Eighty-four percent of enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region now view telcos as their primary partners for embedding AI across their organisations, yet Accenture warns that mounting “data debt” is undermining this opportunity.
Accenture’s research shows that only 2% of APAC telcos have an integrated data strategy, with 71% reporting poor data visibility and 66% spending more time cleaning data than analysing it.
Overcoming the “data debt”, characterised by fragmented, inconsistent, and siloed data, is paramount for APAC telcos and media operators to effectively leverage AI for themselves and their customers, said Vivek Luthra, Senior Marketing Manager, Data & AI Lead, APAC & Southeast Asia Business and Global Strategic Pursuits, Accenture.
He told APB+, “Operators must prioritise establishing data as a unifying strategic asset. This means moving beyond siloed approaches to data management and instead implementing a single, enterprise-wide data governance model.
“Such a model should include common data marketplaces and robust metadata management to ensure data quality, accessibility, and consistency. This shifts the focus from managing scattered data to cultivating a cohesive data ecosystem.”
Another key priority, he added, is to build an AI-native digital core that serves as an architectural blueprint for data to flow freely and contextually, empowering advanced analytics and automated operations.
“Transitioning towards cloud-first, API-enabled architectures that strategically integrate these data fabrics and data meshes provides the essential infrastructure to overcome existing data fragmentation, enabling seamless access to real-time data crucial for sophisticated AI applications.
“Gen AI tools can be deployed to accelerate the conversion of raw, disparate data sources into high-quality, AI-ready assets required by the new architectures.”
Accenture’s research also revealed that many APAC Communication Service Providers (CSPs) struggle to translate their investments into real value due to execution gaps across the critical areas of leadership alignment, technology modernisation, and talent.
Only 21% have mastered the foundational and new data, and AI capabilities required to be AI reinvention-ready to achieve advanced levels of deployment on their strategic bets.
The foundational gap of technology modernisation, said Vivek, is compounded by talent gaps. While the rapid evolution of AI demands a specialised workforce, 73% of telco CXOs believe AI’s pace outstrips their workforce’s ability to adapt.
“This creates a significant bottleneck, as even the most advanced AI solutions cannot deliver value without the skilled professionals to deploy, manage, and innovate with them effectively,” said Vivek.
For technology and talent transformation to be successfully implemented, leadership alignment is a crucial enabler. Without a clear, top-down strategic vision for AI and strong executive sponsorship, AI initiatives will remain fragmented, preventing cohesive, enterprise-wide value realisation, he cautioned.
“To keep pace with industry frontrunners, APAC operators must act on three interconnected priorities mapped to these critical areas: embracing AI as a strategic imperative driven by value, establishing an AI-native digital core, and transforming the workforce and operating models for continuous reinvention.
“This transforms their ‘digital core’ into a ‘cognitive digital brain’ that operates with agility and speed on collective knowledge and decision-making power,” concluded Vivek.