Cisco's 2024 AI Readiness Index: Urgency Rises, Readiness Falls

Core Insights - The urgency to deploy AI has significantly increased among companies, with 98% reporting heightened pressure to act, yet only 13% are fully prepared to leverage AI's potential, a decline from 14% the previous year [3][5]. Urgency - Companies feel they have a limited timeframe to demonstrate AI's impact, with 85% believing they have less than 18 months, and over half (59%) stating only 12 months [5]. Strategy - A clear strategy is deemed essential for effective AI deployment, with cybersecurity being the top priority (42% advanced deployment), followed by infrastructure (40%), and data analysis and management (39%) [5]. Investment - Despite mixed results from current AI projects, companies plan to allocate approximately 30% of IT budgets to AI over the next five years, nearly double the current allocation [5]. Infrastructure - Current networking infrastructure is inadequate for AI workloads, with only 21% of organizations possessing the necessary GPUs for future demands, and 30% having capabilities for comprehensive data protection in AI models [5][6]. Data Management - Companies report decreased readiness to manage data for AI initiatives, with only 32% feeling prepared, and 80% citing inconsistencies in data pre-processing for AI projects [5][6]. Talent - A significant challenge is the lack of skilled talent, with only 31% of organizations claiming high readiness to leverage AI, and 24% indicating insufficient in-house talent for successful deployment [6]. Governance - Effective AI governance is increasingly challenging, with only 31% of organizations reporting comprehensive AI policies, and 51% citing a lack of expertise in AI governance as a barrier [6]. Culture - Cultural readiness to embrace AI has declined, with only 66% of boards being receptive to AI changes, down from 82% the previous year, and 30% of organizations reporting employee resistance to AI adoption [6]. AI Readiness Index - The Cisco AI Readiness Index surveyed 7,985 senior business leaders across 30 markets, assessing AI readiness across six pillars: strategy, infrastructure, data, talent, governance, and culture [7][8].