{"id":5417,"date":"2025-10-16T13:35:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=5417"},"modified":"2025-10-16T13:35:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:35:51","slug":"only-16-of-uk-organisations-are-ai-ready-says-cisco-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=5417","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Only 16% of UK Organisations Are AI-Ready,\u2019 Says Cisco Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cisco\u2019s latest \u201cAI Readiness Index\u201d warns that UK enterprises are facing what it calls an \u201cAI black hole.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to the firm\u2019s research, only 16% of organizations are equipped to scale AI securely, as many lack the necessary infrastructure, data systems, and security frameworks to deploy AI effectively.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco.com\/c\/m\/en_us\/solutions\/ai\/readiness-index\/realizing-the-value-of-ai.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> highlights issues including outdated infrastructure, poor data integration, and security vulnerabilities, describing these challenges as an \u201cAI infrastructure debt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The findings coincide with separate research published last month from FDM Group\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fdmgroup.com\/us\/powered-by-ai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cWorkforce 2.0: AI Adoption and the Future of Jobs\u201d<\/a> whitepaper, cited in the release, showing that 32% of companies admit AI adoption is stalling due to a skills shortage, while over half of organisations are only beginning to explore AI and just 2% have fully embedded it in operations. Furthermore, most teams (58%) have only early-stage AI proficiency, and only 6% report high-level expertise.<\/p>\n<p>Sheila Flavell, CBE, COO of FDM Group, warned: \u201cAI has the potential to transform the way we work, however, without the right skills, organisations will fail to leverage AI\u2019s full potential. One third of enterprises are already facing an AI roadblock, where the ambition to adopt AI is there, but the workforce readiness to deliver on that ambition is not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Together, the infrastructure and skills challenges present a significant barrier to innovation, making it harder for businesses to leverage AI effectively and safely. Cisco\u2019s press release emphasizes that modern, secure, and integrated systems are essential for AI readiness.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cisco points to its own fix<\/h2>\n<p>While the report raises legitimate concerns for IT leaders, it is also important to note that Cisco\u2019s core business aligns closely with the challenges it highlights. This summer, Cisco unveiled its new secure network architecture, which addresses AI challenges for enterprises, with an emphasis on scaling AI solutions and addressing intensifying security threats.<\/p>\n<p>That said, the study presents an opportunity for Cisco to position its networking, cloud, and cybersecurity solutions as essential components for enterprises as they navigate their transformation to a more robust infrastructure.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The future of AI<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the commercial angle, the report provides a valuable snapshot of the current state of AI readiness in the UK. It suggests that businesses need to update their technology infrastructure and invest in skills and processes to fully leverage AI capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cAI black hole\u201d can be seen as much a warning as it is an opportunity for companies to take charge. While those that delay may face increasing operational and competitive risks, companies that address infrastructure and skills gaps now become better positioned to harness AI safely and at scale.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AI may be the technology of the decade, but a new <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eweek.com\/news\/humanity-ai-invests-500m\/\"><strong>$500 million initiative<\/strong><\/a><strong> aims to keep humans at the heart of it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eweek.com\/news\/cisco-report-ai-ready-2025\/\">\u2018Only 16% of UK Organisations Are AI-Ready,\u2019 Says Cisco Report<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eweek.com\/\">eWEEK<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cisco\u2019s latest \u201cAI Readiness Index\u201d warns that UK enterprises are facing what it calls an \u201cAI black hole.\u201d\u00a0 According to the firm\u2019s research, only 16% of organizations are equipped to scale AI securely, as many lack the necessary infrastructure, data systems, and security frameworks to deploy AI effectively. The study highlights issues including outdated infrastructure, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5417"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}