AI adoption critical for APAC small business growth: Forrester

APAC small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to drive growth, with those implementing AI being 20 per cent more likely to experience significant revenue increases, according to a new Forrester research study.

The report, commissioned by SoftwareOne owned Crayon and released in March 2025, surveyed 673 business and technology decision-makers across Australia, New Zealand, India, and Southeast Asia.

A pivotal shift in cloud strategies can be seen in the study.

SMBs are now prioritising AI expansion and business agility over traditional cloud initiatives like application migration and data centre transitions.

Embracing AI in the cloud is no longer optional, but critical for success, the report says, noting that cloud has democratised access to AI technologies for smaller businesses.

Among key findings, 61 per cent of respondents plan to implement or expand AI within their organisations in the next 24 months, with middle market and upper middle market businesses showing stronger adoption intent.

Technical and operational challenges remain the primary barriers to AI adoption, with 38 per cent of decision-makers citing employee experience and readiness as the top challenge, followed by lack of AI knowledge (33 per cent) and insufficient technical skills (32 per cent).

Security concerns are also prominent, with 76 per cent of respondents identifying improved security and privacy as their top IT priority for the next year.

The report highlights a significant increase in third-party service provider engagement, with 87 per cent of decision-makers anticipating increased spending on external partners in 2025, up from 67 per cent in 2021.

Third-party partners with multifaceted expertise in AI infrastructure, strategy, operations, and technical skills can help accelerate AI adoption and scale effectively, the report advises.

The study also indicates a shift towards hybrid infrastructure approaches, with 30 per cent of SMBs planning to deploy AI services across cloud, on-premises, and edge environments in the next 24 months.

With AI services embedded in mainstream cloud operations, SMBs are at a critical juncture to drive value of the technology in the cloud, the report concludes, recommending businesses modify their cloud strategies to include AI, build cloud-related AI capabilities, and choose the right partners to fill skill gaps.