Philippine businesses must accelerate their adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) despite rising technology costs and infrastructure challenges to remain competitive, according to VST ECS Philippines president and CEO Jimmy Go.
In his welcome address at the ninth CXO Tech Summit 2026 in Boracay, Go said the global AI boom has driven up demand for computing infrastructure, resulting in memory shortages and price increases affecting servers, computers and smartphones.
He said prices of memory and solid-state drives (SSDs) have more than doubled in recent months, with supply constraints expected to persist as technology companies expand their AI infrastructure.
“Just as oil fueled the industrial age, memory now fuels the intelligent enterprise,” Go said.
According to Go, the shortage has pushed some enterprise IT deployments into 2027, while rising component costs have forced computer manufacturers to adjust product configurations and reduce shipments.
He cited Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, who expects memory and storage supply conditions to remain tight through 2027 and 2028.
Despite these challenges, Go urged businesses to move beyond experimenting with AI and begin integrating the technology into their operations.
“We have passed the stage of AI experimentation. 2026 is the year to get results of AI,” he said.
Go noted that companies are increasingly deploying AI in customer service, credit scoring, demand forecasting, document processing and software development.
However, infrastructure bottlenecks, talent shortages and organizational skepticism continue to hinder wider adoption.
He said businesses could risk falling behind competitors if they wait for emerging technologies to become fully stable before adopting them.
“In a fast-moving market, waiting for a technology to become ‘100% stable’ before adopting it is a death sentence,” Go said.
He also called on business leaders to make technology a central part of their corporate strategies rather than treating it merely as an operational support function.
The summit, themed “Rethinking IT: Powering the AI-Driven Enterprise,” brought together technology executives and industry leaders to discuss AI adoption and enterprise transformation.
