Digital Realty released findings from its 2026 Global Data Insights Survey on September 17, based on responses from 2,131 IT decision makers across 19 countries and eleven industries. The research found that infrastructure constraints have become the top obstacle to putting AI into production, with 40 percent of respondents now citing a lack of specialized infrastructure as their primary constraint, up from just 9 percent in 2024.
The survey shows enterprises are still committing new budget to AI even as execution challenges mount. Respondents expect AI spending to rise 32 percent over the next year, and 79 percent plan to deploy new AI initiatives in 2026. On returns, only 3 percent of respondents report seeing no measurable ROI so far, and nearly two thirds expect returns within six months to two years.
The survey also points to a shift toward tighter data governance. Ninety eight percent of respondents expect to run real time AI applications within twelve months, and 92 percent now tie data location decisions directly to their AI plans, up from 73 percent in 2024. Eighty six percent of organizations say they are pursuing sovereign AI initiatives to keep more control over where workloads run.
Colin McLean, chief revenue officer at Digital Realty, said "the infrastructure beneath AI is now the gatekeeper between promise and payoff." The findings suggest that as companies move from AI pilots to full deployment, the physical and governance foundations supporting that AI increasingly determine whether the investment pays off.
Source: GlobeNewswire - https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/17/3363858/0/en/digital-realty-global-data-insights-survey-reveals-enterprise-shift-from-ai-strategy-to-execution-as-infrastructure-emerges-as-top-barrier.html