Dell Research: AI Surge in the UAE Highlights Skills and Scale

Editor’s note: New research from Dell Technologies points to accelerating enterprise adoption of AI across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with most organizations now treating AI and generative AI as a core business priority. The survey highlights strong early returns on productivity and efficiency, alongside a growing shift toward on-premises and localized AI deployments. At the same time, it surfaces clear constraints, particularly around skills, security, and infrastructure readiness, that are slowing the move from pilot projects to full-scale implementation.

Key points

• 92% of surveyed UAE organizations now consider AI or GenAI a key part of their business strategy.
• 88% report tangible productivity or financial returns from early AI investments.
• All respondents cite a skills gap as a limiting factor, especially for safe GenAI deployment.
• 74% plan to run AI locally on AI PCs within the next 12 months, reflecting data sovereignty and compliance needs.
• AI is increasingly linked to sustainability goals, from energy efficiency to smarter data center operations.

Why this matters

The findings underline how quickly AI is moving from experimentation to execution in the UAE enterprise market. For builders and technology providers, the focus is shifting toward practical infrastructure, secure deployment models, and workforce upskilling. For investors and policymakers, the data signals both momentum and friction, showing where capital, training, and partnerships may be needed to support scalable, compliant AI adoption across the region.

What to watch next

• How quickly organizations address AI skills shortages through training or external partnerships.
• The pace of adoption for on-premises and edge-based AI deployments over the next year.
• Steps taken to balance AI innovation with data security and cybersecurity risk management.

Disclosure: The content below is a press release provided by the company/PR representative. It is published for informational purposes.

• 92% of the UAE enterprises now view AI/GenAI as a key part of their organization’s business strategy. 88% are seeing substantial return on investment and/or productivity gains from AI.
• Lack of skills remains a key barrier to fully unlocking the potential of AI, limiting an organization’s ability to move from pilot projects to full-scale implementation.
• 92% of the UAE organizations recognize that AI is a crucial tool for optimizing resource use and enhancing sustainability in their operations.

Dubai, UAE – 22 January 2026 – New research from Dell Technologies shows that businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are increasingly viewing artificial intelligence (AI) as a strategic priority. The global State of Innovation and AI Survey study – which surveyed 2,850 business and IT decision-makers, of which 50 were from the UAE – found that 92% of the surveyed UAE companies now view it as a ‘key part’ of their business strategy. Additionally, 88% of UAE organizations report seeing tangible productivity and financial returns from initial AI investments.

Driving AI Adoption in the UAE

1. Data Readiness Leads the Way: 64% of UAE organizations are prioritizing “data readiness for AI” as a top IT initiative, signaling a strong focus on the foundational infrastructure required to support AI’s potential.
2. On-Premises AI is on the Rise: 74% of businesses plan to consume AI through software and run it locally on AI PCs over the next 12 months, reflecting a shift toward localized AI deployment to address data sovereignty and compliance concerns.
3. AI as the Sustainability Catalyst: 92% of UAE companies recognize AI’s critical role in optimizing resource use and improving sustainability, driving efforts in energy efficiency, smarter data center management, and circular IT practices.

Why It Matters

Despite these promising indicators, 78% of businesses in the UAE struggle to fully integrate AI into every aspect of their operations, while 30% are still in the early-to-mid stages of their AI adoption journey. Challenges such as data security concerns, lack of executive/senior management buy-in, and integration with existing systems/infrastructure continue to hinder large-scale implementation.

The research highlights that while UAE companies are making strides toward AI adoption, scaling AI effectively across an enterprise requires a holistic approach. Building infrastructure that supports AI, fostering new skillsets, and prioritizing secure and ethical practices are key.

Barriers to AI Implementation

While the interest in AI continues to grow, progress is hindered by three persistent challenges:

1. Skills Gap: Alarmingly, all respondents (100%) of the UAE companies surveyed believe their teams lack the necessary skills to fully leverage AI. This marks a sharp increase in concerns compared to previous years, especially surrounding the safe implementation of GenAI, an area where 66% of the UAE organizations report insufficient knowledge.
2. Security Concerns: The pressure to innovate is often tempered by increasing worries about security risks. 72% of the UAE companies expressed fears about exposing sensitive corporate data and intellectual property to third-party AI tools, a significant rise from 64% last year. Additionally, 80% of the organizations highlight that it is a challenge to find a balance between innovation and mitigating cybersecurity risks.
3. Infrastructure Readiness: Many companies find their current IT environments inadequate for the demands of AI workloads. Challenges include increasing processing power (e.g. CPUs/GPUs), implementing AI-optimized hardware, and enhancing data security. Without addressing these issues, AI integration efforts will continue to face delays.

Aligning AI Innovation with Sustainability Goals

An encouraging trend revealed in the report is the increasing link between AI and sustainability goals. Businesses are exploring AI’s potential to optimize energy efficiency – such as smarter data center management, minimizing idle workloads and moving inferencing tasks to edge computing environments. Organizations in the UAE are increasingly leaning on third-party collaborations to integrate sustainable practices, with 82% highlighting the importance of external collaboration in achieving circular IT solutions. This trend signals an emerging ecosystem of shared expertise to tackle the complexities of implementing both AI and sustainability strategies. From advanced cooling solutions to energy-aware AI architectures, Dell Technologies is helping organizations reduce their environmental impact with AI infrastructure that balances performance with energy efficiency.

Walid Yehia, Managing Director, South Gulf at Dell Technologies

“The State of Innovation and AI Survey reflects a powerful shift in how UAE businesses are embracing AI to drive innovation and growth. Organizations are moving beyond piloting AI and are instead beginning to embed it at the core of their strategies. This transition underscores the transformative potential of AI, but achieving its full impact will require addressing critical challenges, from workforce upskilling to secure and collaborative implementation.”

About the Innovation Catalyst Research

This research was conducted in June 2025 by independent research firm Vanson Bourne on behalf of Dell Technologies. A total of 2,850 business and IT decision-makers were surveyed worldwide, including 100 in the Netherlands. For the complete findings of this year’s Dell Technologies Innovation Catalyst Research, visit this Link.

About Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) helps organizations and individuals build their digital future and transform how they work, live and play. The company provides customers with the industry’s broadest and most innovative technology and services portfolio for the AI era.