Archive · 19 Sep 2026
Dell Says Businesses Are Moving AI From Pilots Toward Profits
Businesses are moving from testing artificial intelligence to using it in everyday work.
They want AI projects to produce clear benefits, such as lower costs or higher revenue.
Richard McLaughlin of Dell says companies first need to organise their data so AI can use it well.
They also need to choose suitable models, locations and security protections.
AI agents may handle routine tasks and help coordinate work.
People will still need to check whether an agent’s answers are useful and safe for the business.
India has a large population, lots of digital activity and many technology workers, which could help it build AI solutions.
Dell is also helping create pathways for people to learn AI and related technical skills.
McLaughlin expects more solutions made in India to be used around the world.
Enterprise AI adoption is shifting from experimentation toward production and measurable business outcomes.
Richard McLaughlin identifies data fragmentation, model selection, workload location and security as major adoption challenges.
India’s large population, digital ecosystem and technical workforce create opportunities for AI development and deployment.
Agentic AI is expected to handle more productivity, routine coordination and some expertise-based tasks while people retain critical oversight.
Dell recommends linking AI spending to revenue, margins, costs or risk, while modernising existing infrastructure to create capacity.
- Who
- Richard McLaughlin, president of Dell Technologies for Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China, discusses enterprise AI adoption and India’s technology opportunity.
- What
- Businesses are shifting from AI pilots toward production deployments, agentic AI and investments tied to measurable business outcomes.
- When
- The article describes current market changes and forecasts developments over the next two to three years.
- Where
- The discussion covers India and the wider Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China region.
- Why
- Companies are seeking to increase revenue, improve margins, reduce costs, mitigate risk and turn AI investments into practical results.
- Interviewee
- Richard McLaughlin, president, Asia Pacific, Japan & Greater China, Dell Technologies
- India’s population
- Approximately 1.4 billion people
- Smartphone households
- 87% of Indian households, according to the interview
- Key AI obstacles
- Fragmented data, model and workload decisions, cost and security
- Agentic AI focus
- Productivity, routine tasks, coordination and parts of expertise-based work
- Dell’s internal focus
- Engineering, supply chain, customer service and sales
- Priority trends
- AI and data sovereignty, edge and desktop AI, and infrastructure modernisation