A recent YouGov survey commissioned by SAP found that 94% of enterprises in the UAE believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will be a crucial factor in driving long-term business growth. Nearly half of the surveyed businesses, specifically 49%, anticipate significant returns on their AI investments within the next one to two years. This growing optimism around AI adoption was highlighted during the SAP NOW AI Tour held in Dubai, where over 1 500 industry experts, public sector leaders, and business executives gathered to discuss AI’s transformative potential across various sectors.

Marwan Zeineddine, Managing Director of SAP UAE, reported that AI is already delivering tangible business value in the region. He noted that the survey results indicate a clear readiness among businesses to embrace AI as a key growth driver. However, he emphasized that maximizing AI’s value requires strategic planning. The event was designed to equip organizations with insights and tools to effectively leverage AI to meet their specific business needs.

The SAP survey also revealed that 97% of IT decision-makers in the UAE are confident in utilizing AI-driven insights for significant business decisions, with 72% describing themselves as “very confident.” As businesses shift focus from experimentation to practical applications of AI, attendees explored SAP’s advancements in business AI, such as agentic AI, which enables autonomous decision-making for complex tasks. Additionally, the collaboration between SAP and Databricks was showcased, which aims to help organizations eliminate data silos and gain deeper insights from both structured and unstructured data. The survey indicated that 58% of UAE enterprises plan to invest in improving data consolidation and quality over the next year, underscoring the importance of refined data strategies in fully harnessing AI’s potential.

The event also featured discussions about industry-specific AI solutions, with 76% of UAE enterprises reported using AI-driven solutions tailored to their specific industries. The SAP AI Tour included several signing ceremonies and deployment announcements, illustrating how AI can transform business processes. For instance, BS Shetty, General Manager of Al Ghurair Iron & Steel LLC (AGIS), shared that their collaboration with SAP has revolutionized their approach to sustainability and operational efficiency, automating over 400 calculations and significantly reducing operator time.

Furthermore, Himanshu Shrivastava, Chief Technology Officer of Al-Futtaim Group, highlighted the benefits of adopting SAP SuccessFactors with Joule, a generative AI-powered capability. This technology has enhanced employee experiences by making HR processes more intuitive and efficient. SAP’s AI-driven solutions align with the UAE’s national AI strategy, which aims to position the country as a global hub for AI innovation. SAP is also set to participate in the “Machines Can See 2025” event during Dubai’s AI Week later this month.