Log in
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Create an account
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Now in its third year, Cisco's AI Readiness Index is a global study surveying over 8,000 senior IT and business leaders across 30 markets and 26 industries. The 2025 edition introduces a new concept: AI Infrastructure Debt, the quiet accumulation of deferred upgrades, underfunded architecture and infrastructure shortcuts that can slow innovation and erode returns on AI investment.
The research identifies a persistent gap between the most AI-ready organisations and the rest. Cisco refers to the top 13% as Pacesetters, a group that has remained consistent across all three years of the study. These organisations are four times more likely to move AI pilots into production and 50% more likely to report measurable value. Their advantage is built on system-level discipline: clear roadmaps, centralised data, scalable network infrastructure, mature governance and comprehensive change management.
The 2025 findings also highlight the rise of agentic AI. Eighty-three percent of organisations plan to deploy AI agents within the next year, but only 34% have infrastructure scalable enough to support them and just 31% can adequately secure autonomous systems. For the majority, ambition is running well ahead of readiness.
For organisations in travel and tourism at any scale, the report provides a rigorous framework for understanding where AI readiness gaps lie across six pillars: strategy, infrastructure, data, governance, talent and culture.
Now in its third year, Cisco's AI Readiness Index is a global study surveying over 8,000 senior IT and business leaders across 30 markets and 26 industries. The 2025 edition introduces a new concept: AI Infrastructure Debt, the quiet accumulation of deferred upgrades, underfunded architecture and infrastructure shortcuts that can slow innovation and erode returns on AI investment.
The research identifies a persistent gap between the most AI-ready organisations and the rest. Cisco refers to the top 13% as Pacesetters, a group that has remained consistent across all three years of the study. These organisations are four times more likely to move AI pilots into production and 50% more likely to report measurable value. Their advantage is built on system-level discipline: clear roadmaps, centralised data, scalable network infrastructure, mature governance and comprehensive change management.
The 2025 findings also highlight the rise of agentic AI. Eighty-three percent of organisations plan to deploy AI agents within the next year, but only 34% have infrastructure scalable enough to support them and just 31% can adequately secure autonomous systems. For the majority, ambition is running well ahead of readiness.
For organisations in travel and tourism at any scale, the report provides a rigorous framework for understanding where AI readiness gaps lie across six pillars: strategy, infrastructure, data, governance, talent and culture.
