The comments come days after IBM’s earnings warning sparked a sharp stock selloff over fears that AI investments were crowding out broader enterprise technology spending
Aryaman Gupta
&
Reshab Shaw
July 23, 2026 / 09:21 IST
Tech spending will fluctuate, but long-term AI demand remains intact, says IBM APAC GM Hans Dekkers
- Asia-Pacific tech spending volatile, AI demand grows.
- IBM notes AI investments prioritized over general tech.
- Enterprise AI adoption shifts to strategic transformation.
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Enterprise technology spending across the Asia-Pacific region is likely to remain volatile in the near term as businesses recalibrate investment priorities but demand for artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to continue to grow, IBM Asia Pacific general manager Hans Dekkers told Moneycontrol.
The comments come days after IBM unsettled investors by flagging weaker-than-expected quarterly results, saying customers were increasingly prioritising AI-related investments over broader technology spending.
The warning sparked a selloff in the company’s shares and fuelled concerns that the AI boom may be redirecting, rather than expanding, enterprise IT budgets.
“Infrastructure and technology spend at the moment is very volatile. It will go up and down,” Dekkers said. “The one thing I know is that there will be continuity of technology consumption. Where the world is going with this technology (AI), there will be more and more spend.”
Though companies are reassessing technology budgets, overall enterprise spending has continued to expand over the past several years and is likely to increase further as AI adoption matures, he said.
According to Dekkers, enterprise AI adoption has evolved significantly over the past two years. Instead of beginning with isolated proof-of-concept projects, companies are increasingly defining their long-term business objectives first before determining where AI fits into their strategy.
“Today, more and more companies start with the end. They ask how this technology will augment or change how they operate as a business and then work backwards,” he said.
He said <a href="https://absafricatv.com/why-financial-resilience-is-becoming-a-companys-greatest-asset/” title=”Why Financial Resilience Is Becoming a Company's Greatest Asset”>financial services, manufacturing and the services sector remain among the biggest adopters of enterprise AI across the region, while governments are also accelerating investments in AI-led digital transformation.
India has emerged as a key market in IBM’s regional strategy.
Calling the country a “hub for AI talent”, Dekkers said IBM’s software development and research operations in India support both domestic customers and global business. He expects technology spending in the country to remain resilient despite near-term macroeconomic uncertainties.
“Nothing is a straight line in this world today but if you zoom back and look at the trends, India for sure will grow. Look at the demographics, the progress the country is making and the transformation India is going through. There will be increased spending in everything, including technology,” he said.
As enterprises deploy AI at scale, Dekkers believes they are becoming more cautious about vendor lock-in, creating demand for technology platforms that can support multiple cloud environments and AI models.
That philosophy also shapes IBM’s approach to sovereign AI. Rather than defining sovereignty solely through data localisation, Dekkers said organisations also need technological independence, domestic skills and governance capabilities to retain control over their AI systems.
IBM has positioned itself as a neutral enterprise AI partner rather than competing directly with hyperscale cloud providers or developers of frontier models, betting that demand for hybrid cloud, governance and open-mentation to large-scale deployment
(This reporter was in Singapore to attend IBM Think 2026 at the invitation of IBM.)
Aryaman Gupta
Reshab Shaw Covers IT and AI
first published: Jul 23, 2026 09:20 am
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