Connect
If you launched an AI-integrated workflow tomorrow, would your team be ready to support it?
You’re likely rushing to adopt AI and the pressure to move fast is real. The promise of smarter systems and lower costs is hard to ignore when you want to stay ahead.
But moving fast without a plan can backfire.
It’s not just another software upgrade. AI changes how data is handled and how decisions are made. Without the right foundation, you risk security vulnerabilities, wasted budget, and projects that fail to deliver.
What does it really mean to be “AI-ready”?
Before you invest more money or launch another pilot, you need to have clarity. An AI-ready IT organization has the infrastructure, skills, governance, and processes to support AI safely and at scale.
This article will help you understand what that foundation looks like, identify pitfalls in your current strategy, and provide a quick assessment to gauge your preparedness.
Big Goals but Fragile Foundations
Many organizations are increasing their IT budgets to support AI. In our latest IT Trends Report, The Dual Disconnect: Why Your AI Maturity Now Fails to Scale, we found that nine out of 10 organizations expect to spend more on AI in the coming year. About 50% plan to expand their AI operations within the next two years.
However, despite this excitement and investment, moving fast can be problematic if your foundations are not set right. The research shows a major gap between this spending and actual readiness, suggesting that the base for AI expansion may be more fragile than many realize.
A primary concern highlighting this fragility is “shadow AI.” This refers to AI applications used by employees without approval or oversight from the IT department. Shadow AI may not adhere to established compliance frameworks, exposing organizations to potential regulatory penalties. The lack of visibility into these tools also complicates incident response and recovery, as IT teams are often unaware of their existence until a problem arises.
According to our report, this is a reality for 61% of organizations. Shadow AI creates huge security and governance problems. It shows that just spending money on AI is not a complete strategy.
This gap is further widened by challenges such as unclear governance frameworks, concerns about data security, and compliance with evolving regulations. In fact, 60% of IT professionals agree that AI is outpacing their organization’s ability to protect against threats.
Without addressing these foundational issues, AI initiatives might fail to deliver the promised results.
Assess Your Foundation Before AI Expansion
How prepared are you to securely adopt AI?
Understanding your readiness goes beyond just looking at the specific AI tools you have. It requires a critical look at your core IT pillars like identity access management (IAM) and unification, to ensure your environment can handle the complexity of AI.
Why these three areas? For starters, a strong IAM program ensures only the right people access the right resources. It’s the first line of defense. A unified IT environment gives you the visibility and control needed to manage a complex infrastructure. It simplifies security and operations. And, since shadow AI introduces unknown risks, gaining visibility into unmanaged AI usage is critical for maintaining a secure posture.
We’ve put together this high level quiz to give you a better sense of your current state across these key areas. For each question, we score your organization on a scale of 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Completely).
A Strong Foundation Is the Only Path Forward
The race to adopt AI is understandable, but success depends entirely on the groundwork you lay today. Getting a solid IT infrastructure requires a critical look at how ready you actually are to manage AI complexity.
A centralized approach is non-negotiable for managing AI at scale. Our research is clear on this: nearly half of all organizations agree that IT unification is the foundation for scaling AI safely, and 85% recognize that strong IAM is critical. A unified platform provides the control and visibility needed to govern access, secure data, and manage a growing number of AI tools.
Do not let the industry hype lead your organization toward a costly and insecure AI implementation. Build your foundation first!
If you want to get a more in-depth look at your readiness level, including which readiness tier you fall into and how well you map against your peers across six dimensions of AI readiness, take our full assessment below.
Are You Ready To Scale with AI?
Take this assessment to learn how ready you are to scale your AI use based on the six dimensions of AI Readiness.
For more detailed insights on the disconnect between maturity and readiness, you can also download our latest report, The Dual Disconnect: Why Your AI Maturity Now Fails to Scale.
