Krux
April 4, 2026
61% Run AI in Live Factories, But Silos Still Block Scale
Published: April 4, 2026 at 12:38 AM
Updated: April 4, 2026 at 12:38 AM
100-word summary
Cisco surveyed 1,000 operations leaders across 19 countries and found that most manufacturers are past the pilot phase. Only one in five has reached mature scale, though. The culprit isn't the algorithms. Nearly half of companies with weak IT and operations-floor collaboration report network instability as their top scaling blocker. Cybersecurity poses a similar paradox: 98% call it foundational, yet 40% say it's their biggest obstacle. The winners are focusing on process automation and logistics optimization, where adoption already tops 60%. Meanwhile, 87% plan to increase spending and expect results within two years. The race is no longer about whether to use AI in the factory. It's about whether your...
What happened
Cisco surveyed 1,000 operations leaders across 19 countries and found that most manufacturers are past the pilot phase. Only one in five has reached mature scale, though. The culprit isn't the algorithms. Nearly half of companies with weak IT and operations-floor collaboration report network instability as their top scaling blocker. Cybersecurity poses a similar paradox: 98% call it foundational, yet 40% say it's their biggest obstacle. The winners are focusing on process automation and logistics optimization, where adoption already tops 60%. Meanwhile, 87% plan to increase spending and expect results within two years. The race is no longer about whether to use AI in the factory.
Why it matters
It's about whether your IT and shop-floor teams are actually talking to each other.