Indian tech leaders push data modernisation to unlock AI value

As Indian enterprises race to adopt AI, a new Salesforce report underscores a hard truth: without modern, trusted data foundations, AI ambitions will fall short. According to Salesforce’s latest State of Data and Analytics report, 89% of India’s data and analytics leaders say their organisations must modernise data strategies for AI to deliver meaningful business impact.

The findings come at a time when expectations from data have never been higher. Three‑quarters of Indian business leaders report growing pressure to demonstrate measurable value from data investments. Yet incomplete, outdated and poor‑quality data continues to be the single biggest obstacle — a challenge that becomes even more acute in the era of agentic AI, where autonomous systems depend heavily on reliable, context‑rich data.

Data ambition outpaces data reality

While 66% of Indian business leaders describe their organisations as data‑driven, the operational reality tells a different story. Over ...