Tenable Study Shows APAC Embraces Ambitious Generative AI Goals

Tenable®, Inc. the Exposure Management company, published a new study highlighting that 55% of organisations in Asia Pacific (APAC) have already implemented or plan to expand their use of generative AI (GenAI) within the next 12 months. This adoption rate indicates a strong regional commitment to leveraging advanced AI technologies to drive both business and security outcomes, surpassing the global average of 52%.

These findings are part of the APAC edition of “How to Discover, Analyze and Respond to Threats Faster with Generative AI”, a commissioned study of 826 IT and cybersecurity leaders globally, including 207 respondents from APAC conducted in October 2023 by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tenable.

Notably, half of APAC respondents (50%) reported using GenAI for customer service, while 41% use it to reduce technology point solutions and streamline their platform approaches and 39% have adopted AI to reduce manual tasks through automation.

However, there is a shift in strategic focus. The study indicates that 68% of APAC organisations are keen to use GenAI to improve preventive security measures, and 70% aim to leverage it to align IT and cybersecurity goals with broader business objectives. This trend highlights the evolving role of GenAI in enhancing security postures, reflecting a growing recognition of the technology’s potential beyond operational efficiency to more strategic, preventive and business-oriented applications.

Challenges in GenAI Implementation

Despite the ambitious goals, respondents highlighted significant challenges that they were facing in their GenAI journeys. Respondents identified a lack of skills to develop, implement, or operate GenAI solutions as a major barrier, with 57% citing this issue. Additionally, 62% pointed to the lack of technology maturity as a critical obstacle, while 52% expressed concerns over privacy issues related to using AI to mine customer insights. These challenges spotlight the complexities organisations must navigate to fully leverage GenAI technologies.

The survey results reflect a broader trend of caution observed globally, where organisations are still grappling with the challenges of implementing and governing GenAI technologies. Currently, less than 20% of organisations globally, including in APAC, have governance regulations in place for AI use, though 39% of APAC respondents plan to implement GenAI governance within the next 12 months. This underscores a growing emphasis on responsible GenAI adoption, as organisations recognise the need for robust frameworks to manage AI’s risks and benefits.

“The adoption of GenAI-powered cybersecurity platforms acts as a powerful force multiplier, enabling rapid analysis of numerous assets, vulnerabilities, cloud misconfigurations, and other datasets to quickly pinpoint risks within an organisation and provide critical context that might otherwise be overlooked,” said Nigel Ng, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan at Tenable.

“However, effective governance is essential to ensure that GenAI adoption not only drives business and security outcomes but also complies with ethical standards and regulatory requirements. As organisations accelerate their GenAI adoption, they must also implement robust frameworks to manage the technology’s risks and benefits effectively.”