Seagate Technology has released findings from its inaugural 2026 Data Infrastructure Readiness Report, highlighting how Indian organisations are preparing their data infrastructure for the rapidly growing demands of artificial intelligence (AI). The findings point to strong confidence among Indian technology decision-makers, with enterprises increasingly recognising scalable storage, intelligent infrastructure and energy efficiency as critical to long-term AI adoption.
According to the report, 100% of technology decision-makers surveyed in India expect AI to increase their organisations' storage requirements over the next three years, compared with 99% globally. India is among only four markets surveyed where the figure reaches 100%, highlighting the growing importance of storage capacity as AI workloads expand.
The shift is also reflected in how organisations perceive the role of storage. 100% of Indian respondents agree that AI is transforming data storage from a back-office function into strategic business infrastructure, the highest level across the seven markets surveyed and above the global figure of 98%.
Key Highlights:
100% organizations expect AI to increase storage requirements
100% see storage becoming strategic business infrastructure
91% report returns from AI investments
89% are prepared for AI’s long-term data demands
62% use AI to determine storage and operational needs
58% are investing in renewable energy
AI Investments Delivering Stronger Returns
Indian enterprises are also reporting significant business value from their AI investments. 91% of respondents in India report moderate or significant returns from AI investments, compared with 86% globally.
As organisations move AI from experimentation into broader enterprise deployments, the underlying data infrastructure is becoming increasingly important. Storage capacity, data accessibility and scalability are emerging as key considerations alongside compute and AI applications.
Strong Confidence in Long-Term AI Readiness
India also ranks among the leading markets for preparedness against future AI-driven data demands. 89% of Indian respondents say their organisations are fully or mostly prepared for AI's long-term data requirements, compared with 83% globally, giving India the second-highest preparedness level among the seven markets surveyed.
Globally, 99% of organisations expect AI to increase storage requirements over the next three years, while 32% anticipate their storage needs could rise by more than half. For Indian enterprises, the findings indicate a shift toward proactively planning infrastructure for sustained AI-driven data growth.
India Leads in AI-Driven Infrastructure Planning
India is also ahead of other surveyed markets in using AI to manage infrastructure itself. 62% of respondents in India say they use AI to determine storage and operational needs, compared with 52% globally and the highest share across all seven markets.
The broader global findings underline why this approach is becoming important. Data quality and readiness, cited by 53% of respondents, and storage infrastructure, at 43%, emerged as the leading challenges to AI deployment, ranking ahead of compute availability and energy constraints.
Sustainability Gains Strategic Importance
The report further highlights India's focus on sustainable infrastructure. 58% of Indian respondents say their organisations are investing in renewable energy sources, compared with 46% globally, representing the highest share among the markets surveyed.
India also leads in demand-based power deployment, with 48% of respondents saying their organisations deploy power based on actual data needs rather than running infrastructure continuously, compared with 40% globally.
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