Cisco Launches New Research, Highlighting Seismic Gap in Companies’ Preparedness for AI

Only Nine Per Cent of Canadian Organizations are Fully Prepared to Deploy and Leverage AI, with More Than Half Admitting Serious Concerns about the Business Impact if They Fail to Act in the Next 12 Months

Toronto, Nov. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- News Summary:

• Ninety-six per cent of organizations in Canada reported that the urgency to deploy AI-powered technologies has increased in their company in the past six months.
• Considerable gaps exist across six key business pillars — strategy, infrastructure, data, governance, talent and culture — with only nine per cent of companies saying they are fully ready to integrate AI into their businesses.
• Companies are racing against time as 55 per cent said they have a maximum of one year to deploy their AI strategy or else it will have a negative impact on business. 

Toronto, Canada, Nov. 14, 2023 — Only nine per cent of Canadian organizations are fully prepared to deploy and leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered technologies, according to Cisco’s (NASDAQ: CSCO) inaugural AI Readiness Index released today. The Index, which surveyed over 8,000 global companies, was developed in response to the accelerating adoption of AI, a generational shift that is impacting almost every area of business and daily life. The report highlights companies’ preparedness to utilize and deploy AI, showcasing critical gaps across key business pillars and infrastructures that pose serious risks for the near future.

The new research finds that while AI adoption has been slowly progressing for decades, the advancements in Generative AI, coupled with public availability in the past year, are driving greater attention to the challenges, changes and new possibilities posed by the technology. While 78 per cent of respondents believe AI will have a significant impact on their business operations, it also raises new issues around data privacy and security. The findings show that companies experience the most challenges when it comes to leveraging AI alongside their data. In fact, 83 per cent of respondents admit that this is due to data existing in silos across their organizations.