2026代理型AI竞赛：基础设施何以决定劳动力转型的成败研究报告 The Race to Agentic AI Why Infrastructure Will Make or Break Workforce Transformation

CISCO

TheRacetoAgenticAI:WhyInfrastructureWill

MakeorBreakWorkforceTransformation

TheRacetoAgenticAI

Contents

Introduction3

AgenticAI:Redeiningwork,reinventingroles4

HowagenticAIisreshapingstrategicpriorities5

UnlockingnewopportunitiesforbusinessimpactwithagenticAI6

ThenetworkisthebackboneoftheagenticAIera8

Thenext24months:MajorityofworkforcetocollaboratewithAIagents10

Architectingagility:EnterprisescentralizeAIefortstoowntheagenticAIera13

Strategicspending:MorethanathirdoftechbudgetsareinvestedinagenticAIinitiatives15

Conclusion:Theopportunityisnow17

Methodology18

TheRacetoAgenticAI3

AgenticAIisn’tjustanothertechnologytrend—it’sthecatalystforthemostsignificantworkforcetransformationinageneration

Andthattransformationhasexposedanexistentialriskmostorganizationsaren’tpreparedfor.

Tounderstandthescaleofthistransformation,andthebarriersstandinginthewayofit,CiscopartneredwithOmdiatosurvey650enterpriseexecutives.Theindingsarestriking:87%saidagenticAIhasfundamentallyreshapedtheirstrategicpriorities.

Withintwoyears,mostemployeeswillregularlycollaboratewithagentstodotheirjobs.AndexecutivesagreedthatagenticAIhasthepotentialtocreateentirelynewroles,notjusteliminatethem.

Buthere’stherealitynooneistalkingabout:ThesuccessofthisnewAI-augmentedworkforceisnowconstrainedbytheinfrastructurebeneathit.

That’sbecauseagenticAIneedsreal-timecontext,identity,andsecurity—aswellasgoverned,high-qualitydata—toworkreliably.And,today,manyenterprisesdon’thavesecure,resilientinfrastructuretosupportagenticAI.

Workforcetransformationisnowaninfrastructurechallenge.AndifAIagentsarereasoningandactingacrossapplications,clouds,anddatacenters,thentheunderlyingfabric—thedata,thenetwork,andthesecuritycontrolsthatsurroundthem—determineswhetheragenticAIscalesorfails.

ThosealreadyusingAIagentsinproduction,referredtointhisreportas“productionpioneers,”arerespondingwithurgency,especiallyincomparisontothosethathaveyettodeployagents(referredtoas“incubators”inthisreport).They’recentralizingAIgovernance,modernizingtheirdigitalinfrastructure,andinvestingheavily—dedicating,onaverage,approximately37%of

technologybudgetstoagenticAI.Halfbelieveit’sessentialforcompetitivesurvivaltoday—wellbeforemostorganizationswillhavere-architectedforit.

TheorganizationsmovingfastestonagenticAI—theproductionpioneers—aren’twaitingforperfectclarity.Buttheyacknowledgeonething:AgenticAIatscaleisn’tpossibleonlegacyinfrastructure.Thefoundationmustcomeirst,anditmustcomesoon.Thisistheinfrastructureimperative—therecognitionthatagenticAIdemandsafundamentallydiferenttechnicalfoundation,andthatbuildingitisnowurgent.Theexecutivessurveyedforthisreportexpecttheseinvestmentstoreshapetheirworkforceswithinthenexttwoyears—notincrementally,butdramatically.Thisreportexamineswhereexecutivesareplacingtheirbets.Itexploreshowthey’repreparingtheirorganizationsandpeople.Anditrevealswhytheworkforceoftomorrowwilllikelylookdiferentfromtoday.

Deiningkeyterms

Respondents:

Wesurveyed650executivesacrosssixcountries.

Allwerestakeholdersintheirorganizations’agenticAIstrategiesandinvestments.Allhelddirector-leveltitlesorabove,with35%residingintheC-suite.

AgenticAI:

AIsystemscapableofautonomousactionand

decision-makingwithoutdirecthumanintervention.Thesesystems,manifestedasAIagents,perceiveandinteractwiththeirenvironmentswhile

independentlypursuinggoals.

Productionpioneers:

OrganizationsrepresentedinthesurveyusingagenticAItechnologiesinproductiontoday.Theseleading

organizationsmadeup19%oftheinalsample.

Incubators:

OrganizationscurrentlypilotingagenticAIintheir

environmentorplanningtodosowithinthenext12months.Theseorganizationsmadeup64%and17%,respectively,oftheinalsample.

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TheRacetoAgenticAI4

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AgenticAI:Redefiningwork,

reinventingroles

WhatsetsagenticAIapartfromtraditionalgenerativeAIisautonomy.Agentsdon’tjust

respond—theyact.Afterreceivinginitialinstructions,theycanindependentlyexecute

processes,leveragetools,andquerydatatoachieveobjectives.Moreadvancedagentsreinestrategiesovertimebasedonoutcomes,adaptingtonewinformationorhumanfeedback.

Thisshiftfromreactiveassistancetoproactiveactionisfundamentallychanginghoworganizationsthinkaboutproductivityandefficiency.

