Only 9% of companies in Spain are fully ready to adopt and use technologies based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), a slight increase compared to 8% the previous year. This is highlighted by Cisco’s second “AI Readiness Index” study, which reveals that despite this slight improvement, both companies and public administrations continue to face significant challenges to implement and make the most of this technology.
“Artificial Intelligence forces us to rethink power requirements, computing needs, high-performance connectivity within and between data centers, data requirements, security and more. Regardless of where they are on their AI journey, organizations must prepare existing data centers and cloud strategies to respond to changing AI requirements with agility and resilience.”says Jeetu Patel, Chief Product Officer at Cisco.
AI in companies
Artificial Intelligence has become an essential component of business strategy, and the urgency to adopt it has increased considerably. In Spain, almost all organizations surveyed (97%) have accelerated their implementation in the last year, driven mainly by CEOs (49%), other senior managers (41%) and investors (41%). Furthermore, 38% of companies believe they have a maximum of twelve months to properly implement their strategy.
However, despite significant investments in this area, for key areas such as cybersecurity, IT infrastructure and data analysis, 60% of Spanish companies consider that the return on these investments still does not meet their expectations.
Resources and Strategic Areas
Companies in Spain are allocating a considerable part of their resources to Artificial Intelligence. Nearly half of organizations surveyed (47%) allocate between 10% and 30% of their IT budget to these technologies. These investments have focused on three main areas:
- cybersecurity (48% of companies are in an advanced or complete implementation phase)
- data management (35%)
- data analysis (34%)
Spanish companies slightly improve their preparation for AI, but continue to face great challenges
The main objectives of these investments are to improve the efficiency of systems, processes and operations, as well as profitability; promote the capacity for innovation and competitiveness; and increase revenue and market share.
Infrastructure: A Critical Pillar
Infrastructure readiness remains a challenge, especially in terms of computing capacity, data center network performance, and cybersecurity. Only 21% of Spanish companies have the GPUs necessary to meet the current and future demands of technology, and only three out of ten have the capabilities to protect data in AI models with end-to-end encryption, security audits. security, continuous monitoring and immediate response to threats.
Companies recognize the need to improve their infrastructure to take advantage of it effectively. 41% of the companies surveyed in Spain consider that improving the scalability, flexibility and manageability of their IT infrastructure is one of their main priorities.
For its part, the lack of qualified talent is another of the main challenges in terms of infrastructure, data and governance. Only 23% of Spanish organizations say that their professionals are highly prepared to make the most of it, while 34% believe that there is not enough talent available in their sector with the right skills to meet the growing demand for Artificial Intelligence.
