AI has gone from being a future consideration to becoming an active implementation in industry environments, with 64% of Spanish organizations (61% global average) already using AI in critical industrial operations and 20% reporting mature and scaled deployments (20% global). This advancement reflects the industry’s central role in technology adoption.
That’s according to Cisco’s latest annual State of Industrial AI report, which provides a comprehensive look at how industry organizations are adopting AI, the challenges they face as AI moves to live operations, and the opportunities that arise when AI is integrated into physical systems, infrastructure, and industry workflows.
Conducted in collaboration with Sapio Research, the global study is based on consultations with more than 1,000 operational technology (OT) decision makers from 19 countries (including Spain) and 21 industrial sectors. The results show that, although AI is already generating measurable operational benefits in the industry, organizations are increasingly limited by readiness gaps related to industrial networks, cybersecurity and IT/OT operating models, all critical factors as AI moves from analytics to real-time, production-grade use in key physical environments for the industry.
“Industrial AI is moving from experimentation to production, where AI systems perceive, reason and act in the real world,” said Vikas Butaney, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Secure Routing and Industrial IoT at Cisco. “In this phase, success no longer depends only on models, but on whether networks, security and teams are prepared to support AI at the edge, in motion and at scale within the industry. The study shows that organizations with the confidence to scale AI are those that treat infrastructure, cybersecurity and IT/OT collaboration as foundational elements for the industry, not optional. “
Main conclusions of the report
The Cisco study reveals that industrial AI has gone from being a future consideration to an active deployment in the industry, with 64% of Spanish organizations already using AI in live industrial operations, where performance, reliability and security have direct physical consequences (61% global), and with 20% reporting mature and scaled deployments (20% global).
In manufacturing, transportation and utilities, AI is driving machine vision, robotics, mobility and safety-critical operations within the industry. The majority of industry organizations plan to increase spending on AI (76% in Spain and 83% globally) and almost nine out of ten expect relevant results in the next two years (96% Spain and 87% globally). However, as adoption accelerates, many industry organizations are struggling to maintain and scale deployments, and preparedness in network infrastructure, security, and capabilities becomes increasingly critical to scaling AI consistently across key industry physical environments.
Infrastructure readiness emerges as a major scalability factor in the industry. As AI is integrated into machines, sensors, vision systems and autonomous operations, organizations face increasing demands for reliable connectivity, wireless mobility, predictable latency, edge computing and power, making network readiness a critical factor for physical AI deployments in industry:
o All respondents in Spain expect AI workloads to affect the requirements of their industrial network (97% worldwide).
o More than half of Spanish organizations (56%) expect AI workloads to increase connectivity and reliability requirements in their industrial networks (51% global).
o 96% of those consulted in Spain affirm that wireless networks are essential to enable AI in the industry (96% global average).
Infrastructure preparation emerges as the main factor of scalability in the industry
Cybersecurity sets both the pace and confidence in the adoption of AI in the industry. As AI expands connectivity and data flows in industrial environments, security remains the primary barrier to scale within the industry. At the same time, organizations increasingly see AI as part of the solution, with a majority expecting AI to strengthen monitoring, detection and operational resilience in the industry.
o 96% of Spanish companies consider cybersecurity essential for an infrastructure prepared for AI (98% in the world).
o Three out of ten respondents in Spain (30%) cite cybersecurity as the biggest obstacle to scaling AI deployments (40% global).
o 84% of Spanish organizations expect AI to improve their cybersecurity strategy (85% global average).
IT/OT collaboration is critical to operating AI at scale in the industry. IT/OT collaboration is key to bringing AI to real operations at scale within the industry. Organizations with closer collaboration between IT and operations teams report greater confidence in scaling AI, more stable networks for physical operations, and a greater emphasis on cybersecurity as a core industry requirement.
o 78% of Spanish organizations admit to having some level of IT/OT collaboration (57% in the world).
o And only 22% of those surveyed in Spain maintain limited or no collaboration (43% overall).
