The second wave of Infor’s Enterprise AI Adoption Impact Index gathered insights from over 2,100 enterprise decision-makers across seven global markets. Evaluating how businesses deploy artificial intelligence, capture value, and maintain operational control. The business leaders’ responses to the survey suggest Japanese industry is at a pivotal juncture regarding AI integration.
On critical issues, ranging from operational readiness to clear governance, Japanese businesses exhibit less confidence implementing and scaling AI, Less mature in adoption than regional peers, this moment represents a clear strategic opportunity for Japanese enterprise leaders to leapfrog early adoption pitfalls by engaging with purpose-built, industry-specific AI to improve operational efficiency, problem-solving and output.
The Reality of Japan’s Current AI Landscape
The survey highlights clear operational friction points currently facing Japanese businesses:
● In-House Capability: Only 53% of Japanese enterprises feel confident in their internal capability to manage AI rollouts without disrupting daily operations, the lowest rate among surveyed markets and significantly behind regional leaders like Singapore (92%) and Australia (85%).
● Siloed AI Platforms: Japan is the only market where businesses express a higher preference for standalone AI applications (24%) over hybrid, co-developed enterprise deployments, pointing to a fragmented approach to platform adoption.
● Cost Predictability: Just 45% of Japanese respondents feel they have full clarity on the total cost of AI ownership prior to scaling, compared to 88% in Singapore.
Despite these friction points, underlying market momentum remains intact. Of Japanese organizations surveyed, 48% plan to expand their AI investments over the next 12 months, showing that investment appetite remains despite Japan’s comparatively cautious outlook.
“What Japan needs is not to follow the same path as other markets, but to build the right foundation suited to its own local landscape. Companies need a practical path to AI that enables them to function within existing operations, demonstrate accountability, and prove value before seeking expansion,” said Yuka Kanemitsu, President and Representative Director, Japan, Infor. “The challenge then is not the willingness to embrace AI, but an actionable path forward. By working with partners that have the requisite understanding of the processes and unique requirements for each industry locally, businesses can move forward with greater confidence, control, and accountability.”
Bridging the Execution Gap in Japanese Enterprise
When asked what outcomes matter most, Japanese business leaders remain very practical. Priorities center on eliminating manual tasks, curbing operational expenses, and automating core workflows. Business leaders want dependable solutions to concrete, day-to-day business frictions rather than abstract technology promises.
Currently, only 48% of Japanese enterprises state that off-the-shelf software fails their sector needs, the lowest net agreement globally. Japan also recorded a consistently higher opt-out or net-neutral responses than any other market across a wide range of unrelated questions. This could indicate that many organizations are in initial trial stages of generic software and have yet to encounter the ceiling that horizontal AI models inevitably impose specialized workflows. In contrast, a significantly higher percentage of regional peers like Singapore (75%) and Australia (70%), who demonstrate relatively more mature AI adoption patterns, indicated the same.
Three foundational challenges explain why value realization remains constrained:
● Data Readiness: Japan ranks lowest globally in data maturity supporting reliable AI execution, trailing all other markets surveyed as the only market under 50%. Legacy architectures continue to elevate integration costs and slow execution.
● Accountability Deficits: 21% of Japanese companies report that no single executive owns AI governance, risk management, or regulatory compliance. This is the highest gap in the study, compared to just 4% in Singapore. Responsibilities remain fragmented across competing leadership roles.
● Operational Caution: 35% of Japanese organizations maintain a highly conservative stance regarding autonomous AI agents, leading all markets in deliberate risk evaluation.
Infor Velocity Suite: Delivering Purpose-Built AI at Your Pace
These challenges are not separate problems; they are symptoms of trying to retrofit generic software onto specialized operational workflows. Infor’s approach is quite the opposite, delivering design purpose-built industry platforms engineered around the exact operational processes that manufacturers, distributors, and service organizations run every day.
Infor Velocity Suite is at the heart of our approach. Purpose-engineered to meet enterprise customers wherever they are on their AI journey, whether taking their first steps in process automation or scaling advanced agentic workflows, Velocity Suite provides a structured, low-risk path to immediate operational value:
● Pre-Built Industry Intelligence: Built directly on micro-vertical processes across manufacturing, distribution, and service industries, Velocity Suite eliminates the costly, time-consuming integration work that generic models require, allowing companies to deploy at their own pace.
● Agentic Automation for Real Friction: By deploying specialized Industry AI Agents, Velocity Suite automates complex, repetitive workflows, delivering immediate productivity gains and operational efficiency while keeping human decision-makers firmly in control.
● Built-In AI Governance & Control: Integrated with Infor GRC, every AI agent within Velocity Suite is registered, monitored, and fully auditable. This guarantees transparency, regulatory compliance, and strict risk management, giving Japanese business leaders the trust and visibility they need to scale AI safely.
● Flexible Journey Support: Infor meets organizations at their current level of AI maturity. Rather than forcing a disruptive overhaul, Velocity Suite provides modular, highly adaptable solutions that deliver quick wins today while establishing a scalable foundation for future innovation.
By moving away from uncalibrated off-the-shelf software and embracing purpose-built industry platforms, Japanese businesses can bridge the gap between intention and impact, building an AI foundation that is trusted, compliant, and structured for lasting growth.
To explore how Infor helps leading organizations turn AI strategy into measurable operational value, explore our customer success stories at infor.com/customer-stories or reach out to our dedicated Japan