Building a Trusted Data Foundation for Scalable AI

As AI becomes central to enterprise strategy, a striking reality is emerging: most organizations are limited not by their AI investments, but by their data foundation strengths. Fragmented systems, inconsistent governance, and siloed ownership continue to undermine AI success, leaving only a small fraction of enterprises truly ready to scale.

This Viewpoint unpacks what it means to be data ready in the AI-first world. Drawing on a survey of 123 enterprises and in-depth data and AI leader interviews, it explores how trusted, high-quality, and well-governed data has become the defining factor separating AI ambitions from enterprise-wide adoption.

The report introduces Everest Group’s seven pillars of data readiness spanning strategy, quality, accessibility, governance, foundation, culture, and data products and provides a practical framework to operationalize these capabilities across technology, talent, and governance dimensions. It also identifies the most common execution pitfalls and emerging risks that enterprises must navigate as AI adoption accelerates.

By combining market data, best practices, and enterprise case study-based insights, the report offers business and technology leaders a clear roadmap to close the readiness gap and build resilient data