AI Appreciation Day: As enterprises embrace AI, the focus shifts from adoption to trust

Artificial intelligence has moved well beyond experimentation for businesses, with companies increasingly using it across cybersecurity, communications, manufacturing and enterprise software. As AI Appreciation Day is marked on July 16, industry leaders say the conversation is now shifting from simply adopting AI to deploying it responsibly, securely and at scale.

Governance takes centre stage

For Sujatha S Iyer, Head of AI Security at ManageEngine, Zoho Corp., the biggest challenge is ensuring governance keeps pace with AI adoption. "The conversation around artificial intelligence must move beyond the hype of automation to a more pressing enterprise reality: how quickly governance can keep pace with AI adoption,” Iyer said. AI will create long-term value only when organisations deploy it within secure and governed environments that align with evolving regulations.

She added that while employees can adopt AI tools or deploy autonomous agents within seconds, governance and compliance measures often take much longer to catch up. Organisations that build transparency, strong access controls, digital sovereignty and accountability into their AI strategy from the outset will be better positioned to scale AI responsibly and build trust.

From experimentation to enterprise deployment

Companies say enterprise AI has entered a new phase, where the focus is increasingly on delivering measurable business outcomes. "The conversation around AI has matured significantly over the past two years. Enterprises are no longer asking whether they should adopt AI; they are asking how to deploy it securely, responsibly, and at scale," said Ritesh Kapadia, Field CTO at iLink Digital. Kapadia said AI creates value only when it solves real business problems, improves decision-making and delivers measurable outcomes.

Vimal Nair, Chief Growth Officer at Krisp, said AI has evolved from a breakthrough technology into core enterprise infrastructure. "Artificial intelligence has rapidly evolved from a breakthrough technology to core enterprise infrastructure, reshaping how businesses communicate, collaborate, and operate." According to Nair, the next phase of enterprise AI will be driven by technologies that strengthen communication, improve security and integrate naturally into existing workflows.

Building trust in AI

Executives also stressed that trust is becoming central to AI adoption. "As we celebrate AI Appreciation Day, it is important to recognise that AI's true potential will not be measured by how quickly it is adopted, but by how much it can be trusted," said Ankur Kanaglekar, Vice President – India, Thales. Kanaglekar said AI systems used in cybersecurity, defence, air traffic management and critical infrastructure must remain secure, transparent, resilient and under meaningful human oversight.

Vasanthi Ramesh, Vice President of Engineering and Site Leader, NetApp India, echoed a similar view. "AI's greatest challenge is no longer intelligence, but trust. As AI becomes embedded in every industry, sovereignty is emerging as a strategic imperative." Ramesh said Indian organisations need intelligent data infrastructure that allows them to innovate across clouds, environments and AI platforms without compromising security, governance or choice. She added that the challenge is now ensuring AI can be adopted responsibly, at scale and on an organisation's own terms.

Security, infrastructure and talent

The rapid adoption of AI is also changing the cybersecurity landscape. "As AI transforms how we work, learn, and innovate, it is also reshaping the cyber threat landscape," said Dr Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director at Quick Heal Technologies. Katkar said AI should ultimately be judged by how effectively it protects people, businesses and the digital future, rather than simply by how intelligent it becomes.

For Dr Sandeep Kumar, Chief Executive of L&T Semiconductor Technologies, AI leadership will increasingly depend on compute infrastructure and semiconductor capabilities. "World AI Appreciation Day is a reminder that the global AI race is no longer won by algorithms alone, it is won by the strength of a nation's semiconductor and compute ecosystem and the expertise in knowledge and talent it has developed." He said customised silicon, trusted compute infrastructure and indigenous semiconductor design will underpin the next generation of AI systems.

Parag Khurana, Country Manager, India, Barracuda Networks, said businesses should treat governance and innovation as complementary priorities. "Organisations should celebrate not only the possibilities AI creates, but also the steps needed to use it responsibly. Sustainable AI success will depend on treating security, governance and innovation as complementary priorities rather than competing objectives." Khurana said organisations should develop practical frameworks for responsible AI adoption so employees can use AI while protecting sensitive data and meeting compliance requirements.

Harjiv Singh, Founder and CEO of CambrianEdge.ai, said AI's future will continue to depend on people. "What we're celebrating this year is the recognition that human intelligence must remain at the centre… every system they create should make humans better at what only humans can do."