~80% of organisations expect AI spending to increase over the next two years; India-specific research also highlights gaps in enterprise data readiness~
New Delhi, November 13, 2026: As organisations accelerate investments in artificial intelligence (AI), ensuring that AI systems understand business requirements and operational processes is emerging as a major challenge. According to global research by Alteryx, an AI-ready data and analytics company, 53% of organisations struggle to translate business context into AI systems and workflows, even as 80% expect their AI spending to increase over the next two years.
The findings are part of Alteryx’s 2026 IT Leader Research: The State of AI Ownership, Agents, and ROI, based on a survey of 1,400 technology leaders globally. The study highlights a growing gap between AI investments and organisations’ ability to translate them into consistent, measurable business outcomes.
While 69% of organisations report moderate or significant returns on their AI investments, 77% of technology leaders believe business context is essential for generating accurate and relevant AI outputs. This indicates that successful AI implementation requires more than advanced models and access to data. AI systems also need to understand the business rules, policies and processes that guide everyday organisational decisions.
The challenge is particularly relevant for Indian enterprises, where AI adoption and investments are gaining momentum, but data readiness remains a concern. A separate Dun & Bradstreet AI Momentum Survey released in August 2026 found that all surveyed Indian businesses had AI-related projects underway, while 69% planned to increase their AI investments. However, only 4% said their enterprise data was fully ready to support AI at scale. Although 73% reported some measurable returns from AI investments, the findings point to the need for stronger data foundations as businesses move towards wider AI deployment.
Much of an organisation’s business knowledge remains scattered across spreadsheets, internal documents, email conversations, macros and employee expertise. For instance, financial forecasts depend on specific assumptions, tax processes follow defined rules and exceptions, while supply chain decisions rely on inventory levels and operational requirements. Unless such knowledge is accessible to AI systems, their outputs may not always reflect an organisation’s actual business requirements.
Commenting on the findings, Sabya Sen, Vice President, IMEA & APAC, Alteryx, said, “India is moving rapidly towards wider enterprise AI adoption, with organisations increasingly investing in AI to improve productivity, efficiency and business outcomes. However, the next phase of this journey will depend on how effectively businesses connect AI with the knowledge and processes that drive their operations. AI systems need more than access to data; they need the right business context to generate outputs that are relevant, reliable and aligned with organisational requirements. As enterprises move from experimentation to deployment at scale, making business logic accessible, governed and repeatable will be critical to translating AI investments into measurable business value.”
The Alteryx research also highlights limited access to data as another challenge for enterprise AI adoption. Only 18% of organisations have achieved fully self-service access to cloud data for business users. Meanwhile, 38% report a mixed model of data access, while 15% say business users remain largely dependent on technical teams. This can make it difficult for employees with a deep understanding of business operations to access and work with the data needed to develop and improve AI workflows.
Collaboration between IT and business teams is emerging as another important factor. While strategy and delivery responsibilities remain largely concentrated within IT departments, 71% of technology leaders believe AI initiatives are most successful when IT and business teams work closely together. Additionally, around two-thirds believe AI and agent-based systems are most productive when managed within business functions.
As Indian organisations move towards wider AI deployment, the ability to make business knowledge accessible, governed and repeatable will become increasingly important. Connecting AI systems with the rules, processes and operational knowledge that drive businesses can help improve the relevance of AI-generated outputs, strengthen trust and create a closer link between technology investments and business objectives.
Savex Technologies is Alteryx’s distribution partner in India, driving the reach and adoption of analytics and automation solutions across the country.
