{"id":232024,"date":"2026-06-15T14:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T18:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/midsize-companies-expect-ai-gains-but-integration-woes-curb-progress\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T14:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T18:30:09","slug":"midsize-companies-expect-ai-gains-but-integration-woes-curb-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/midsize-companies-expect-ai-gains-but-integration-woes-curb-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Midsize companies expect AI gains, but integration woes curb progress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Midsize companies expect AI gains, but integration woes curb progress<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ciodive.com\/news\/midsize-AI-budgets-software-engineering\/822921\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-06-15 14:22:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.ciodive.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. <\/p>\n

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Dive Brief:<\/p>\n

Midsized businesses are expecting a boost in productivity from the deployment of AI tools, according to a Netrio report published Monday. More than 70% of 410 midmarket IT leaders surveyed by Censuswide in April said the technology will particularly benefit IT operations and service desks.
\nHowever, midsized businesses still face barriers to AI development, with security,\u00a0privacy and compliance concerns among the most commonly cited obstacles, identified by nearly 1 in 5 respondents. IT leaders also listed data readiness and integration complexity as key barriers.
\n\u201cAI has moved from experimentation to execution in the midmarket, but execution is where the real challenges begin,\u201d Al Calabrese, VP of AI services at Netrio, said in the release accompanying the report. \u201cCompanies are investing in AI but are struggling with how to get real returns from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dive Insight
\nAI adoption and ambitions are running high, with 82% of respondents saying they\u2019ve already rolled out the technology in production. Yet Netrio\u2019s report highlighted a disconnect between the momentum and the operational maturity needed to sustain it, with just 26% saying they\u2019ve scaled and governed AI across operations.
\nAlongside IT operations, software development and cybersecurity, emerged as areas where leaders expect the most impact, reflecting growing confidence in AI’s ability to automate routine tasks and lift workforce productivity.
\nAs the power of more advanced AI models come into view, cybersecurity worries are lingering.\u00a0
\nNearly three-quarters of executives reported either a confirmed AI-related security incident or a near miss over the past year. On the matter of governance, fewer than half said they have a formal AI policy with actively enforced controls.
\nThe disconnect extends to how AI is being used day to day. While nearly all of respondents are confident their organizations will see measurable ROI from AI within 24 months, just over half said they act on AI outputs without human review, raising questions about whether oversight is keeping pace with adoption.
\nDespite concerns, investment isn’t slowing. Almost 9 in 10 of those surveyed plan to invest at least $100,000 in AI over the next one to two years, and more than half will fuel their AI plans with $250,000 or more over the same period.\u00a0
\nAI spending is increasingly targeted at the areas respondents flagged as gaps: AI training and upskilling, data platform and integration work, AI tool licenses, cloud infrastructure and security tooling and controls.
\nThe findings point to a shift in market dynamics, with the next phase of AI adoption less defined by access to the technology and more by organizations’ ability to harness it effectively.
\n“What will set the winners apart from the stragglers is who can create a usable, governable, secure, and supportable AI environment,” the report said. “The next phase of AI success in the midmarket will belong to those willing to do the hard work to ensure their environment is ready to operationalize and empower the full extent of their AI tools.”<\/p>\n

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