Malaysian firms accelerate AI adoption as infrastructure, security emerge as key priorities: Dell study

Malaysian organisations are moving beyond AI experimentation and accelerating deployment, but infrastructure modernisation, cybersecurity, data protection and workforce capabilities are emerging as critical requirements for scaling the technology, according to a new Dell Technologies study.

The Modern Enterprise Readiness Study 2026 Malaysia, commissioned by Dell Technologies and conducted by research firm Vanson Bourne, found that the share of Malaysian organisations in the early-to-mid stages of their AI journey fell from 54% in 2025 to 26% in 2026.

At the same time, 22% said they now have established AI and generative AI solutions in production, pointing to a shift towards more mature deployments.

The study surveyed 2,950 business and IT decision-makers from organisations with more than 100 employees across 35 countries.

Infrastructure and security take priority

As organisations scale AI, infrastructure modernisation has become a bigger priority. 68% of Malaysian respondents identified it as a critical next step, up from 48% in 2025.

A further 58% said they were prioritising a clearer roadmap connecting AI, data and security, while 68% said their data centres were being developed towards full readiness for demanding AI and analytics workloads at production scale.

Data protection is also a major concern. 82% of respondents said their data and intellectual property required the highest level of protection, while the same proportion said their data was too valuable to place in GenAI environments where third parties could potentially gain access. Dell said this was the highest proportion recorded among the markets covered by the study.

Energy requirements are another consideration, with 90% saying they would only scale AI with a credible energy strategy.

When selecting infrastructure platforms, 96% cited integrated cyber recovery and data protection capabilities as important, while 94% considered energy efficiency essential.

AI, cybersecurity and skills dominate transformation agenda

Over the next 24 months, AI capabilities ranked as the leading transformation priority, cited by 66% of respondents. This was followed by cybersecurity and cyber resilience at 60%, workforce skills at 58%, workplace modernisation at 56%, and data centre modernisation at 54%.

The findings also point to a growing recognition that these areas cannot be addressed independently. 92% agreed that treating AI, workplace and infrastructure modernisation as separate initiatives creates operational inefficiencies.

Current AI investments are primarily focused on IT automation and infrastructure operations (60%), followed by employee productivity (56%), product and service innovation (54%) and data analytics (52%).

To support adoption, 54% are prioritising internal skills and capacity development, while the same proportion are focusing on data quality, access and governance. Security, compliance and privacy concerns were cited by 50% as factors influencing technology investment decisions.

Regulatory compliance is also shaping AI strategies, with 82% focused on ensuring compliance when using data for AI, while 60% said security and compliance requirements were being incorporated into their AI adoption plans.

Modern devices become part of AI strategy

The study also highlighted the role of devices in supporting AI-enabled work. 92% of respondents said modern devices improved collaboration and meeting quality, while 86% believed outdated devices limited their organisations' ability to adopt AI-enabled applications.

All respondents agreed that AI PCs and modern devices would play an important role in their future business strategies. AI functionality, cited by 64%, and security, at 60%, were the leading factors influencing future PC purchasing decisions.

Security is similarly becoming a core requirement in technology partnerships. 96% expect security to be embedded into every proposal from strategic partners, while 88% expect their use of managed security services to increase over the next two to three years.

The study found that 68% of Malaysian organisations remain uncertain about how their industries will evolve over the next three to five years, while 66% said macroeconomic conditions were making them more selective and outcome-focused in technology investments.

At the same time, 98% said they were ready for technology partners capable of providing greater support.

Dell Technologies managing director for South Asia and Emerging Markets Sumash Singh said the findings showed strong AI momentum in Malaysia, with organisations increasingly connecting technology investments across infrastructure, data, security and workforce capabilities.