AI adoption rises in India, but energy and infrastructure hurdles challenge ESG goals: Pure Storage Survey

Pure Storage, a provider of advanced data storage technology and services, has released a report titled ‘India’s AI Journey: Balancing Innovation with Sustainable Growth’, to assess the readiness of enterprises in India to navigate AI and sustainability.

The report highlights that while AI is a top priority for many companies, there are growing concerns about its impact on energy consumption and challenges in meeting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals without a modern IT infrastructure.

AI is playing a significant role in driving innovation, increasing productivity, and enhancing customer experiences across industries in India. A report by TeamLease Digital suggests that AI could contribute $450-500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025, aligning with the country’s goal of achieving a $5 trillion economy. However, AI’s growth is also placing additional demands on data centers, requiring increased resources such as electricity, water, and space.

The International Energy Agency notes that data centers already account for 1 to 2% of global energy consumption, with AI expected to further increase this figure.
 
The highlights of the survey are:

> India’s AI Momentum Gaining Traction: Over the next three years, 48% respondents have prioritised AI to maintain their competitive edge. Currently, 52% of organisations have deployed AI technologies, 35% are piloting them, and 12% are still exploring integration strategies.

> Current AI Applications:  AI is being leveraged across various functions, including marketing and sales, IT operations and fraud detection, reflecting its versatility. Today, 64% of the organisations use AI for their virtual assistant/chatbot function, 45% uses AI across IT operations and cybersecurity reflecting the critical need for secure and efficient IT environments and 40% use it for new product development (NPD) and innovation.

> AI Adoption Across Sectors: The banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sectors lead in AI adoption with 68% and 70% rates, respectively, while sectors like government, healthcare, and manufacturing show more cautious adoption, with higher percentages in the piloting phase. While tech and media sectors prefer cloud-based AI solutions, BFSI and government sectors lean towards on-premises solutions due to compliance and security concerns.

> IT infrastructure is a key challenge in AI deployment: To prepare for AI, 74% of organisations plan to upgrade data management tools and processes, 65% plan to enhance data storage infrastructure, and 61% plan to invest in data security and compliance to ensure secure and efficient data flows.

> Rising Energy Consumption and Sustainability Concerns: As AI technologies expand, the demand for supporting infrastructure has surged. 42% of organisations report a doubling in compute power needs, while 41% have seen their storage demands double. This growth also drives higher energy consumption, with 74% of organisations concerned about AI’s impact on energy use and ESG goals.

“As AI adoption surges in India, organisations are driving innovation across sectors, but they struggle with rising energy demands and meeting ESG goals. Our report highlights the urgent need to invest in robust, energy-efficient systems that can power AI-driven growth while securing a greener future for all,” says Ajay Singh, Chief Product Officer, Pure Storage.

Pure Storage’s study surveyed 210 key IT decision-makers from various sectors across India, including BFSI, Tech-Telecom-Media, Healthcare, Government, Airlines, Transportation, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing. The survey was conducted from June to August 2024.