Last year’s inaugural Kyndryl Readiness Report revealed a paradox: While 90% of
leaders said their IT infrastructure was best in class, only 39% thought it was ready for
future risks and disruptive forces. Since then, organizations and their people have
continued to be put to the test, navigating macroeconomic uncertainty and the rapid rise
of  technologies such as agentic AI.

So it’s no surprise that the findings in this year’s Report — which draws on exclusive
data from Kyndryl Bridge, our AI-powered open  digital business platform,
and insights from 3,700 business executives — uncovered a readiness tipping point
across their IT estates and their workforces. Tip one way, and they will turn obstacles
into differentiators. Tip another, and they will risk their competitiveness.

AI

With the promise to solve complex problems faster, improve customer and
continuously optimize how work gets done, companies are turning to AI because it can
represent a step change in how they operate their business. Our report shows that AI
investments are up 33% over the past year — across the spectrum of traditional
machine learning, generative AI, data centers for AI, and AI agents that can reason,
adapt and act to achieve specific goals

As  in AI increase, the pressure to scale it and demonstrate its value rises as well
with three in five leaders reporting that they feel more pressure this year to positive
return on their AI investments. This is a people readiness challenge as much as a
technology readiness challenge as 87% of leaders believe that AI will fundamentally change
roles and in their organizations within 12 months. But most leaders
worry that their workforce lacks the skills needed to -fully seize AI opportunities.

Martin Schroeter
and Chief Executive Officer
Kyndry