Despite this progress, the survey highlights a critical gap: monetization efforts are yet to drive fundamental business success. Only 27% of enterprises in Europe consider their current AI use transformative, underscoring the need for greater investment in digital infrastructure to unlock AI's full potential.

Nearly all businesses in Europe have integrated AI to some extent, with a growing recognition of the importance of robust data strategies. Two-thirds (65%) of respondents in Europe identify these strategies as essential for effectively managing and leveraging data assets to execute AI initiatives successfully.

However, significant challenges remain. Many European enterprises lack the digital infrastructure necessary for both data and AI success. Chief among these challenges is data storage, with 57% of European enterprises reporting insufficient storage capacity to execute their strategies. Additionally, 57% acknowledge that their IT infrastructure must be strategically positioned to ensure effective deployments. The phenomenon of Data Gravity, where data accumulates in certain infrastructure corners, exacerbates these issues, making it difficult to move data due to network bandwidth constraints, application dependencies, and performance concerns.

Colin McLean, Chief Revenue Officer at Digital Realty, commented on the findings: “We’re witnessing a decisive shift towards using AI to deliver tangible organizational value. As seen in this survey, achieving this requires digital infrastructure capable of managing high data volumes, supporting AI workloads, and providing real-time intelligence. A well-crafted data strategy is essential for reaching AI maturity and real business outcomes. This strategy will likely include high density colocation and robust, on-demand, interconnection, as part of the digital infrastructure requirements.”

Recognizing the critical need to align data location with AI strategy is pivotal. AI is being deployed across more locations within organizations, increasing data creation and necessitating readily available, stable data for AI processing, particularly at the edge. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents in Europe agree that prioritizing data location is vital to addressing key challenges, including storage, processing, interconnection, compliance, and infrastructure suitability.

A shortage of computational power is also a growing concern. Over half (53%) of enterprises in Europe lack the necessary computational power to run AI processing where required and to scale with demand. Organizational roadblocks, such as insufficient leadership knowledge or support for data-based AI strategies, further hinder progress.

Business and IT leaders are adjusting budgets to manage growing data volumes and unlock AI's competitive advantages. Yet only 14% are currently using AI to create a competitive edge, indicating a pressing need for organizations to rethink their data strategies to realize a substantial return on AI investments.