UAE business leaders are banking on the potential of AI to drive long-term growth.
A new YouGov survey commissioned by SAP reveals that 94 per cent of enterprises in the country believe AI will be a key driver of business expansion, with nearly half (49 per cent) expecting significant returns on AI investments within the next one to two years.
This optimism was on full display at the SAP NOW AI Tour, where more than 1,500 industry experts, public sector leaders, and business executives gathered at the Dubai Expo Center to explore AI’s transformative potential across industries.
AI in the UAE
Marwan Zeineddine, Managing Director of SAP UAE, said: “AI is already delivering tangible business value, and the UAE market is clearly ready to embrace its potential.
“The SAP survey shows that businesses recognize AI as a key driver of growth, but unlocking its full value requires the right strategies”.
The SAP survey findings reflect this momentum, with 97 per cent of the UAE IT decision-makers surveyed expressing confidence in using AI-driven insights to guide critical business decisions, and with 72 per cent describing themselves as “very confident” in doing so.
As AI adoption rises, UAE businesses are looking beyond experimentation and focusing on real-world applications that drive measurable impact.
SAP showcased its collaboration with Databricks through the SAP Business Data Cloud, highlighting how organisations can eliminate data silos and extract deeper insights from structured and unstructured data.
With the survey showing that 58 per cent of UAE enterprises plan to invest in data consolidation and quality improvement programs over the next 12 months, the event underscored the growing need for businesses to refine their data strategies to fully harness AI’s potential.
This focus on data was of particular interest to businesses that are increasingly looking to use industry-specific AI solutions, with 76 per cent of enterprises in the UAE using AI-driven solutions that have been tailored specifically for their industry, according to the SAP survey.
