For a technology that various reports claim will see more than 85 percent of projects fail, artificial intelligence (AI) is prompting unprecedented levels of activity among Australian organisations as they strive to benefit from its fast-evolving capabilities.

While the definition of a successful AI implementation is hard to nail down, many organisations are struggling to capture the full benefits. Challenges stemming from poor data quality are amongst the most common, as are the difficulties with meeting expectations that have been inflated by unprecedented levels of vendor hype.

And as project leaders are coming to realise, there is a significant gap between finding success in an AI proof-of-concept versus delivering that same outcome consistently in a real-world environment.

Critical to a successful data and AI strategy is the need to ensure they are built using the right models and tools – a difficult ask in a sector where the leaderboard changes daily.

And even when all the platform and infrastructure elements are aligned, there IT leaders must also manage the risk that arises when aggregating so much sensitive data, or from allowing AI to unleash its decisions on to the world.

But what is certain is that any organisation that wants to succeed with AI must build its capability quickly, or risk falling behind in a field of technology that is evolving faster than anything that has preceded it.

The 2025 State of Data & AI report was created using insights, research, and opinion from industry analysts, and end-user case studies, to provide a compelling overview of the key trends, challenges and opportunities when it comes to data and AI in cross-section of Australian business.

Hear from Australian technology leaders in the following chapters including:

• Christian Nelissen, chief data and analytics officer, NAB
• Sajid Hassan, director of digital infrastructure and information security, Australian National University
• Glenn Mason, head of technology, AI, and data, Redkite
• Lucio Ribeiro, chief AI and innovation officer for Australia, TBWA
• Kevin Kwok, head of growth, Outline Global
• Tony Zhang, senior director analyst, Gartner