Businesses face mounting pressure from investors to show measurable returns on their investments in artificial intelligence (AI), but 74% say their projects face barriers such as infrastructure costs, disconnected data silos, or slow data ingestion, according to a survey from data analytics provider Qlik.
The data from a survey of 500 business leaders conducted in April shows a gap between near-universal strategic importance placed on AI and companies’ ability to operationalize it with real-world results, Philadelphia-based Qlik said.
Specifically, nearly 87% of respondents describe executing with AI as no longer optional, but core to their competitive strategy. And yet seven in ten organizations struggling with data integration specifically cite complex toolchains and fragmented data sources as their primary roadblocks.
“Organizations clearly recognize that merely investing in AI is insufficient; what matters now is delivering tangible outcomes,” Mike Capone, CEO of Qlik, said in a release. “Yet, as our research underscores, the road to production AI remains blocked by persistent hurdles—cost, complexity, and data fragmentation.”
In addition to infrastructure challenges, trust in AI-generated insights remains a crucial factor. The survey highlights a significant trust gap within organizational ranks—88% of executives express at least moderate confidence in AI insights, but full, audit-ready trust drops to 42%. Notably, C-suite executives are 31% more likely than directors to express complete trust in AI-driven insights (48% vs. 37%).
