Talent groomed globally coming to India, for India: IBM APAC's Hans Dekkers

The company's flagship event IBM Think in Mumbai he talks about opportunities, AI and GenAI adoption and regulatory impact

Hans Dekkers, general manager of IBM Asia-Pacific (APAC), took over the helm of the region in August this year. He believes that while the APAC region is vast, India presents the largest opportunity for the company. In an interview with Shivani Shinde at the company’s flagship event, IBM Think, in Mumbai, he discusses opportunities, artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) adoption, and regulatory impact. Edited excerpts:

With your recent appointment to lead APAC, what opportunities and focus areas are you prioritising?
 

Our region presents immense potential, particularly in India, the largest market in APAC. APAC is a microcosm of the world, boasting diverse cultures, global corporations, and unique economic challenges.

Our APAC strategy will align closely with the company’s global pillars. Our three key focus areas —hybrid Cloud, AI, and automation — hold tremendous promise.

What is different in the case of India?
 

India is witnessing a remarkable reversal of brain drain, which I initially thought would not be possible. Consequently, India is attracting a lot of talent that has been groomed in international markets, and they are now coming back to India, for India.

Where does India stand in adopting GenAI?
 

When it comes to the adoption of GenAI within the APAC region, the front runner is South Korea, but India is not far behind. In AI projects, major enterprises around the world are embracing GenAI. The next challenge is how to implement it at scale.

India has almost all the global players in this market; how does IBM differentiate itself?
 

We have built our AI framework and governance specifically to implement purpose-built AI for enterprises. We have a few fundamental beliefs: first, our clients’ data is their own; second, the models our customers build are also theirs. We believe that small language models (SLMs) are better than large language models (LLMs), especially if they are domain-specific, such as in human resources or finance. While LLMs are impressive, they may not be as useful in an enterprise context.

IBM has also pioneered incremental model training through Instruct Labs, enabling continuous improvement with client data sets. This unique capability is paired with integrated governance measures to mitigate bias and ensure responsible AI practices.

Would SLMs be the way forward for enterprises?
 

There is a whole new field developing small, targeted, domain-specific models. From a cost and efficiency perspective, this model is poised to take off. SLMs are very cost-effective for using GenAI models among enterprises.

What trends in the APAC region will drive the market?
 

More companies will evaluate their spending strategies and invest wisely. In many of my conversations with enterprises, this is a critical point.

The second trend is that many companies and countries desire interdependence. Thirdly, regulations are emerging, not only in India but globally as well.

How much of this Budget mindset is driven by current global uncertainties or the fast-changing nature of technology?

It’s more about the fact that investment decisions made in the past are not necessarily the ones companies would make today. Every customer I have spoken to, both in Europe and APAC, is re-evaluating their spending and asking how they can further optimise it.

There is a shift within enterprises adopting Cloud from off-premise (off-prem) to on-premise. Have you seen this, and what is driving it?
 

We have seen many clients opting for on-prem solutions. This is primarily due to regulatory requirements and also the Make in India initiatives. Thus, hybrid Cloud is an important subject because, if designed and implemented effectively, enterprises can gain immensely. Very few enterprises have managed this transition successfully.