Cisco AI Research: The Most AI-ready Companies Outpace Peers in the Race to Value

Core Insights - The 'Pacesetters' are significantly more advanced in AI adoption, being 4 times more likely to move AI pilots into production and 50% more likely to report measurable value from AI [1][7] - Cisco's third annual AI Readiness Index reveals that a small group of companies, termed 'Pacesetters,' consistently outperform their peers across various AI metrics [1][5] Group 1: Pacesetter Characteristics - Pacesetters represent about 13% of surveyed organizations and demonstrate a disciplined, system-level approach to AI, balancing strategic drivers with necessary data and infrastructure [2][10] - 90% of Pacesetters report gains in profitability, productivity, and innovation, compared to approximately 60% of their peers [6] - Nearly all Pacesetters (99%) have a defined AI roadmap, and 91% have a change-management plan, indicating a strong commitment to AI integration [8] Group 2: Infrastructure and Investment - 71% of Pacesetters have flexible networks that can scale instantly for AI projects, compared to only 15% overall [8] - 79% of Pacesetters prioritize AI as their top investment, with 96% having both short- and long-term funding strategies [8] - 62% of Pacesetters have a mature, repeatable innovation process for generating and scaling AI use cases, significantly higher than the 13% overall [8] Group 3: AI Agent Adoption - Over 80% of companies are prioritizing AI agents, with two out of three reporting that these systems meet or exceed performance goals [4] - 83% of organizations plan to deploy AI agents, with nearly 40% expecting them to work alongside employees within a year [7][9] - However, many organizations face challenges, as more than half (54%) report their networks cannot scale for complexity or data volume [9] Group 4: AI Infrastructure Debt - The report introduces the concept of AI Infrastructure Debt, which refers to the accumulation of compromises and underfunded architecture that can erode AI value over time [11][12] - Early warning signs include 62% expecting workloads to rise by over 30% within three years and only 26% having robust GPU capacity [12] - Pacesetters are better positioned to manage these risks due to their foresight and investment discipline [13]