CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Dec. 3, 2025 – Solely 6 percen t of enterprise AI leaders say their knowledge infrastructure is absolutely prepared for AI: a readiness hole that has change into one of many greatest constraints on AI progress.
That’s a central discovering of CData Software program’s new report, The State of AI Information Connectivity: 2026 Outlook, which pulls on independently collected survey knowledge from greater than 200 knowledge and AI leaders at software program suppliers and enterprise organizations.
The report establishes a direct hyperlink between knowledge infrastructure maturity and AI maturity, figuring out the core capabilities that outline AI-ready knowledge infrastructure and revealing how gaps in knowledge connectivity, context, and management are stalling AI initiatives throughout industries.
Right here’s the complete report: https://www.cdata.com/lp/ai-
The analysis exposes a stark divide: 60 p.c of firms on the highest degree of AI maturity have additionally invested in superior knowledge infrastructure, whereas 53 p.c of organizations battling AI implementations are hampered by immature knowledge techniques. The hole is costing firms time, cash, and aggressive benefit.
“The period of AI being constrained by fashions is over. Right now, AI is constrained by knowledge,” stated Amit Sharma, CEO and Co-founder of CData. “The organizations successful with AI aren’t those with the perfect algorithms; they’re those with linked, contextual, and semantically constant knowledge infrastructure.”
Findings:
- AI groups are drowning in knowledge plumbing: 71 p.c of AI groups spend over 1 / 4 of their time on knowledge plumbing as a substitute of innovation
- Connectivity complexity is exploding: 46 p.c of organizations want real-time entry to 6 or extra knowledge sources for a single AI use case
- Actual-time knowledge is universally essential — however nonetheless lacking: one hundred pc agree real-time knowledge is important for AI brokers, but 20 p.c nonetheless lack real-time integration capabilities
- AI-native suppliers are outpacing conventional software program in integration calls for: AI-native software program suppliers require 3x extra exterior integrations than conventional firms (46% want 26+ integrations vs. 15 p.c)
- Infrastructure maturity is the nice divide: Excessive-AI-maturity organizations have constructed centralized, semantically constant integration layers — 80 p.c of low-maturity suppliers haven’t even began
The report alerts a basic shift in AI technique. Solely 9 p.c of organizations now rank AI mannequin growth as their prime funding precedence, whereas 83 p.c are investing in or planning centralized, semantically constant knowledge entry layers.
“Organizations are realizing that AI success isn’t decided by the sophistication of their fashions. It’s decided by the maturity of their knowledge infrastructure,” stated Sharma. “The businesses gaining actual worth from AI are those that invested early in linked, real-time knowledge entry. People who haven’t will discover themselves at a major aggressive drawback.”
The State of AI Information Connectivity: 2026 Outlook appears at:
- Enterprise AI Adoption — How knowledge infrastructure gaps are limiting AI success and what separates excessive performers from laggards
- Product AI Technique — How software program firms are embedding AI capabilities and managing escalating integration complexity
The analysis references findings from the August 2025 MIT report, The Generative AI Hole: The State of Enterprise AI in 2025.
