Innovation must be driven by clear, measurable outcomes – Kearney’s Anshuman Sengar

He highlights why digital maturity, scalable innovation, and AI integration are now essential for Asia’s tech firms.

As technological disruption accelerates across Asia, digital maturity is becoming a key differentiator for technology firms aiming to stay competitive. Whilst some organisations are advancing, many remain at the early stages of transformation—facing challenges in scaling innovation, aligning leadership, and embedding new capabilities.

Offering expert insights is Anshuman Sengar, Partner at Kearney, where he leads the APAC Digital & Analytics Practice and serves as the Global Data & AI Lead. With over a decade of experience, he has delivered high-impact strategies and led large-scale transformation programmes across India, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. His work spans CXO and board-level engagements, with a strong focus on the Technology, Telecom, and Media sectors.

Sengar’s passion for problem-solving and technology has shaped his journey from manager to partner within seven years at Kearney, ultimately leading him to head the firm’s global Data and AI function. He is particularly passionate about the pivotal role technology plays in improving our lives. As data and AI continue to fundamentally transform the world, Sengar has been at the centre of this evolution—driving thought leadership and spearheading AI developments at Kearney. His work with clients focuses on digital transformation, spanning technology modernisation to optimising data and AI operating models.

As a judge at the Asian Technology Excellence Awards 2025, Sengar provides valuable insights into how organisations can move from experimentation to enterprise-wide impact, and what it will take to succeed in an increasingly converged and fast-moving digital economy.

Given your extensive experience leading transformation programmes across Asia, how do you assess the current state of digital advancement and capability within technology firms in the region?

From my perspective, Asia’s technology firms are standing at a critical inflexion point. Whilst many firms in advanced economies are progressing rapidly, a significant number across the region remain stuck at the pilot phase—experimenting rather than scaling. There’s a clear capability gap when it comes to embedding AI and analytics into core business functions. Challenges such as fragmented data, lack of technical talent, and inconsistent leadership alignment continue to hinder maturity. In my view, firms must now shift their focus from digital experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption if they are to become globally competitive.

How can technology companies in Asia strengthen their innovation strategies to remain competitive amidst digital challenges and fast-paced technological change?

Innovation must be driven by clear, measurable outcomes. In my experience, organisations that set ambitious digital goals and invest with intent are far more likely to generate lasting value. It’s not just about deploying new technology but about linking innovation directly to growth and profitability. This demands closer integration between business and technology teams, a culture that supports rapid experimentation, and deliberate investment in internal capability-building. In today’s environment, innovation can no longer be confined to isolated teams—it must be embedded across the enterprise and tightly connected to real-world impact. One of the most critical challenges for Asian firms is managing the pace of change and ensuring their innovation strategies remain agile. What feels innovative today can quickly become the baseline tomorrow.

With your experience in Digital and Analytics, how do you see digital convergence shaping the future of customer engagement, content delivery, and digital business models across Asia?

Digital convergence in Asia is driving a significant shift in how companies engage customers, deliver content, and generate value. Traditional industry lines are becoming less relevant, as firms integrate multiple services such as payments, entertainment, and logistics into a single customer journey. The use of real-time data and AI is enabling highly personalised interactions, where recommendations, pricing, and service experiences dynamically adapt to each user. Content is no longer a standalone offering; it’s tightly woven into the transaction flow—think shoppable video, embedded media in mobile apps, or influencer-led commerce. This convergence is prompting companies to reassess their revenue models, shifting their focus from one-time product sales to recurring engagement, behavioural insights, and digital monetisation. The winners are those that can deliver simplicity, speed, and personal relevance at scale.

How can organisations ensure that digital transformation efforts are aligned across business units to drive sustainable impact at scale?

In my experience, one of the big reasons digital transformations fail to scale is misalignment across business units. When digital goals are not shared across the organisation, transformation efforts often stall or remain siloed. True impact requires a shared ambition, cross-functional ownership, and clearly defined success metrics that are visible to leadership. It also demands strong collaboration between business and technology teams, supported by integrated workflows and governance. The organisations that succeed are those that treat digital as a shared enterprise agenda—not just a technology initiative.

Looking ahead, what emerging technologies do you believe will most significantly shape Asia's tech landscape in the coming years?

Looking ahead, I believe both generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI will be at the heart of Asia’s next wave of technological transformation. GenAI is already reshaping how organisations create content, automate interactions, and design customer experiences—enabling entirely new business models that were previously unviable. Agentic AI, with its ability to act autonomously on behalf of users or systems, will further push the frontier by enabling systems that can plan, execute, and adapt with minimal human intervention. This will have profound implications for industries such as manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and financial services. Enabling technologies, such as 5G and edge computing, will be critical in supporting the real-time, distributed intelligence required for these applications. As digital systems become more autonomous and integrated into daily life, trust enablers such as cybersecurity, digital identity, and responsible AI governance will be essential. The pace of innovation is accelerating—and success will belong to those who invest boldly whilst acting with strategic foresight and ethical rigour.

As a judge for the Asian Technology Excellence Awards 2025, what are the key qualities you will be looking for when evaluating the nominees?

I will be looking for initiatives that demonstrate clarity of vision, measurable impact, and the ability to scale. It’s not enough to launch a pilot or adopt the latest technology—what matters is whether it delivers sustained value to the business or society. I’ll be paying close attention to how organisations align leadership, processes, and talent to drive outcomes. Evidence of internal capability-building and continuous learning will also be important. The most compelling entries will show not just innovation, but intentionality, discipline, and scalability.