Building AI Confidence with the Right Toolsets
Implementing AI can be daunting, even for the most eager of organizations. The key is to start with toolsets tailored to your business and geared for agility.
AI Is a Moving Target
According to new research from CDW,1 AI adoption is accelerating across industries. But while interest is high, few organizations are equipped with the modern data and infrastructure toolsets needed to scale AI successfully.
Part of the problem is that AI is evolving so quickly — which leads to uncertainty among IT decision-makers about whether to build their own AI capabilities, add AI tools to current solutions or deploy cloud services.
Here’s how IT leaders who responded to the 2025 CDW AI Report are feeling about their AI adoption efforts so far.
“I’d say 9 out of 10 organizations that we talk to struggle with where to start, what solutions to use, and how to govern and really have a lifecycle management approach to AI.”
Ken Drazin, Director of Digital Experience, CDW
AI Initiatives Are Stalling
While roughly half of respondents to CDW’s survey express high confidence in their AI readiness, many others are stuck in early experimentation stages — struggling with fragmented data environments, skills gaps and unclear governance.
say they are “very confident” about their organization’s ability to plan for and implement new AI solutions
say their infrastructure is “somewhat ready,” “slightly ready” or “not at all” ready to handle AI workloads
say their organization has initiated at least one AI project, with 48% saying they have started three to five projects
Optimism Remains High
Despite many pain points, including lack of internal expertise to select or build AI tools and difficulty integrating AI with existing systems and processes, respondents are generally hopeful about their organization’s future with AI. But to meet the rising internal demand for AI-driven innovation, they’ll need the right foundational toolsets.
agree their organization has good ideas for AI, but they have trouble executing
say they have seen a 50% return or less on investment from AI initiatives
feel “very strongly” that AI can help them achieve faster innovation, while 39% feel “somewhat strongly”
Having the Right Partners Helps
CDW’s research makes it clear that many organizations are looking to get started with AI by using established tools offered by trusted providers. They’re also turning to specially skilled third-party partners to help them navigate through planning challenges and manage their AI initiatives more effectively.
99% say their organizations have gotten help with AI from a third party
59% say skills and capabilities are decision factors when selecting third-party vendors for AI projects
65% say they’ve implemented or plan to implement Microsoft Copilot, while 61% said the same of Google Gemini
Building Agile AI Toolsets
As AI continues to evolve at light speed, it’s critical for organizations to establish AI toolsets that can both accelerate adoption today and prepare them for future opportunities. CDW provides the expertise, partnerships and services needed to build, scale and succeed in lockstep with AI.
Prepare for AI’s Evolution with:
- Modern data platforms
- AI/ML development frameworks
- Cloud-based AI services and scalability
- Advanced compute, storage and networking
- Security, privacy and governance integration
Move Forward Confidently
Accelerate time-to-value for AI investments
Enable secure and compliant AI operations
Empower better decision-making through AI-powered insights
Build scalable and sustainable AI architectures
Position for ongoing AI evolution and innovation
