Aussie & NZ firms lack infrastructure for agentic AI drive

A new research report from Unisys has revealed that although a majority of business leaders in Australia and New Zealand are investing in agentic AI, only a small proportion have the infrastructure required to fully support its adoption.

Infrastructure gap

The study, which surveyed C-Suite and IT executives across eight global markets, found that 76% of business leaders in the region are committing resources to agentic AI. However, just 20% possess the necessary cloud and IT foundations to implement the technology effectively. Similarly, while interest in generative AI (genAI) is high - 78% of organisations plan to increase their investment - only 36% said they were capable of handling large-scale AI workloads.

This infrastructure gap also extends to other emerging technologies. The research found that only 25% of businesses have the appropriate data architecture in place for genAI, and just 23% are prepared for the potential implications of quantum cryptography incursions. For broader adoption of quantum computing and edge computing, readiness levels among IT executives were reported to be 32% and 34% respectively.

Investment priorities

Despite these figures, business confidence in emerging technology remains strong. According to the study, 73% of business executives view agentic AI as critical to maintaining a competitive edge. Additionally, around three-quarters of organisations are increasing IT budgets earmarked for genAI and data management, yet only 15% report widespread use of genAI throughout their operations.

Other areas of emerging technology, such as augmented and virtual reality, saw only 35% of IT leaders state that their environments were prepared for such adoption. The report termed the most prepared organisations as "Innovation Leaders", identifying that 82% of them allocate more than 6% of their IT budgets to genAI-enabled data management.

Cybersecurity concerns

Efforts to modernise technology have not always translated into improved security. The Unisys survey showed that most organisations still regard their cybersecurity as reactive. According to the findings, 85% of respondents described their organisation's cybersecurity posture as reactive rather than proactive, with only 14% feeling prepared for post-quantum cryptography risks.

"The next wave of technological disruption is already underway, yet many organisations are still operating on outdated foundations and processes," said Manju Naglapur, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cloud, Applications & Infrastructure Solutions at Unisys. "To fully realise the potential of technologies like generative and agentic AI, organisations need to modernise their infrastructure, align IT and business priorities, and adopt a more proactive approach to cybersecurity."

Financial consequences of inadequate cyber defences are acute. Over half (56%) of Asia-Pacific organisations said that unplanned IT downtime can cost them up to USD $500,000 per hour. In the past year, 17% of respondents reported experiencing a breach with such significant downtime costs.

While 62% of business executives said they are implementing or planning to adopt Zero Trust security models and 61% prioritise cyber recovery, less than half (43%) have deployed AI-based cybersecurity measures. This indicates a disparity between awareness of risks and actual implementation of advanced security strategies as emerging technologies make IT environments more complex.

Alignment and modernisation

The research underscores a need for businesses to address core issues before realising the benefits of expensive technology investments. The main obstacles identified were outdated infrastructure, skills shortages, and misalignment between IT and business objectives. These problems were highlighted in previous surveys and continue to be cited as primary barriers to cloud adoption and efficient technology deployment in 2025.

Despite fewer than half of business executives expressing satisfaction with the returns on investment from cloud, automation, and genAI, the momentum for investment has not slowed. The report suggests that aligning IT capabilities with business strategy and investing in up-to-date infrastructure are key factors for maximising the value of new technology and mitigating risks.