Cloudera has released its latest global survey, The Data Readiness Index: Understanding the Foundations for Successful AI, which examines how prepared enterprises are to support AI at scale. The report surveyed more than 300 IT leaders across the EMEA region, with insights from Saudi Arabia, and found that while AI adoption is growing, most organisations still lack the data foundation required for success.
The findings point to a contrast in how organisations track their data. Nearly 9 in 10 EMEA IT leaders claim complete visibility into where all their data resides, compared to 32 per cent of respondents in Saudi Arabia.
Data access restrictions hamper 62% of Saudi organisations, new Cloudera study shows
In addition, 62 per cent of Saudi respondents cite data access restrictions as a roadblock to data use.
This gap points to what the report describes as an “AI readiness illusion”: the belief that organisations are prepared to scale AI even as data challenges remain unresolved.
“Enterprises aren’t struggling to adopt AI, they’re struggling to operationalize it beyond experiments. AI is only as effective as the data that fuels it. Without seamless access to all their data, organisations limit the accuracy, trust, and business value that AI can deliver. You can’t do AI without data,” Sergio Gago, Chief Technology Officer at Cloudera said in a statement.
While AI is embedded across the enterprise, achieving returns on investment remains difficult due to a geographical divide in implementation hurdles. Across EMEA, the struggle centres on inputs, with data quality issues (18 per cent) and cost overruns (16 per cent) cited as the causes of lacklustre ROI.
Workflow Integration emerges as top AI barrier for Saudi Arabia, Cloudera survey finds
Saudi Arabia presents a different challenge focused on execution. In the Kingdom, weak integration into workflows is the barrier at 29 per cent, nearly double the concern over data quality, which sits at 15 per cent.
These regional nuances are tangled by infrastructure limitations. Around 65 per cent of respondents in KSA report that performance constraints have hindered operational initiatives, pointing to the difficulty of scaling AI across fragmented environments.
At the core of these challenges is a disconnect between data optimism and operational reality. The report shows that 95 per cent of KSA respondents are confident in their data, yet only 32 per cent of that data is currently fully governed. While this outpaces the broader EMEA region, where only 26 per cent of data is governed despite 91 per cent confidence, it points to an execution gap that organisations are racing to fill.
The Kingdom is positioned to bridge this divide, with 100 per cent of Saudi respondents ready to adopt new governance frameworks, and 79 per cent willing to transform their operations. This commitment suggests that Saudi Arabia’s proactive approach will outpace its peers in the race toward AI and digital maturity.
While leadership in both the EMEA and KSA regions understands the necessity of data infrastructure, the execution and accountability frameworks differ. More than 90 per cent of EMEA respondents report a data strategy tied to business objectives, while 53 per cent of Saudi Arabian respondents feel the same level of alignment.
Accountability and internal culture widen this divide. In EMEA, 69 per cent of leaders hold the CIO or CTO responsible for data readiness, whereas in Saudi Arabia, only 35 per cent place responsibility on this role, pointing to an emerging ownership structure.
Beyond accountability and alignment, respondents in Saudi Arabia face an internal hurdle: 50 per cent struggle with insufficient data literacy, while 32 per cent cite a lack of executive sponsorship.
