Cisco 2024 AI Readiness Index

Hype Meets Reality

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Worldwide, companies know the AI deployment clock is ticking. ​And the pressure is relentless.

98% feel increased urgency over the past year.

For 50% of organizations, CEOs and leadership – more so than any other factor – are driving urgency for AI.

85% say they have less than 18 months to deploy an AI strategy, or they will see negative business effects.

AI is a priority spend for IT budgets: 50% of companies say they’ve already dedicated 10-30% of their budget to AI.

13% of companies globally are ready to leverage AI and AI-powered technologies to their full potential, a 1-point decline compared to last year.

These organizations are making investments, but the ROI just isn’t there yet.

IT budget allocations for AI will nearly double in coming years.

Yet, close to half of companies say AI implementations have fallen short of expectations across top priorities.

But with the right AI strategy, organizations know the benefits will materialize.

40% of companies expect the investments they’ve made so far to meet or exceed expectations this year.

59% believe AI’s impact on their business will surpass expectations after 5 years.

A look at global readiness

Many organizations globally are struggling to be fully prepared to realize AI’s full potential, with overall preparedness failing to improve year-on-year in any category.

Infrastructure readiness has notably declined, a concerning factor as companies say they anticipate significant increases in workloads. While there is some progress in developing AI strategies, fewer than two-thirds of organizations have a clear plan in place. Culture and Data readiness remain the most challenging areas, showing no signs of improvement. Companies are also lagging in the Talent pillar, with more organizations falling behind in having the necessary skills and talent to effectively implement AI. ​

Find out how peers in your region, industry, and market compare when it comes to AI readiness:​

Overall Strategy Infrastructure Data Governance Talent Culture
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So, what does it take to be AI ready?

Businesses need to be AI-ready in a way that is flexible, scalable, and provides industry-wide interoperability. Cisco’s AI Readiness Index measures the readiness of global companies to deploy AI solutions across six pillars:

Strategy

How clearly defined is an organization’s AI strategy?  ​

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Strategy

Revisit and reassess AI strategy, ensure executive leadership and commitment for long-term vision and alignment.

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Infrastructure

How ready is an organization’s network to process AI workloads securely?

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Infrastructure

Invest in scalable and adaptive infrastructure to handle AI computational demands; embrace emerging technologies like cloud for efficiency and speed of AI deployments.

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Data

How does the quality, reliability, and usability of data affect an organization’s AI deployments?

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Data

Use advanced data integration and management tools to break down data silos and ensure seamless data flow across the organization.

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Governance

How prepared are organizations for policy compliance and implementation?  ​

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Governance

Strengthen data governance, review and update policies, and promote ethical AI practices to build efficiencies and ensure responsible use.

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Culture

How ready is an organization for the cultural changes brought on by AI?  ​

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Culture

Encourage AI adoption across departments, incentivize innovation, recognize and reward successful AI initiatives.

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Talent

How are organizations able to adapt AI talent to their AI goals?  ​

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Talent

Expand the AI talent pool through talent development, create clear career paths, and cultivate a learning culture for innovation.

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Companies were placed in four stages of readiness based on their overall score: ​

  • Pacesetters (Fully Prepared):

    Those with a score higher than 85.​

  • Chasers (Moderate Preparedness):

    Those with a score between 61 and 85.

  • Followers (Limited Preparedness):

    Those with a score between 31 and 60.​

  • Laggards (Unprepared):

    Those with a score between 0 and 30 (out of a maximum of 100) for overall readiness. 

How are Pacesetters fast-tracking readiness?

Pacesetters are found at a variety of organization sizes.
Pacesetters are even more likely to feel the urgency from their CEOs and leadership teams.
Pacesetters are already setting aside more of their IT budgets for AI-specific projects.

Methodology

The Cisco Global AI Readiness Index is based on a double-blind survey of 7,985 senior business leaders at organizations with 500 or more employees with responsibility for AI integration and deployment within their organizations across 30 markets. The research was carried out by an independent research company between September and October 2024. ​

Each company's scores were determined by the level of deployment and clarity in the six different pillars. These scores for each area were combined, accounting for the importance of each area, to create an overall score for each company in their respective markets.