When it comes to integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the enterprise, one of the most common and fundamental questions is: “Where do we begin?”.
As expectations for greater efficiency continue to rise, business leaders are under increasing pressure to adopt AI-powered solutions. In the Middle East, 38% of companies have already implemented or piloted AI-enabled PCs, and nearly half of professionals want AI tools to support their daily work. In fact, 49% now expect AI interfaces to assist with tasks, while 48% hope for tools that can reduce time spent on administrative activities.
The message is clear: the time to act is now. What remains is deciding how and where to implement AI for the greatest impact.
Why the starting point matters
The potential economic impact of AI in the Middle East is significant. PwC estimates that the region will capture 2% of the global economic gains generated by the associated technologies. Companies that delay adoption risk falling behind more agile competitors who are already experimenting, refining and, scaling their AI strategies.
So where should organisations begin? The answer lies in the IT department, but not because the teams there are likely to be the most tech-savvy. Rather, because the benefits of AI streamlining their workload can remove one of the biggest hurdles to rolling the technology out across the enterprise.
Let the data lead
Our research in the Middle East found that certain departments are emerging as natural early adopters. IT, Engineering, and R&D are among the most common starting points for AI implementation. Employees are also clear on what they want from AI: 40% of professionals across MENA say they hope it will take over basic tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-value work. This desire is particularly relevant for IT, where repetitive and time-consuming duties continue to burden already stretched teams.
To harness AI effectively, business leaders must support their IT departments by addressing the repetitive but time-consuming tasks they have to handle manually every day. Managing password resets, coordinating software updates and troubleshooting across multiple device types are just a few examples. These essential but routine activities consume valuable time and resources.
By introducing AI to handle these tasks, IT professionals can shift their focus toward strategic initiatives, including, importantly, scaling AI across the business. This tackles a notable, common obstacle to broader AI adoption in the Middle East: limited IT team bandwidth for bigger strategic tasks. AI not only alleviates this issue but provides the foundation for expanding its use organisation-wide.
Starting with IT means scaling faster
There’s a clear rationale for beginning with IT. These teams possess the technical expertise required to manage AI systems and ensure smooth deployment. Leadership needs to empower IT teams to set up AI tools for themselves first, thereby giving them enough time to bring productivity-boosting AI to the rest of the business.
AI-powered platforms like Lenovo’s Care-of-One now offer a range of automated services, from generating support tickets to assisting employees with device management and upgrade eligibility. They can, for example, recognise when an employee’s device is approaching the end of its useful life, send them a note offering a device upgrade and even help the employee identify which of the devices available to them would best suit their requirements. These tools give users more autonomy while reducing the load on IT teams.
Advanced capabilities such as AI-driven self-repair guides and predictive diagnostics mean fewer routine service requests. In turn, IT professionals can concentrate on piloting AI solutions in other departments, experimenting with AI PCs and creating optimised workflows. These efforts lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive rollout, ensuring strong time-to-value and improved return on investment.
Starting with IT doesn’t just accelerate AI adoption, it can also strengthen the fundamentals of your organisation’s security. By automating routine but critical activities such as patch management and security updates, AI helps ensure systems remain protected without delay. Freed from the constant cycle of manual maintenance, IT teams can dedicate more time to proactive threat prevention and identifying vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. If incidents do occur, AI-assisted monitoring and response tools enable faster, more accurate action, reducing the potential impact of breaches. This early integration of AI into security workflows ensures that protection evolves in step with innovation.
A smarter way to begin
Business leaders across the MENA region must take a structured approach to AI integration. By enabling IT teams to adopt AI tools first, they unlock time and capacity that can be reinvested into broader transformation efforts. Routine processes such as system updates and device maintenance become automated, while employees are empowered to manage more of their own tech needs.
With these foundational improvements in place, IT departments can lead pilot projects and act as internal champions for AI adoption. This ensures that the rest of the organisation is equipped to follow their lead. By investing in the technology experts within their teams, leaders can pave the way for innovation, improved productivity and long-term success in an increasingly AI-driven world.
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