Cisco NASDAQ: CSCO, the worldwide leader in networking and security , today released the results from the third annual Cisco AI Readiness Index . A small but consistent group of companies surveyed - the Pacesetters, about 13 of organizations for the last three years - outperform their peers across every measure of AI value, captured for the first time in Ciscos global study of over 8,000 AI leaders across 30 markets and 26 industries.
The Pacesetters sustained advantage indicates a new form of resilience: a disciplined, system-level approach that balances strategic drivers with the data and infrastructure needed to keep pace with AIs accelerating evolution. Theyre already architecting for the future with 98 designing their networks for the growth, scale and complexity of AI compared to 46 overall.
The combination of foresight and foundation is delivering real, tangible results at a time when two major forces are starting to reshape the landscape: AI agents , which raise the bar for scale, security, and governance and AI Infrastructure Debt , the early warning signs of hidden bottlenecks that threaten to erode long-term value.