New Report Shows Disconnect Between Business Investments in AI and Lack of Successful Execution 

Qlik, a global leader in data integration, data quality, analytics, and artificial intelligence, announced the findings of a new study conducted with Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) that reveals businesses are moving aggressively to scale AI, but many lack a structured plan to build the data foundations necessary for long-term success.

ESG’s research report, “Data Readiness for Impactful Generative AI,” reveals that while 94% are increasing spending on products and services supporting data readiness for AI, only 21% have fully embedded AI into their operations. While most organizations recognize that data quality is crucial, governance, compliance, and bias detection remain key gaps, preventing organizations from fully realizing AI’s potential.

"AI isn’t a tech problem—it’s an execution problem," said Stephen Catanzano, senior analyst at ESG. "Organizations in every industry are moving quickly to scale AI but without proper safeguards, they risk regulatory, financial, and reputational consequences. While they recognize the importance of data quality, most still lack the governance needed to ensure AI models are secure and unbiased. This execution gap is why so many AI projects stall or fail to deliver tangible ROI."

The new Qlik and ESG study highlights the misalignment between AI adoption and the critical safeguards needed to ensure its success:

• Companies are collecting more data, but are struggling to make it usable for AI: 64% of organizations collect data from 100 to 499 sources daily, highlighting the scale of data complexity.
• Operational efficiency is the primary metric, but AI’s full impact remains unclear: 57% measure AI’s success based on operational efficiency, while fewer track strategic business impact.
• Bias, governance, and compliance gaps are creating significant risks: 48% of organizations attempt to address bias in AI through transparency in model decisions and data sources.
• Data quality is critical, but governance remains a challenge: Only 47% strongly agree that their governance policies are consistently enforced, highlighting gaps in oversight and compliance.

The Qlik and ESG AI readiness report identifies the most pressing challenges in AI execution and provides strategies to ensure long-term success.

For more information about this survey, visit: https://www.qlik.com/us/resource-library/data-readiness-for-impactful-generative-ai.