For many companies, the question is no longer whether artificial intelligence (AI) should be adopted. The challenge is whether their data, infrastructure, security, people, and partners are ready to support AI at scale.
That question was at the center of ignitePRO 2026, an enterprise-focused forum held as part of the Bali Annual Telkom International Conference (BATIC) 2026. Under the theme “The Enabled Enterprise,” the forum brought together business and technology leaders, policymakers, technology providers, investors, and digital ecosystem partners to examine how AI can move from experimentation to real-world implementation.
The opening session, also titled “The Enabled Enterprise,” was presented by Kharisma, Chief Commercial Officer of Telin. He highlighted that enterprise AI adoption requires more than selecting new technologies. Data, infrastructure, security, people, and partnerships also need to be prepared to support reliable execution at scale.
Kharisma described this enablement as an integrated operating foundation built on reliable connectivity, resilient infrastructure, secure operations, and trusted ecosystem partnerships.
Indonesia’s priorities for an AI-ready economy
The government perspective came through a keynote by Dr. Sonny Hendra Sudaryana, Director of Digital Ecosystem Development at Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs.
Sonny outlined three priorities for Indonesia’s AI-ready future: Terhubung, Tumbuh, and Terjaga.
Terhubung focuses on expanding inclusive connectivity. Tumbuh centers on building a productive digital ecosystem while strengthening talent, startups, MSMEs, and AI capabilities. Terjaga focuses on personal data protection and national digital security.
He also emphasized the need for AI to be developed as a sovereign, interoperable, and trusted strategy, supported by infrastructure, capital, skills, governance, and partnerships.
Why do AI projects struggle to reach production?
The gap between AI experimentation and actual deployment became a central issue under ignitePRO’s Intelligence pillar.
The panel “From Pilot to Payoff: What It Actually Takes to Put Enterprise AI into Production” brought together Yoshiki Sato of Microsoft, Jason Gilligan of Zoom Communications, Dewa Siswanto of Rakuten Symphony, and Harish Koundinya of BCG X.
The discussion examined why many AI pilots fail to progress into production, with challenges ranging from data readiness and systems integration to change management, governance, and the ability to demonstrate measurable business value.
Harish returned to the issue in “The 70% Nobody Budgets For: Why AI Value Is an Operating-Model Build, Not an AI-Tool Rollout.” The session focused on the organizational changes required to capture value from AI, including adjustments to workflows, roles, KPIs, incentives, governance, and decision-making structures.
Infrastructure and trust remain critical
As enterprises deploy AI at greater scale, the infrastructure supporting it also faces growing demands.
In “Building Trusted Infrastructure for the AI Era,” Sachin Jain of Nokia highlighted the importance of resilient, secure, and scalable networks as companies adopt increasingly data-intensive and autonomous AI applications.
The infrastructure question was explored further in the panel “Cloud-Native, Hybrid, or On-Premise? The Real Trade-offs for AI Workloads.” Ariawan of LG Sinar Mas, Olivier Klein of AWS, and Steven Scheurmann of CrowdStrike examined the factors enterprises need to consider when choosing an architecture, including performance, cost, latency, security, regulatory requirements, data sovereignty, and operational control.
Meanwhile, the growing use of AI is raising questions about accountability. Carlos Otermin Barrera of Lazada Indonesia and the Philippines, Deepshikha Chaudhary of Dyna.ai, and Uzair Javaid of Betterdata AI discussed transparency, liability, data governance, and responsible AI deployment in the panel “Who Is Accountable When AI Decides?”.
Preparing the workforce for the AI era
The discussion also moved beyond technology to the people expected to use it. In “Human-Centered AI 101: Designing Technology for People,” James CK Kok of AI Singapore and Aldo Rambie of Meta explored the importance of designing AI around real workflows, strengthening human capabilities, and building user trust.
Meanwhile, Mauritz Panggabean of AssistX Enterprise demonstrated how unstructured information can be organized and activated to support decision-making and improve everyday workflows.
The sessions were organized around four connected pillars: Intelligence, Trust, Infrastructure, and Collaboration.
The final synthesis panel, “No Enterprise Transforms Alone: Building the Enablement Ecosystem,” brought together Veranita Yosephine of Telkom Indonesia, Eddi Danusaputro of AMVESINDO and BNI Ventures, Ananda Budi Prasetya of Alibaba Cloud, and Zi Huan (Zwee) Wee of Savant Degrees.
The discussion brought the four pillars together, highlighting collaboration among enterprises, technology providers, investors, and ecosystem partners as part of the AI transformation process.
The forum also featured the live-synthesized “State of the Agentic Enterprise in APAC 2026” and concluded with the ignitePRO 2026 Closing Commitment, focused on building trusted, human-centered, and AI-enabled enterprises across the region.
As the first enterprise-focused forum within BATIC, ignitePRO expands the conversation from digital networks and infrastructure to the business transformation they enable.
Its discussions trace a broader path for enterprise AI, from preparing data and infrastructure to strengthening governance, redesigning operating models, preparing people, and building partnerships capable of supporting implementation at scale.
