How a Few Companies Are Winning Big With AI
▼ Summary
– Most businesses are not achieving meaningful ROI from AI despite widespread adoption, with studies showing 95-96% seeing no major improvements.
– A small group called “Pacesetters” (13-14% of businesses) successfully use AI by prioritizing long-term strategy, infrastructure, and governance over quick gains.
– Pacesetters treat AI as a core operating system for their organization, embedding it into business operations rather than using it as a standalone tool.
– These successful companies invest early in AI roadmaps, with 99% having a plan for AI use and 87% being highly aware of AI-specific cybersecurity threats.
– Implementing AI effectively requires focusing on automating mundane business tasks and building trust in the technology, which delivers more value than flashy applications.
A surprising paradox defines the current business landscape: while artificial intelligence adoption is skyrocketing, a vast majority of companies report seeing little to no financial return on their investments. This disconnect raises a critical question, what separates the few successful organizations from the struggling masses? New research from Cisco provides compelling answers, identifying a distinct group of top performers it calls “Pacesetters” who are cracking the code on AI profitability.
The struggle to achieve a positive return on investment is widespread. Multiple studies confirm that most corporate AI initiatives are failing to deliver meaningful financial gains or operational improvements. A notable MIT study from August revealed that a staggering 95% of business AI projects have essentially stalled, producing minimal impact. More recently, an Atlassian report found that 96% of organizations have not witnessed the dramatic boosts in efficiency, innovation, or work quality they anticipated, even as individual employee usage of AI tools climbs.
Cisco’s investigation pinpointed a crucial differentiator. The small cohort of Pacesetters, consistently making up about 13-14% of surveyed companies over three years, approach AI with a fundamentally different mindset and strategy. These organizations behave like savvy, long-term investors, deliberately forgoing quick wins to build a solid foundation for sustained growth. They adopt a disciplined, system-level approach that carefully balances strategy, infrastructure, data, governance, and company culture.
For these leaders, AI is not merely another software tool. They treat AI as a new organizational operating system, a core component that redefines their entire digital ecosystem rather than just a handy application for employees. This perspective demands greater ambition, requiring significant patience, meticulous attention to detail, and considerable creativity in implementation.
The data reveals stark contrasts in preparedness. An overwhelming 99% of Pacesetters have developed a comprehensive AI roadmap to guide their long-term technology strategy. This compares to just 58% of other businesses. Furthermore, 87% of Pacesetters stated they are highly aware of AI-specific cybersecurity threats, versus 42% of their peers. A full 75% feel fully equipped to control and secure AI agents, a capability only 32% of other organizations claim to possess.
Trust forms a critical part of the Pacesetters’ value equation. A separate study by SAS and IDC identified a lack of trust in the technology itself as a primary barrier preventing companies from achieving ROI. Pacesetters actively build and maintain this trust through rigorous governance and security measures.
Successful AI implementation also involves a pragmatic focus on automating mundane business operations. While creating a video ad with a generative AI model might generate buzz, investing in an AI-powered customer service tool is far more likely to deliver consistent, long-term value. This view is supported by Forrester data, which suggests the most profitable AI applications will be those working behind the scenes. A list from venture firm Andreessen Horowitz highlighted the top 50 AI startups attracting enterprise investment, many of which are lesser-known companies providing specialized automation services rather than flashy consumer products.
(Source: ZDNET)
