Cisco Report
2026 State of Industrial AI Report
How connectivity, security & collaboration enable scaled industrial AI
Cisco surveyed more than 1,000 industrial professionals in 19 countries across 21 industrial sectors, including manufacturing, utilities and transportation. See what they said about AI adoption, network readiness, cybersecurity and IT/OT collaboration.
Industrial AI is here. Is your network ready for it?
Key findings from the report
61%
of organizations are actively deploying AI at scale across their industrial operations.
97%
expect AI workloads to change their industrial network requirements, led by more reliable connectivity, edge compute and bandwidth.
96%
say reliable wireless networks are vital for enabling industrial AI.
48%
name security and segmentation as their biggest networking challenge, and 40% cite cybersecurity as a top obstacle to AI adoption.
85%
expect AI to improve their cybersecurity posture.
43%
still operate with limited or no IT/OT collaboration, and 90% of siloed teams report wireless instability (vs. 61% with collaboration).
What's inside the report
Cisco, in association with Sapio Research, surveyed decision-makers at industrial firms with annual revenues over $100 million to establish levels of AI adoption in industrial networking, the outcomes organizations are achieving, the barriers to scale, and how to align for success.
Report highlights
Reality of AI adoption
Most organizations have moved past pilots into active deployment, but early productivity gains only last on networks built for rising data, mobility and connectivity needs. Industrial leaders are now upgrading infrastructure to support AI at scale.
Cybersecurity imperative
Cybersecurity is now the #1 obstacle to AI adoption and the #1 networking challenge. At the same time, 98% call it a somewhat or very important part of AI-ready infrastructure, and most expect AI to strengthen detection and defense.
IT/OT collaboration
Independent IT and OT teams weaken network performance and security and slow the impact of AI. Collaborative organizations report higher confidence in scaling AI and more stable wireless networks.
Sections
- The state of industrial AI adoption
- AI outcomes, ROI and investment priorities
- AI runs on the network: infrastructure as the foundation for scale
- Cybersecurity and industrial AI interconnectedness
- IT/OT convergence: the operating model for scaling AI
- Future outlook: scaling AI across industrial operations
- Key takeaways for industrial AI leaders
- Industrial AI partner considerations
- Demographics and firmographics
41 pages, PDF. Published by Cisco, February 2026.
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Open the Report (PDF)Three priorities for industrial AI leaders
1Foundational readiness determines AI scale
Industrial AI does not stall for lack of ideas. It stalls when networks, compute and operating models are not built for scale.
2Cybersecurity is the biggest constraint and the greatest enabler
Treat cybersecurity as a baseline requirement for AI-ready environments, not a downstream control.
3IT/OT collaboration is essential for AI impact
AI scale is as much an organizational challenge as a technical one. Collaboration enables speed, confidence and repeatability.
Build an AI-ready industrial network with Cisco and BlueAlly
The report's network evolution path, Connect, Enable, Scale, maps directly to Cisco's industrial portfolio. CloudWifiWorks.com, a BlueAlly company, is an authorized Cisco reseller with engineers who work across both IT and OT.
Connect
Rugged, reliable wired and wireless connectivity with the power, bandwidth and coverage to bring assets and data online.
Enable
Predictable latency, network segmentation and edge compute that support real-time AI workloads at the industrial edge.
Scale
A unified, secure IT/OT architecture with consistent policy, visibility and cybersecurity across every site.