Key Points
- Four in five Indian organisations deploy AI faster than governance can follow
- Executives say fragmented data remains the primary barrier to AI confidence
- Security must be AI's foundation, not an afterthought, industry leaders argue
Four in five Indian organisations are deploying artificial intelligence under pressure, often faster than their governance and security frameworks can keep pace. That statistic, cited by TrendAI’s India head Sharda Tickoo, captures the central tension facing enterprises as India’s AI ambitions shift from pilot projects to production systems.
On National Technology Day 2026, technology executives offered a consistent assessment. India’s emergence as a technology leader will not depend on adoption speed alone. It will depend on whether enterprises can build trusted data foundations, cyber resilience and user-centric systems that make AI work for people rather than demanding people adapt to AI.
Data problem beneath the AI problem
Varun Babbar, vice president and India managing director, Qlik, argues that AI capabilities are not the bottleneck. Data is. “Enterprises today face challenges not because AI capabilities are lacking, but because their data remains fragmented, difficult to access, or disconnected from the business context needed to drive confident decision-making,” Babbar said.
This fragmentation means that even sophisticated AI systems struggle to deliver the context-aware, actionable insights that enterprises need for confident decisions. Qlik’s approach, according to Babbar, focuses on unified data access with governance built in — enabling organisations to trust and act on what their systems tell them.
The data challenge extends beyond enterprise systems to workforce readiness. Babbar pointed to Qlik’s Academic Program as an attempt to address the skills gap, equipping students and early-career professionals with data literacy skills. “Initiatives like these will play an important role in ensuring that more people can contribute to — and benefit from — the country’s AI-led growth,” he said.
Security as foundation, not afterthought
Tickoo of TrendAI framed the challenge in starker terms. For a country building critical infrastructure, digitising public services and positioning itself as a global technology leader, security cannot trail behind AI advancement. It must precede it.
“Ambitions without proper guardrails is vulnerability at scale,” Tickoo said. Her warning reflects a growing concern among security professionals that the pressure to deploy AI quickly is creating gaps that adversaries will exploit. TrendAI’s own research suggests the four-in-five figure represents a systemic problem, not isolated cases of poor planning.
The implication is clear: robust cybersecurity enables sustainable innovation. Without it, the digital transformation that India is pursuing becomes fragile — impressive in demonstration but unreliable under pressure.
User at the centre
Vara Kumar Namburu, co-founder and head of research and development, Whatfix, offered a different angle on the same underlying problem. The tools designed to enhance productivity often create what he calls “digital friction” — complexity that undermines the efficiency gains they promise.
Whatfix’s response is what Namburu terms “Userization”, an approach that places the user at the heart of digital experience design.
“Instead of expecting people to adjust to systems, we build systems that adjust to people,” he explained. The company has launched Whatfix University to train professionals in leading digital transformation efforts that prioritise tool adoption and measurable business outcomes.
The broader point is that technology adoption fails when it demands too much from users. Real digital transformation, Namburu argued, “does not come from adopting the newest tools but from making those tools work for people.”
Governance gap remains
What the executives describe is a pattern. Indian enterprises are deploying AI rapidly. Data remains fragmented. Security frameworks lag behind. Users struggle with systems built for technologists rather than the people who must use them. Each company offers a partial solution, but the underlying challenge is structural.
None of the executives addressed the counterargument directly: that governance and security frameworks are inherently slower than technology adoption, and that waiting for perfect frameworks means ceding competitive advantage to faster-moving rivals. The tension between speed and safety remains unresolved.
The four-in-five figure that Tickoo cited will determine whether India’s AI ambitions succeed or stumble. If those organisations can build governance and security to match their deployment pace, India’s position strengthens. If they cannot, the vulnerabilities they create will define the next chapter of the story.
Your Questions, Answered
What is the main challenge facing AI deployment in India?
Executives say the primary challenge is not AI capability but fragmented data, lagging governance frameworks and security systems that cannot keep pace with rapid deployment. Four in five Indian organisations deploy AI faster than their governance can follow.
Why is data a bigger problem than AI technology itself?
According to Qlik's India head Varun Babbar, enterprise data remains fragmented, difficult to access and disconnected from business context. This prevents AI systems from delivering the trusted, actionable insights enterprises need for confident decisions.
What does Userization mean in digital transformation?
Userization is Whatfix's approach to placing users at the centre of digital experience design. Rather than expecting people to adapt to complex systems, it builds systems that adjust to how people actually work.
How does cybersecurity relate to AI success in India?
TrendAI's Sharda Tickoo argues that security must be AI's foundation, not an afterthought. For a country digitising critical infrastructure and public services, deploying AI without robust security creates vulnerability at scale.
