Enterprise AI readiness trails the hype amid agentic rush

Enterprise AI readiness is lagging behind the hype surrounding it, as businesses grapple with infrastructure updates, cost management, and application selection. This gap becomes more apparent as companies transition from limited experimentation to fully integrated systems in their core operations. Currently, a significant portion of AI adoption is focused on large language models, edge systems, and agents for tasks like calendaring, software development, and process automation.

However, many organizations have not yet expanded AI applications to critical functions like supply chains, inventory management, and other areas with more complex data, security, and governance needs, according to David Linthicum, founder and lead researcher at Linthicum Research. Linthicum stated, "We're just getting started with AI.

People think there's a huge AI party, but the reality is businesses and enterprises are just getting going. They're figuring out their infrastructure. They're figuring out how much it's going to cost." The challenges are particularly evident in infrastructure modernization, which is seen as a significant hurdle for companies aiming to go beyond experimentation.

Broadcom's VMware AI Factory, built on VMware Cloud Foundation, aims to streamline private AI deployments by automating the transition from bare-metal infrastructure to model deployment. Linthicum observed, "I'm talking to a lot of people here at the event. They're not ready for the AI systems yet. They're looking for a path to make it happen, and they're looking for a partner to modernize their infrastructure and take things to the next level so they can run AI on premises."

Beyond infrastructure, enterprises must assess the appropriateness of autonomous agents. Linthicum estimated that the majority of agentic applications he encounters introduce unnecessary complexity, operational overhead, and security concerns without truly benefiting from an agent-based architecture. He advised, "People just need to calm down with the agent stuff.

Probably 95% of the applications that I see that are agentic AI applications don't need to be, and they're hitting a thumbtack with a sledgehammer. There are reasons to use it and reasons not to use it." Linthicum's perspective was shared during an exclusive broadcast at VMware Explore, part of SiliconANGLE Media's livestreaming studio, alongside co-host Alison Kosik.

The discussion also touched on Broadcom's private cloud strategy and the risks associated with embracing autonomous agents without sufficient business justification. TheCUBE, a paid media partner for VMware Explore, notes that their coverage does not influence editorial content.