TLDR: Despite significant investment in Artificial Intelligence across Australia and New Zealand, recent reports indicate a substantial gap in the necessary infrastructure and operational readiness to effectively implement these advanced technologies. Many organizations are increasing their AI budgets, particularly for generative AI, yet a large majority lack the foundational capabilities for successful deployment and cybersecurity preparedness.
A recent wave of reports highlights a paradoxical situation in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) regarding Artificial Intelligence adoption: while investment in AI is robust, the foundational infrastructure and operational readiness to support these initiatives are severely lacking. This discrepancy poses significant challenges for businesses aiming to leverage AI for technological disruption and efficiency gains.
According to a Unisys report titled ‘From Complexity to Clarity: Modernising Cloud and IT for What Comes Next,’ released on August 22, 2025, a substantial 76% of ANZ business leaders are actively investing in Agentic AI. However, a stark contrast emerges as only 20% possess the requisite infrastructure to support these advanced AI systems. Similarly, a mere 25% of ANZ businesses have the appropriate data architecture for Generative AI (Gen AI), and only 15% report widespread use of Gen AI within their organizations. The report, which surveyed 1,000 C-Suite and IT executives across eight global markets, underscores that 73% of ANZ organizations are allocating more of their IT budgets to Gen AI-powered data management, yet only 36% have the underlying infrastructure to support it.
Manju Naglapur, SVP and GM of Unisys Cloud, Applications & Infrastructure solutions, commented on the findings, stating, “The next wave of technological disruption is already underway, yet many organisations are still operating on outdated foundations and processes.” Naglapur emphasized the need for organizations to “modernise their infrastructure, align IT and business priorities, and adopt a more proactive approach to cybersecurity” to fully realize AI’s potential.
The cybersecurity landscape also presents significant hurdles. The Unisys report reveals that only 23% of ANZ businesses are prepared for quantum cryptography incursions, and a staggering 85% describe their current cybersecurity posture as reactive. Despite these vulnerabilities, there is a growing recognition of the need for stronger security, with 62% of executives adopting or planning to adopt Zero Trust models, 61% prioritizing cyber recovery, and 43% implementing AI-based cybersecurity measures.
Further reinforcing these concerns, GBTEC’s ‘The 2025 Process Excellence and AI-Readiness Report,’ published on August 29, 2025, indicates a global readiness gap, including in ANZ. This research, based on insights from 600 senior business and operations leaders across ANZ, Europe, and North America, found that while 78% of organizations plan major AI and automation initiatives in the next two years, fewer than 20% possess the operational foundation for success. Less than half of organizations currently have processes mature enough for seamless AI integration, despite 61% planning to integrate agentic AI into operations.
Scott Leddy, Vice President, North America, GBTEC, highlighted the critical role of process excellence: “More and more companies are buying into the concept of process-based transformation – understanding their current state before they start to transform. But many organizations overlook their processes and are surprised when automation and AI projects don’t deliver the expected results.” Alexander Trail, Senior Account Executive, Northern Europe, GBTEC, added that “Automation programs that aren’t aligned to process management are essentially flying blind.”
Also Read:
- ANZ Organizations Face Significant AI Readiness Gap, New Global Research Reveals
- Asia-Pacific Enterprises Significantly Increase AI and Generative AI Investments to $23.9 Billion by 2025
While the initial prompt mentioned “ANZ healthcare AI projects score state funding,” the detailed research primarily uncovered broader trends in AI investment and readiness across ANZ businesses, with a notable absence of specific details on “state funding” for “healthcare AI projects” in the most relevant articles. This suggests that while AI investment is strong, the focus is currently on foundational readiness and overcoming implementation challenges across various sectors, rather than specific government-backed healthcare initiatives being widely reported.
