Report finds only 9% of firms have full data access for AI use

A new report has found that just 9% of organisations say all their data is available and usable for artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.

The findings come from Cloudera's report, The Evolution of AI: The State of Enterprise AI and Data Architecture, based on a survey of over 1,500 IT leaders working at companies with more than 1,000 employees in the US, EMEA, and APAC regions. The survey reveals widespread AI integration, alongside persistent challenges related to data accessibility, infrastructure, governance, and security.

Data accessibility

Despite the growing focus on AI adoption, the report shows that limited access to usable data remains a barrier. Only 9% of respondents stated their organisation's data is fully available and usable for AI. A further 38% reported that most of their data is accessible. The majority (86%) described their organisations as data driven, but technical constraints persist.

The main limitations cited with existing data architectures for AI workloads include data integration (37%), storage performance (17%), computing power (17%), lack of automation (17%), and latency (12%).

Data silos are also highlighted as an impediment. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said that siloed data had at least sometimes negatively impacted their ability to expand AI initiatives at scale.

Security and compliance

Security regarding AI-related data is a key area for IT leaders. More than three-quarters (77%) of organisations expressed confidence in their ability to secure data used in AI systems. However, several concerns remain at the top of the agenda.

The most common worries related to AI security were:

• Data leakage during model training - 50%
• Unauthorised data access - 48%
• Unsecure third-party AI tools - 43%
• Lack of visibility or explainability in model outputs - 39%
• Model manipulation or poisoning - 35%

Levels of integration

AI is already present in a substantial proportion of enterprises. According to the survey, 21% of respondents said AI is already fully integrated into their business processes, while 54% classify their adoption as significantly integrated and 21% as somewhat integrated. Only a minority indicated low or no integration.

When it comes to efficacy, a notable 70% of those surveyed reported having achieved significant success with AI initiatives so far.

Expert insight

"In the last 12 months, AI has shifted from a strategic priority to an urgent mandate, actively reshaping operations and redefining the rules of competition," said Sergio Gago, Chief Technology Officer at Cloudera. "But our survey shows that challenges around security, compliance, and data utilisation still remain. Organisations need access to all of their data, wherever it resides and in any form, to govern it securely and unlock real-time and predictive insights. As a result, hybrid data architectures are becoming essential, giving organisations the flexibility to manage AI seamlessly across both cloud and on-premises environments."

Survey methodology

The survey underpinning Cloudera's report was conducted by Researchscape in July 2025. It gathered responses from 1,574 IT leaders from companies with more than 1,000 staff, with results weighted according to the overall GDP of participating countries.

Cloudera's research underscores ongoing challenges in accessing, integrating, and securing data for AI applications as organisations report widespread but uneven progress in AI integration and success.