'This isn’t just another technology trend – it’s the catalyst for the most significant workforce transformation in a generation': More and more executives believe AI usage is 'critical' in their business

• Cisco report finds 80% of execs see agentic AI as critical for business success by 2027
• Jobs aren't being lost to AI, they're just undergoing big changes
• 55% will work with AI agents, 60% of the workforce needs to be upskilled

New data from a joint Cisco and Omdia report has claimed four in five execs believe their company's survival could depend on agentic AI as soon as 2027, with more than half (55%) of the workforce expected to collaborate with AI agents in the next two years.

But although business leaders acknowledge AI's potential, many are yet to lay the correct foundations to truly benefit from it, and legacy infrastructure is proving to be one of the biggest hurdles.

Cisco says more robust, secure and agile networks are needed to support AI tools and agents working across varied infrastructure, including apps, clouds and data.

Agentic AI is nearly here at scale

Portfolio Strategy SVP Jeff Schultz described agentic AI as the "catalyst for the most significant workforce transformation in a generation," and emphasis on the 'transformation'. Because the report details how AI's impact on workforces is shifting from job elimination to job evolution, which is good news for humans after all.

Nearly two in three (65%) expect new job categories to emerge within the next three to five years, and many are yet to appoint Chief AI Officers to the C-suite level.

But it doesn't come cost-free – three in five employees will need to upskill "moving beyond prompt engineering, to learn to supervise, audit, and trust autonomous agents." Schultz described this change as both "technological" and "cultural."

The report adds agentic AI now accounts for more than a third (37%) of early adopters' technology budgets, with 43% already reporting meaningful ROI and 39% expecting returns within just one year.

"How technology leaders respond today will shape the relative success of their organizations tomorrow," Schultz concluded, noting that companies' first steps should be about setting up the proper infrastructure and foundation layers before blindly going all-in on AI.

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