According to recent worldwide research conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value, enterprise data strategies are changing quickly as businesses strive to integrate AI into their operations. According to the research, Chief Data Officers (CDOs) are leading this change, yet many believe their data is still unprepared to fully utilize AI.
The study, which draws on data from 1,700 CDOs globally, reveals a growing disparity between AI readiness and ambition.
Just 26% of CDOs surveyed are certain that data can support new AI-enabled income streams, even though 81% of them say their company’s data strategy is integrated with its technological roadmap and infrastructure expenditures (compared to 52% in 2023).
Additionally, companies are unable to completely utilize corporate data for AI due to obstacles such as data accessibility, completeness, integrity, correctness, and consistency.
“Enterprise AI at scale is within reach, but success depends on organizations powering it with the right data. For CDOs, this means establishing a seamlessly integrated enterprise data architecture that fuels innovation and unlocks business value,”
said Ed Lovely, VP and Chief Data Officer, IBM.
“Organizations that get this right won’t just improve their AI, they’ll transform how they operate, make faster decisions, adapt to change more quickly and gain a competitive edge.”
1,700 top data and analytics executives with titles including Chief Data Officer, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Chief Analytics Officer, Chief AI Officer, and others were polled by the IBM Institute for Business Value in collaboration with Oxford Economics.
Between July and September of 2025, research was carried out in 19 industries and 27 regions. Data strategy, data standards, quality, and integrity, data governance, data preparedness for AI, talent, and corporate culture were among the subjects covered in the survey.
