Page 169 - Red Hat PR REPORT - OCTOBER 2025

10/13/25, 11:04 AM Red Hat Survey: UAE Organisations Prepare for Widespread AI Adoption and Upskilling | Web Release
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One of the highest AI priority of respondents for the next 18 months (83% ) is agentic AI, AI systems that operate with
high degrees of autonomy and can execute complex, multi-step tasks with limited human intervention. Enabling broad

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employee adoption and operationalising AI are also ranked high on the priority to-do list, with 86% and 85% agreeing
respectively.

Retaining and developing the right talent remains a challenge, with AI skills still ranking among the most urgent gaps, as

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cited by 76% of respondents. Within AI specifically, the talent shortage mirrors the target priorities for UAE IT and AI
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leaders: connecting AI to enterprise data cited by 59% of respondents, effective use of agentic AI cited by 57%,
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efficient use of AI capabilities cited by 58%, and educating the business to use AI reported by 47%. Almost all (98% )
of respondents experience barriers to AI adoption, especially integration challenges with existing systems (36%), data

privacy and security concerns (32%), and lack of buy-in from stakeholders (32%).

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Additionally, 70% of respondents report they are experiencing a “shadow AI” problem – i.e., unauthorised use of AI
tools by employees.

Confidence tempered by complexity; open source key

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Confidence in the UAE’s potential on the global AI stage is high, with 99% of responding UAE businesses believing
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the nation is, or will soon become, an AI powerhouse within the next three years . A similar sense of optimism exists in
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other countries: 99% of respondents in Spain shared the same view, followed closely by Sweden, Germany, and the
Netherlands at 98% each, while 83% of businesses in the UK expressed similar trust in their nation’s AI trajectory.

In terms of limiting factors to the UAE’s rise in AI prominence, 62% of respondents cite a lack of computing

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infrastructure, followed by lack of talent pipeline (52%), and lack of public funding (45%), as the key hold-ups .

National data protection and sovereignty goals remain priorities on the IT agenda in the country, with AI adding
complexity as another workload that must align to evolving cloud strategies. Barriers to cloud adoption remain as well,
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with respondents pointing to limited support from leadership (77% agree), unclear ROI (72% agree ), employee
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resistance to change (69% agree ), and lack of skills (69% agree ). Drilling down into cloud sovereignty strategy over
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the next 18 months, UAE respondents are prioritising operational control and autonomy (86% ), securing the software
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supply chain (81% ), and flexibility and choice of IT suppliers (86% ).
Supporting Quotes

Adrian Pickering, regional general manager, MENA, Red Hat:

“Our latest UAE survey reveals a clear truth: while AI investment is surging, realizing tangible customer value remains

a challenge for many organizations. Moving beyond experimentation to deliver lasting customer value from AI means
laying the foundation by integrating enterprise knowledge with existing systems.”

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