A groundbreaking report from F5, the 2025 State of Application Strategy Report (SOAS), indicates a significant surge in enterprise trust towards Artificial Intelligence, with IT leaders increasingly entrusting AI with mission-critical functions. The comprehensive survey of global IT decision-makers reveals that a staggering 96% of organizations are now deploying AI models, a dramatic leap from just 25% in 2023. This widespread adoption signals a growing confidence and reliance on AI to optimize core business operations.
The report highlights a strong desire among organizations to leverage AI for enhancing application performance, with nearly three-quarters (72%) expressing this goal. Furthermore, a substantial 59% are in favor of utilizing AI for both cost optimization and proactively embedding security rules to automatically address zero-day vulnerabilities. This proactive approach to security underscores the evolving role of AI from a supportive tool to a strategic asset in safeguarding digital infrastructure.
The adoption of AI gateways is also on the rise, with half of the surveyed organizations currently using them to bridge applications with AI tools. An additional 40% anticipate implementing these gateways within the next year. The primary applications of these gateways include protecting and managing AI models (62%), establishing a centralized control point (55%), and preventing sensitive data leaks (55%), demonstrating a clear focus on governance and security within AI deployments.
Lori MacVittie, F5 Distinguished Engineer, commented on the report’s findings, stating that IT decision-makers are rapidly gaining confidence in integrating AI into their operational frameworks. She envisions a near future where AI operates autonomously at the core of organizations, generating and deploying code to drive cost efficiencies, enhance operational agility, and proactively mitigate security challenges – a realization of AIOps.
Despite this growing enthusiasm, the SOAS report also identifies persistent challenges. The primary concern for organizations currently deploying AI is the security of the AI models themselves. Operational readiness also remains a hurdle, with 60% of organizations feeling constrained by manual workflows and 54% citing skill shortages as impediments to AI development. The cost associated with building and operating AI workloads is also a growing concern, rising from 42% last year to 48%. Furthermore, trust in AI outputs due to potential bias or hallucinations has slightly increased as a concern.
APIs continue to present complexities, with 58% of respondents reporting them as a pain point, consuming significant time in managing intricate configurations across various APIs and languages. Streamlining API management, standardizing technologies, and automating tasks are identified as crucial areas for improvement. MacVittie emphasizes the need for operational simplification and standardization, suggesting that AI itself can play a vital role in autonomously managing complexity.
The report also underscores the prevalence of hybrid cloud deployments, with 94% of organizations utilizing multiple environments to address diverse scalability, cost, and compliance requirements. Adaptability to fluctuating business needs is cited as the top benefit of this approach. Interestingly, a significant 79% of organizations have recently repatriated applications from the public cloud, primarily due to cost control, security concerns, and predictability, highlighting a strategic move towards hybrid flexibility. However, inconsistent delivery policies and fragmented security strategies remain challenges within hybrid environments.
Looking ahead, the SOAS report suggests a strategic imperative for organizations to build programmable IT environments that standardize and automate application delivery and security policies to fully harness the potential of AI. By 2026, AI is projected to evolve from managing isolated tasks to orchestrating end-to-end processes, paving the way for complete automation in IT operations. Platforms featuring natural language interfaces and programmable capabilities are expected to streamline IT workflows with unprecedented precision. Cindy Borovick, Director of Market and Competitive Intelligence at F5, emphasizes that flexibility and automation are now essential for navigating complexity and driving scalable transformation, positioning organizations with programmable foundations for enhanced AI capabilities and superior customer experiences.
