IoT are driving infrastructure changes.
- India: 82% of enterprises are testing GenAI, with 16% in production. Edge infrastructure is expanding in tier 2 and 3 cities to support AI.
- ASEAN: 91% expect GenAI disruption within 18 months. Edge investment is growing to support remote operations and control data.
To stay ahead, businesses in APAC must modernise their infrastructure with edge services to ensure optimal performance and compliance. By partnering with ecosystem providers and adopting zero-trust frameworks, enterprises can accelerate AI deployment and scale more efficiently.