New York, NY, Aug. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CTERA, the leader in Integrated Data Intelligence, today unveiled insights from its 2025 State of Data and Cloud Strategy Survey Report. The findings highlight that a promising 57% of IT and cybersecurity leaders are prioritizing AI for 2025, reflecting growing enthusiasm for leveraging AI alongside essential areas like cybersecurity (80%) and cost optimization (61%) in their strategic plans.

CTERA’s report also underscored how widespread and damaging ransomware has become. Every organization surveyed reported experiencing a ransomware attack within the past two years. Permanent data loss was widespread, with 17% of organizations reporting at least partial data loss across the organization, 10% paid the ransom, while 14% of those surveyed did not know how their attack was resolved; a stark reminder that even with growing awareness too many organizations remain unprepared to fully recover and restore their critical data.

Other key findings include:

• AI adoption is in its early stages: While AI ranks third on the 2025 priority list, 70% of IT and security leaders report partial deployment of AI-based assistants, with another 27% in pilot phases, signaling that most organizations are preparing for wider AI integration, even if it is not their immediate focus.
• AI ambitions outpace readiness: Many organizations are being pushed by investors to implement AI to improve customer experience - 64%, enhance predictive intelligence - 64%, and boost query accuracy - 53%. Only 10% are focused on closing skills gaps, highlighting a disconnect that could hinder their ability to achieve these goals.
• Compliance and security are a challenge for AI deployment: As organizations deploy AI tools, 67% cite compliance and regulatory concerns as the biggest hurdle, followed by security risks such as data exposure or misuse - 57%, data silos limiting AI access - 45%, and cost of implementation and maintenance - 44%.
• Cloud-first strategies for leadership: 61% of IT and security leaders prioritize cloud technologies over private data centers. 26% of C-level executives strongly prioritize cloud, compared to just 11% of VPs and 9% of Directors. This indicates strategic agreement at the top, but more caution across the organization.

“Enterprises are navigating an evolving landscape of IT priorities, trying to balance immediate cybersecurity needs with forward-thinking AI strategies,” said Cheryle Cushion, SVP Marketing, CTERA. “We understand these challenges very well. CTERA’s Intelligent Data Platform offers a path to robust ransomware resilience, streamlined cloud storage deployment, and seamless cloud migration aligning with both strategic leadership priorities and operational execution.”

Survey Methodology                                                                                                                                               

CTERA surveyed 300 senior IT and security leaders across the US, EMEA, and APAC regions for its 2025 State of Data and Cloud Strategy Survey Report. All respondents work in organizations with more than 2,500 employees. Participants were screened for having over 100TB of file storage, a minimum of 5 sites, and a willingness to use EFSS solutions like OneDrive or Dropbox.

The survey was conducted online by Global Surveyz Research, a global research firm, earlier this year. Respondents were recruited via a global B2B research panel. To minimize order bias, most non-numerical questions were randomized.

To download the entire 2025 State of Data and Cloud Strategy Survey Report, please visit: https://www.ctera.com/ctera-2025-state-of-data-and-cloud-strategy-report/

CTERA’s social media resources include:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ctera/

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About CTERA
CTERA is the global leader in the integrated data intelligence market enabling organizations of all sizes to efficiently and effectively manage, protect, and leverage their data across highly distributed environments. With a foundation built on security, scale, and seamless integration, the CTERA Intelligent Data Platform empowers organizations to align their data management strategies to continuously deliver against today’s business needs and tomorrow’s vision.

Joanne Hogue
Smart Connections PR for CTERA
+1 (410) 658-8246
joanne@smartconnectionspr.com