Dell study highlights AI, security, and infrastructure priorities for UAE enterprises

Dell Technologies released findings from its Modern Enterprise Readiness Study 2026, conducted with independent research firm Vanson Bourne, examining how organizations are approaching AI, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and workplace modernization. The results were announced during an event held by the company, attended by the MENA TECH media team.

The research surveyed 1,500 business and IT decision-makers across EMEA, including the UAE, as part of a wider global survey of 2,950 respondents across 35 countries. The study was conducted in June 2026 and covered sectors including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, energy and utilities, and the public sector.

Dell said the findings point to UAE organizations becoming more selective about technology investments as they balance economic uncertainty, AI adoption, cybersecurity risks, and evolving regulatory requirements.

Economic pressure is changing technology investment decisions

According to the study, 82% of UAE leaders said current macroeconomic conditions are making them more selective about technology investments. Dell said organizations are increasingly focusing on value, efficiency, and measurable business outcomes rather than simply reducing spending.

The study says 86% of respondents would prefer to meet more of their technology needs through a single strategic partner. It also states that 86% are shifting investment toward providers with the scale, ecosystem, and supply chain capabilities required to move modernization and AI projects from pilot phases into production.

AI PCs and modern endpoints move higher on the agenda

The study found that 98% of respondents believe modern devices improve collaboration and workforce productivity, while 66% said outdated devices limit their ability to adopt newer technologies, including AI-powered applications.

Meanwhile, 94% of UAE leaders said AI PCs and modern endpoints will play an important role in their organization’s future workplace strategy.

Dell said workplace modernization is increasingly being treated as a foundation for AI-enabled productivity, employee experience, and endpoint security rather than simply as a hardware replacement cycle.

AI adoption faces security and infrastructure barriers

While AI adoption is progressing, Dell said many organizations are finding that moving from experimentation to large-scale deployment requires stronger infrastructure, governance, security, and data foundations.

The study found that 68% of UAE leaders are concerned about complying with government regulations when using data for AI. The same proportion said security and compliance concerns have already slowed or delayed AI adoption initiatives.

Infrastructure readiness is another challenge. According to the study, 68% of IT leaders said their infrastructure is not yet fully prepared to support AI and analytics workloads at production scale.

Dell said organizations moving into operational AI deployment increasingly require modern infrastructure, trusted data, governance frameworks, and alignment with regulatory requirements.

Security becomes a baseline requirement

The study found that 90% of UAE business and IT leaders expect security to be included in every proposal from a strategic technology partner rather than handled as a separate consideration.

Meanwhile, 94% said integrated data protection and cyber recovery capabilities are important when evaluating infrastructure platforms.

Demand for external security support is also expected to increase, with 78% of respondents saying they expect their use of managed security services to rise over the next two to three years.

Also, there are UAE regulatory requirements, including the Cyber Security Council’s Critical Information Infrastructure Protection framework and Information Assurance requirements, the UAE Personal Data Protection Law, and sector-specific rules such as CBUAE operational resilience and ICT cybersecurity regulations. Dell said these requirements are reinforcing the need to build security and resilience into technology strategies from the outset.

Walid Yehia, Managing Director – South Gulf at Dell Technologies, said organizations are moving from AI experimentation toward execution and need secure infrastructure, trusted data, cyber resilience, and appropriate partner ecosystems to scale innovation.