New data from Cloudera’s latest survey, The Data Readiness Index, reveals that while 96% of organisations have been busy integrating AI into myriad core processes, nearly four in five (79%) admit these initiatives are being constrained by limited access to data.

The report, based on a poll of more than 1,200 IT leaders globally, found that data‑quality issues are the most common reason AI is failing to deliver on promised ROI (22%), ahead of cost overrun (16%), and poor integration into workflows (15%).

These figures highlight a striking paradox – while 85% of firms say they have a clear data strategy when it comes to AI, 73% of IT leaders say their organisation needs to focus more on data quality. 

Cloudera said that this contradiction is evidence of an emerging “AI readiness illusion”, where businesses believe they are prepared to scale AI even as critical data challenges remain unresolved.

For instance, despite 84% of IT leaders being confident in the accuracy, completeness, and alignment of their organisation’s data, only 18% said their data was fully governed, while nearly a quarter (23%) said all or almost all of their data is unstructured.

Data challenges like these often mask deeper issues, said Cloudera, such as persistent silos, inconsistent quality, and limited accessibility, and can lead to data that appears reliable quickly breaking down when used across teams, systems, or AI applications.

“Enterprises aren’t struggling to adopt AI, they’re struggling to operationalise it beyond experiments,” said Sergio Gago, Cloudera CTO. 

“AI is only as effective as the data that fuels it. Without seamless access to all their data, organisations limit the accuracy, trust, and business value that AI can deliver.”

Recommended reading

• Report: Appetite for AI Investment Higher Than Manageable for CIOs
• Half of CIOs Say AI Is Moving Too Fast to Manage
• Why 75% of AI Pilots Never Scale

However, the data landscape looks very different across industries. More than half (54%) of firms in the telecoms industry said that they have full visibility into where their data resides, compared to only 30% of financial services and 31% of public sector organisations.

Regarding access, 51% of telecoms respondents said they can access all their data at any time, versus just 24% in financial services and 16% in the public sector.

Still, strong data readiness does not automatically translate into success, with three in five (60%) of telecom organisations saying infrastructure performance consistently hinders operational initiatives, the highest among all industries surveyed.