PHILADELPHIA, PA — Despite growing recognition of AI’s critical importance, global businesses are facing significant setbacks in deploying the technology, according to new research from Qlik. The study of 4,200 C-Suite executives and AI decision makers revealed that a lack of skills, governance issues, insufficient resources, and trust are among the key obstacles keeping AI projects from advancing.
While 88% of respondents believe AI is essential for achieving strategic goals and driving profitability, many projects remain stuck in the planning stages or are canceled entirely. The report found 11% of businesses have 50–100 AI projects stuck in scoping, while 20% have had to pause or scrap up to 50 projects.
Among the hurdles, 23% cite a lack of AI development skills as a major challenge, while another 22% point to difficulties in deploying AI once developed. Other barriers include data governance issues (23%), budget constraints (21%), and insufficient trust in the underlying data (21%).
Trust, in particular, emerged as a significant roadblock. Over a third of decision makers (37%) reported senior management skepticism about AI, while 42% said less senior employees also lack confidence in the technology. Additionally, 21% noted a lack of trust from customers. This mistrust has real financial consequences, with 61% stating it has significantly reduced their company’s AI investment.
“Business leaders know the value of AI, but they face a multitude of barriers that prevent them from moving from proof of concept to value-creating deployment,” said James Fisher, Chief Strategy Officer at Qlik. “The first step to creating an AI strategy is to identify a clear use case, with defined goals and measures of success. This allows you to pinpoint the skills, resources, and data needed to support it at scale. By taking these steps, you build trust and win management buy-in to help you succeed.”
To overcome these barriers, Qlik’s research suggests prioritizing training and upskilling the workforce, with 76% of decision makers stressing the need for industries to better nurture AI talent. Furthermore, 75% believe government-backed funding and training initiatives are essential to fostering global AI leadership. Nearly two-thirds (65%) are optimistic that their countries have the potential to lead the world in AI skills within the next five years.
By addressing these challenges, businesses can move more projects from planning to deployment, ensuring AI investment delivers a measurable impact.
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