Britain’s race to embrace AI could stumble before it starts, as new research from tech giant Cisco has revealed that just 16 per cent of UK firms are adequately equipped to scale AI safely across their operations.
The company’s ‘AI readiness index’, City AM can reveal, shows a sharp divide between businesses racing ahead and those still struggling with outdated systems, poor data integration, and security gaps, issues Cisco warns could soon become “AI infrastructure debt”.
“AI infrastructure debt is the build-up of small shortcuts that quietly add up”, Sarah Walker, Cisco’s UK chief executive, told City AM. “Over time, they slow progress, raise costs and limit the impact of AI investments”.
Cisco’s research comes as 82 per cent of UK companies plan to deploy AI agents within the next year.
But fewer than one in three feel equipped to prevent AI-specific security threats such as data leaks or model manipulation – an imbalance Walker dubbed a “call to action for every business”.
This follows a report from Forvis Mazars, which showed that in the financial UK sector, while all surveyed C-suite executives claim to be “AI-ready”, only 43 per cent of firms have a well-developed AI strategy.
Cisco: Pacesetters leading the charge’
Cisco’s study, which surveyed 8,000 business leaders across 30 markets, including 300 in the UK, identified a small but consistent group of high performers dubbed the ‘pacesetters’.
These firms, which represent about one in six of those using AI, were four times more likely to move AI pilots into production and 50 per cent more likely to see measurable value from their investments.
“Pacesetters see AI as part of the whole, not a side project”, Walker said. “They plan clearly, fund consistently, and build modern foundations that let them scale quickly. Nearly all have a roadmap and governance in place, meaning they’re four times more likely to move pilots into production and 50 per cent more likely to see measurable value. Value follows readiness”.
According to Cisco’s data, 90 per cent of pacesetters reported higher profitability, productivity and innovation, compared to just 68 per cent of UK firms overall.
Nearly three-quarters of them said their networks were flexible enough to scale instantly for AI projects, compared with just 22 per cent across the wider UK examples.
Britain’s AI foundations held back
However, many other UK firms are struggling to scale AI tools effectively.
Cisco found 63 per cent of firms struggled to centralise data, 39 per cent expected workloads to rise by more than 30 per cent in the next three years, and only 28 per cent have robust GPU capacity to handle new AI models.
That combination, the company warned, risks holding back productivity gains at a time when the UK economy is banking on digital transformation to drive growth.
Walker said the fix lies in focusing on infrastructure and people, not just algorithms. “AI agents and advanced models are only as strong as the networks, data, and security that power them” she said. “Without that flexible foundation, AI’s value is much harder to unlock”.
She added that leadership will determine who wins. “The best outcomes come from leaders who set clear goals, back what works, and stop what doesn’t. In the UK, focusing on solid foundations and practical adoption will turn AI into real gains for productivity, regional growth and better public services”.
“When we say ‘AI ready’, we mean the right strategy, skills, governance, and – crucially – the systems to run AI at scale”, Walker added.
“The UK has the talent and the ecosystem to lead in AI adoption; by focusing on readiness, we can translate that strength into productivity gains and growth for the wider economy”.