Reltio: New Harvard Business Review analytics services survey reveals major gaps in readiness for agenttic AI

Reltio^®The contextual intelligence platform delivering trusted business understanding in the age of enterprise AI today announced the release of a new Pulse study from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services (HBR-AS).Unleash your data advantage in the age of intelligence” The study, sponsored by Reltio, found that while 94% of organizations are considering or implementing AI, there remains a significant disconnect between enterprises’ AI aspirations and data readiness.

A survey of 325 global business and technology leaders reveals that while ‘trust in the authenticity of data’ is ranked as the most important capability for AI success (94%), only 39% of organizations say they are highly skilled in this area. Furthermore, only 15% of respondents believe their company’s data infrastructure is “very ready” for the transition to agentic AI (autonomous systems that can act, decide, and execute workflows with minimal human oversight).

Closing the preparedness gap

As organizations move beyond traditional automation toward the “Age of Intelligence,” the report found that 46% of respondents identified data silos as the biggest barrier to progress. Other major obstacles include a lack of data talent (42%) and an unclear data strategy (39%).

“Agentic AI is a game-changer in the way work is done, but its autonomy relies on something that most enterprises still struggle to scale: unified, real-time, trusted data,” said Manish Sood, CEO and founder of Reltio. “This study confirms that the ‘plumbing’, or data infrastructure, remains the primary bottleneck. At Reltio, we believe context is the deciding factor. Without connecting, managing and understanding all entities and relationships in real time, even the most advanced AI agents will not be able to achieve their promise.”

Main findings

trust gap: Despite its importance, 34% of leaders describe data investment management as “very ad hoc and fragmented.”
Strategic mismatch: Only 16% of respondents say their organization’s data investments are very organized and aligned with business strategy.
Transition to context: Experts interviewed in the report emphasize the need for a “semantic layer” to act as a translation guide for AI, defining core business concepts and mapping relationships between systems.
Governance as a benefit: Although 89% of leaders say data governance is very important, only 37% say their organization is highly proficient, suggesting that governance needs to evolve from a back-office compliance function to a strategic differentiator.

“We are entering an era in which AI agents will not only analyze data but also act autonomously on it to solve customer problems, optimize supply chains, and drive growth. However, the effectiveness of agents will depend on the context they are given,” said Sood. “If data is fragmented or conflicted, so will AI. Leaders who win in the age of intelligence will be those who go beyond experimentation and treat data preparation not as a one-time project but as an evolution of their core organization. At Reltio, we are committed to delivering contextual intelligence that enables these systems to reason, operate, and deliver value with absolute confidence.”

Click here to download the entire Harvard Business Review Analytic Services research report.

About Reltio

At Reltio, we believe that data is the powerhouse of success in the era of enterprise AI. Reltio Data Cloud is a contextual intelligence platform that provides trusted business understanding, enabling AI agents and systems to operate with human-level judgment at enterprise scale. Reltio’s cloud-native SaaS platform harmonizes, integrates, and enriches data and metadata across sources and formats, including unstructured data, in real time. Organizations get a 360-degree view of core data that is mobilized to any application, user, or AI agent in milliseconds. Trusted by the world’s largest companies across life sciences, financial services, healthcare, and technology, we power frictionless operations, drive innovation, and reduce risk. For more information about Reltio, please visit www.reltio.com.