The second wave of Infor’s Enterprise AI Adoption Impact Index gathered insights from over 2,100 enterprise decision-makers across seven global markets, examining how businesses deploy artificial intelligence, capture value and maintain operational control.
The findings show Singapore has established itself as one of APJ's AI frontrunners. More than 9 in 10 enterprises are confident in their ability to manage AI rollouts without disrupting operations, 87% believe their data is mature enough to support reliable AI outcomes, and at 43%, Singapore records the second-highest rate of full-scale AI deployment among markets surveyed.
The challenge for Singapore is no longer building AI readiness. Having established itself as one of APJ's most mature AI markets, the next task is protecting that lead as AI moves from experimentation to enterprise-wide deployment.
Bridging the Gap Between Readiness and Real-World Impact
Singapore businesses no longer need to be convinced of AI's potential value - they are already seeing tangible returns and investing accordingly.
Singapore enterprises report average AI-driven efficiency gains of 36%, outperforming the global average (34%) and leading APJ. Businesses are also more likely than any other market surveyed to increase AI investment over the next 12 months, with 76% planning to grow spending. Singapore additionally reports the strongest positive impact of AI on frontline employees across all markets surveyed.
Yet, despite these strong foundations, AI deployment is far from universal. While Singapore records the second-highest rate of full-scale deployment globally, more than half of enterprises have yet to scale AI across their organisations.
The opportunity is therefore shifting from proving AI's value to extending that value across more business processes and operational workflows.
“Singapore businesses have built many of the conditions needed to scale AI successfully. The next phase is about putting those foundations to work, applying AI to the processes and decisions where it can make a measurable difference. That requires businesses to think carefully about industry context, integration, and governance as adoption expands. We look forward to working with Singapore organisations as they move into this next stage of their AI journey.” Victor Ng, Managing Director for the South East & North Asia, Infor.
Why Advanced Adopters Are Feeling Limitations to Scaling AI
As advanced AI adopters move from individual AI use cases to enterprise-wide deployment, many are discovering that scaling AI is very different from adopting it in the first place.
Three in four Singapore enterprises say off-the-shelf AI does not adequately address their industry's specific needs, placing Singapore among the markets most likely to identify shortcomings in generic AI solutions.
The findings suggest that as adoption matures, businesses increasingly encounter the limitations of AI systems that lack the industry context needed to support specialised processes, regulatory requirements, and operational workflows. Without that context, organisations may find it increasingly difficult to extend AI beyond isolated use cases and into more complex operational environments.
However, industry context alone is not enough to scale AI successfully. As AI becomes embedded in more business-critical processes and takes on greater responsibility, organisations also need confidence that decisions remain transparent, accountable and governed appropriately.
Governance as a Competitive Advantage as AI Takes On More Responsibility
Here, Singapore is also ahead of many markets when it comes to AI accountability, another important enabler of long-term AI scale. Just 4% of enterprises in Singapore report having no clear owner for AI governance, risk or compliance, the lowest figure among all markets surveyed.
This may prove increasingly important as businesses scale AI across more functions and workflows. While many organisations have focused on adoption over recent years, the next stage of maturity will require businesses to ensure AI can be deployed consistently, responsibly, and with clear accountability. In practice, weaknesses in governance often become visible only after deployment accelerates, and the cost of missteps rises.
Singapore appears better positioned than many markets to navigate that challenge. Combined with the Republic’s relatively advanced state of AI deployment and readiness, its low governance ownership gap suggests many organisations are already putting accountability structures in place before governance becomes a larger constraint on scale.
Bringing Industry Context into Enterprise AI
The findings then suggest that scaling AI successfully requires three things: technology that understands industry-specific processes, the ability to embed AI into operational workflows, and governance frameworks that maintain accountability as adoption expands.
This is where industry-specific AI becomes increasingly relevant.
Infor Velocity Suite is designed to apply AI within the processes and operating requirements of specific industries. Rather than treating AI as a standalone layer, the approach brings together three capabilities that become increasingly important as enterprises scale adoption.
Industry-specific intelligence: Infor’s Industry AI Agents are grounded in micro-vertical processes across sectors including manufacturing, distribution and services, giving AI greater context about the workflows in which it operates.
Connected execution: Agentic automation can apply AI to complex and repetitive workflows, helping organisations move from isolated AI tools towards AI embedded within day-to-day processes and decisions.
Built-in governance and human control: Through Infor GRC, AI agents can be registered, monitored and audited, helping organisations maintain visibility and accountability as more activities are automated.
For Singapore businesses, the next stage of AI maturity is turning strong readiness into enterprise-wide value. Organisations that can combine mature data foundations with industry-specific context, connected workflows and clear governance will be better positioned to scale AI confidently and realise greater returns from continued investment.
To explore how Infor helps organisations turn AI strategy into operational value, visit infor.com/en-sg/customer-stories or contact the Infor Singapore team.