India, Nov. 12 -- The 2025 AI Readiness Index by Cisco shows that the Pacesetters are not just investing more, but building smarter. Representing 13 per cent of the total surveyed, these companies have already scaled AI deployment across operations. According to the study, 97 per cent of them are achieving measurable returns, signalling a fundamental difference in their infrastructure decisions.

Simon Miceli, the managing director of Cisco, said the findings show that "AI leaders architect differently." They build on strong networks, plan power needs early, embed security from the start, and continuously optimise. He warned that 45 per cent of Indian organisations without this level of architectural foresight are risking "AI infrastructu...