Why Enterprise AI Depends on Cloud Maturity

Cloud adoption alone is no longer enough to support enterprise AI, according to research cited by NTT DATA’s President and Global Head for Cloud & Security. The research, conducted with more than 2,300 senior decision-makers globally, points to a gap between cloud investment and how deeply organizations have integrated cloud into their operations, governance and business strategy.

The article says fewer than half of organizations are satisfied with cloud’s impact on innovation or their progress in IT modernization. Around half say outdated applications and data platforms hold back innovation, while almost all report that AI is increasing demand for cloud capabilities. A large majority also say current investment is insufficient for their ambitions.

NTT DATA’s research points to growing interest in hybrid, multicloud and sovereign cloud strategies. It forecasts sovereign cloud adoption will rise by 50% over the next two years as organizations focus on data sovereignty, resilience, regulatory compliance and control.

The article argues that legacy systems can limit how far AI initiatives scale, and that modernization involves redesigning applications, data and workflows rather than simply migrating them. It also says platform-led cloud operations can help organizations oversee AI agents, embed governance and manage costs. More than half of organizations report difficulty controlling cloud costs, particularly as AI and agentic workloads create unpredictable usage patterns.

The source identifies security as a growing concern but ends mid-sentence, so it provides no further detail on that point.