A new report from Red Hat finds that 89 percent of businesses have not yet seen measurable customer value from their AI endeavors. Organizations are planning a 32 percent rise in AI investment by 2026, pointing to continued confidence in the technology despite mixed short-term returns.
The survey places AI and security at the top of the IT priority list for UK organizations over the next 18 months, with 62 percent of respondents identifying each area as necessary. Hybrid and multi-cloud strategies and virtualization follow closely, reflecting where many British firms expect to focus their technology efforts.
The route to wider AI adoption looks complicated. Most respondents report barriers that slow projects down, with the high cost of implementation and ongoing maintenance named by 34 percent as their biggest worry. Data privacy and security concerns come in second at 30 percent, while 28 percent say integrating AI into existing systems is a major challenge.
The report highlights widespread use of what it calls “shadow AI,” with 83 percent of organizations saying employees deploy AI tools without formal approval. That disconnect between official IT strategy and everyday working practices raises the chance of security exposures and operational inefficiencies.
Interest in open source software is rising as companies seek practical ways to move from experimentation to production. The survey shows 84 percent of participants view enterprise open source as important to their AI approach, and high proportions cite open source relevance for virtualization, hybrid and multi-cloud architectures, and security.
Joanna Hodgson, UK Country Manager at Red Hat, said:
“This year’s UK survey results show the gap between ambition and reality. Organisations are investing substantially in AI but currently only a few are delivering customer value. In the journey from experimentation to sustainable production, enterprise knowledge and integration with enterprise systems must pave the road to achieving value from AI.
“Openness is a force for greater collaboration, sharing best practice and enabling flexibility. As is the case with successful hybrid cloud investments, open-source will continue to be the bedrock for making AI more consumable and reusable.”
The survey drilled into the AI capabilities organizations are prioritizing. Agentic AI, which refers to systems able to act with a high degree of autonomy, tops the list for 68 percent of respondents. That is followed by efforts to drive broad employee adoption and to operationalize AI within business processes.
Skills shortages remain a persistent problem, with AI the most urgent area of concern for the second year running. Respondents point to the tightest talent gaps in agentic AI expertise, practical ability to use AI capabilities efficiently, and programs to teach the wider business how to work with AI tools.
There is strong belief in the UK’s potential on the global AI stage: 83 percent of respondents say the UK is already a global AI powerhouse or could become one within the next three years. That optimism is tempered by complaints about a thin talent pipeline, limited public funding, and a lack of private sector engagement, which many see as the key obstacles to turning AI investment into customer value.
Cloud strategy choices are being complicated by AI workloads. Internal silos, concerns about data sovereignty, and unclear return on investment continue to block smoother cloud adoption. In response, organizations are prioritizing operational control and autonomy, securing the software supply chain, and keeping supplier relationships flexible to avoid lock-in.
Hans Roth, SVP and GM for EMEA at Red Hat, commented:
“Organisations want greater operational control and IT resiliency to adapt in a world of constant disruption. The survey results, as well as our daily conversations, show sovereignty prominently on the agenda for enterprise’s ongoing cloud strategies and the budding AI opportunity.
“Open-source is central to this shift as it provides businesses with the transparency and flexibility to innovate rapidly without compromise.”
Taken together, the findings sketch a market that is ready to capture the value AI promises but is still wrestling with practical execution, shortages of the right skills, and an increasingly complex technology environment. The strong focus on enterprise open source points to a pragmatic approach aimed at sharing best practice, preserving control over core systems, and keeping options open as organizations work toward stable, production-grade AI deployments.