MCKINNEY, Texas – Netrio, a global managed service provider, has released a new survey report on the state of artificial intelligence adoption among midmarket enterprises.

The Mid-Market and AI: Where Businesses Really Stand and Where They Plan to Go survey is based on research conducted by Censuswide among 401 U.S. IT leaders at organizations with 200 to 5,000 employees.

The report shows that AI has already moved well beyond experimentation in the midmarket. In total, 82% of respondents said AI is already in production somewhere in their organization or in widespread use, yet only 26% said AI is scaled and governed enterprise-wide, highlighting a gap between AI adoption and operational maturity. 

The findings show a market shifting from AI experimentation to operationalization. While respondents expressed strong confidence in AI’s future value and measurable return on investment, they also identified persistent execution barriers, especially around data readiness, integration, governance, security and employee enablement. The report suggests that the next phase of AI success in the midmarket will be defined less by access to tools and more by the ability to implement, govern and support AI effectively across the business.

Key findings from the report include:

  • The top barriers to scaling AI were security, privacy and compliance (19%), data readiness (17%), integration complexity (16%) and lack of internal expertise (10%).
  • 71% said AI is expected to have the most positive impact in IT operations and service desk, followed by software development and engineering productivity (50%) and cybersecurity operations (32%).
  • 96% said they are confident their organization will realize measurable ROI from AI within the next 24 months.
  • 88% expect to invest at least $100,000 in AI over the next 12 to 24 months.
  • 56% expect to invest at least $250,000 in AI over the next 12 to 24 months.

The AI Governance Gap

The findings point to uneven governance across the market. Forty-two percent of respondents said they have a formal AI policy with actively enforced controls; 53% said they have full visibility into AI tool usage; and 63% said they have formally assessed whether sensitive company or customer data is being entered into AI tools and have controls in place. However, 42% reported a confirmed AI-related security incident or exposure in the past 12 months, and another 31% reported a near-miss.

“AI has moved from experimentation to execution in the midmarket, but execution is where the real challenges begin,” said Al Calabrese, vice president of AI services at Netrio. “This research shows that companies are investing in AI but are struggling with how to get real returns from it. And it reveals that security threats are significant, with roughly 73% of those surveyed either having confirmed an AI-related security incident or nearly missing one.”

Leadership Expectations of AI

The report also found that leadership expectations around AI are increasingly tied to practical business performance. Nearly half of respondents, 49%, said internal efficiency and cost or time savings are the primary reason they are investing in AI. As part of their AI investment, 42% said they have already launched proactive reskilling and upskilling programs, indicating a need to improve the AI skills of their employees.

For enterprises, service providers and other midmarket organizations, the report offers a snapshot of where the market stands today and where it is headed next. It shows that companies are prioritizing practical AI outcomes such as workforce productivity, customer experience, forecasting and operational efficiency – and backing those priorities with meaningful budget commitments in areas such as employee training, data platform and integration work, AI tool licenses, cloud infrastructure and security controls.

The full report is available HERE.