New Study Flags Growing Gap Between AI Plans and Data Readiness

Companies racing to deploy artificial intelligence are running into familiar roadblocks in data quality and talent, according to IBM’s 2025 Chief Data Officer (CDO) Study, which finds a widening gap between AI ambitions and organizations’ ability to support them.

More than 81% of CDOs now prioritize AI investment, up sharply from 52% in 2023, the survey shows. Yet only 26% say their data is ready to support new AI-driven revenue streams. Persistent problems around data access, quality and consistency remain the biggest drag on adoption.

The report, published by the IBM Institute for Business Value with Oxford Economics, is based on responses from 1,700 senior data and analytics leaders across 27 countries and 19 industries.

IBM Chief Data Officer Ed Lovely wrote in the report that enterprise AI efforts continue to be slowed by “data trapped in silos,” calling it the “Achilles’ heel of enterprise AI transformation.”

Breaking down those silos, he said, could speed up decision-making, improve organisational agility and strengthen competitiveness. “Enterprise AI at scale is within reach, but success depends on organisations powering it with the right data,” he wrote.

The study finds that CDOs are taking on a more strategic role as businesses try to link data priorities directly to revenue growth, product development and efficiency gains.

While 92% of respondents agree the job now depends on delivering business outcomes, only a third strongly agree they can clearly explain how data drives those outcomes, and just 29% report having solid metrics to measure data’s value.

Most CDOs see competitive upside in unique or proprietary data. More than 84% say their data products have delivered significant advantage, and 78% call proprietary data a key strategic objective. But only 26% express confidence in using unstructured data at scale.

Talent shortages remain a major constraint. Forty-seven percent of CDOs say attracting and retaining skilled data workers is now one of their biggest challenges, up from 32% in 2023. Seventy-seven percent report struggles filling critical roles, with recruitment effectiveness falling from 75% to 53% over the past year.

The study also captures shifting attitudes toward AI agents and autonomous systems. Eighty-three percent of CDOs say the benefits outweigh the risks, and 77% say they trust outcomes produced by such systems, a marked change from two years ago.

IBM says the findings underline the need for closer coordination between CDOs, technology leaders and business units, along with hybrid and AI-enabled data architectures that can support scaled deployment.