In new mid-market AI research, SAP has revealed that 96% of Indian organizations with between 250 and 1,500 employees are prioritizing generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), compared to 91% in the rest of the world.

The survey questioned 12,003 businesses around the world, including 800 in India. Commenting on the research, Manish Prasad, President and Managing Director of SAP Indian Subcontinent, said, “India’s midmarket businesses are the backbone of the nation’s economy. AI is a game-changer for these companies, offering agility and actionable insights and helping them thrive in a digital economy. Working with a technology partner like SAP is critical because AI is already built into our applications, which power the most critical business processes. Only then can Indian businesses of every size make the promise of Business AI a reality.”

Prioritising AI

According to the survey, Indian midmarket businesses prioritize the implementation of Gen AI at a moderate or strong priority (96%), ahead of the rest of the world (91%). Adopting Gen AI (66%) only trails preparing for cybersecurity threats (67%) as Indian midmarket businesses’ strongest organizational priority in 2024 and ahead of making business operations more environmentally sustainable (65%).

Over half of the Indian midmarket businesses surveyed place a high priority on AI to transform privacy and security (55%) and improve decision-making (52%) ahead of business from the rest of the world (50% and 49%, respectively). Indian midmarket businesses are also putting a high priority on AI to improve training and skills development (51%) and customer experience (50%) and to optimize supply chains and logistics (50%).

Implementing AI

The study remarked that Indian midmarket businesses are adopting AI faster than the rest of the world, as 49% of Indian respondents say they are using AI for forecasting and budgeting to a strong degree compared to 40%. In comparison, 48% of Indian companies use AI to develop marketing and sales content (41% of the rest of the world). Other uses of AI in Indian midmarket businesses include gathering market intelligence (47%), monitoring regulatory compliance (47%), and monitoring cybersecurity threats (46%).

The most significant risk Indian midmarket businesses face when using AI is finding, attracting, and retaining talent with AI skills (39%). Data is the next biggest risk, with lack of transparency behind AI results (36%), acting upon incorrect information (36%), and insufficient data size and quality for AI models (33%) among the other risks identified.

According to Rajeev Singh, Vice President and Head of Midmarket, SAP Indian Subcontinent, AI can empower organizations with intelligent insights, automation, and tools, allowing them to compete globally. Today, more than 27,000 customers globally are already using SAP Business AI, recognizing the impact on enhancing operations and enabling real-time decision-making. For example, Indian customers like PGP Glass, Suzlon Energy and many more have already embraced the transformative potential of AI in their businesses.

SAP News