AsagenticAIcapabilitiesmature,thepopularnarrativearoundAIandworkhasfocusedonjobelimination,buttherealitymaybemorenuanced.Although40%ofexecutivespredictedthatcertainjobswillbeeliminated,theresearchalsoindicatesanexpectationofworkforcetransformation.Infact,65%ofexecutivessaidtheyexpectagenticAItocreateentirelynewrolesoverthenextthreetoiveyears.Additionally,64%expectcoreresponsibilitiestobesigniicantlyredeinedacrosstheirorganizations.

Executivessurveyedalsoexpectanimpactacrossbothtechnicalandbusinessfunctionsalike,creatingdemandfornewskillsinAIunderstanding,orchestration,anduplevelingcollaborationtechniquessuchaspromptengineering.

Butthistransformationhingesonsomethingfoundational:havingthecriticalinfrastructuretoenableit.NewrolesfocusedonAIorchestrationandgovernancerequiresystemsthat

65%ofexecutivessaidtheyexpectagenticAItocreateentirelynewrolesoverthenextthreetofiveyears.

supportreal-timeagentinteractions,enforcesecurityacrossautonomousworkflows,andprovidevisibilityintoAIdecision-makingatscale.Withoutthatfoundation,theserolescan’tfunction—nomatterhowpreparedtheworkforcemaybe.

Therealchallengeforexecutivesnowishelpingorganizationsadapttocreateanenvironmentwhereagentscanscale.

92%saidtheability

tocollaboratewith

machinesisanessentialskillintheagenticAIera.

92%alsoagreedtheirorganizationmust

leaninontraining

toempowerstafto

collaboratewithagents.

90%arereimaginingorganizational

designandexistingprocessestomakewayforagents.

TheRacetoAgenticAI5

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HowagenticAIisreshapingstrategicpriorities

AgenticAIhasbecomeacentralstrategicforce,demandingtheattentionofexecutives.

Eighty-sevenpercentofexecutivessurveyedsaidthatagenticAIhasdirectlyimpactedtheirstrategicpriorities.Amongproductionpioneers,46%describedtheshiftas“major,”comparedto33%ofincubators.

Who’sleadingthechargewithinorganizations?

AgenticAIisn’tasingle-leaderinitiative.WhenaskedwhichexecutivesholdsigniicantresponsibilityforagenticAIstrategies,respondentsidentiiedmultiplestakeholders:

ITleadership(75%)bringstechnicalexpertiseandunderstandingof

infrastructurerequirements.

CEOs(67%)providestrategicvisionandanorganizationalmandate.

Datasciencespecialists(58%)contributeAI-speciicknowledgeandimplementationguidance.

Thiscross-functionalleadershipmodelreflectstherealitythatsuccessfulagenticAIdeploymentrequiressimultaneousprogressacrosstechnology,strategy,andspecializedAIcapabilities;nosingleleadercandriveitalone.

TheRacetoAgenticAI6

UnlockingnewopportunitiesforbusinessimpactwithagenticAI

Thedegreeofworkforcetransformationprojectedbyexecutivesreflectsthebusinessvaluetobeunlocked.Productionpioneersarealreadyseeingimpressivegains:60%

citedimprovedoperationalefficiency,58%pointedtobetterdecision-making,and56%reportedbothrevenuegrowthandcostimprovements.

Whenaskedaboutexpectedbeneitsoverthenext24months,productionpioneersaresigniicantlymorebullishaboutgainsthanincubatorsacrosseverymetric.Thissuggeststhathands-onexperiencewithagenticAIstrengthensconvictionabouttransformativepotential.

What’smore,pioneersagreethatinfrastructurereadinesssetssuccessfuldeploymentsapartfromthosethatstruggle.Organizationsseeingrealbeneitsinvestedearlyin

networkmodernization,security,anddataoptimization.

TheresearchshowsthatagenticAI’sprimaryimpactisn’tjustefficiency—it’senabling

fundamentallydiferentwaysofworking.BycombininghumancreativitywithAI’spower,organizationscanachieveoutcomesthatneithercouldproduceindependently.

TheRacetoAgenticAI7

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ExpectationstodeliveronthepromiseofagenticAI

WhichofthefollowingbeneitsdoesyourorganizationexpecttoachievefromagenticAIwithinthenext24months?(percentofrespondents)

Incubators(N=527)Productionpioneers(N=123)

66%

53%

Increaseoperationalefficiency

63%

46%

Enhancedecision-makingcapabilities

58%

48%

Improvecompetitivediferentiation

55%

37%

Reduceandmanagerisk

46%

35%

Reducecosts

TheRacetoAgenticAI8

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ThenetworkisthebackboneoftheagenticAIera

AIagentsareonlyaspowerfulasthenetworksenablingthem.Theexecutivessurveyedvalidatethisdependency:

96%saidreal-timeAIresponsesrequirerobustnetworks.

95%citedtheneedtomovelargedatasetsandconnectdistributedITenvironments.

94%saidit’simportantthenetworkcansupportagentsacrosstheir

hybridandmulti-cloudenvironments.

Yetgapspersist:62%ofexecutivessaidtheystruggletoprotectnetworksfromAI-drivenattacks,manageagentidentities,andsecuredatainmotion.Asaresult,manyexecutivescitenetworksecurityandgovernance(68%)andreliabilityanduptime(61%)asareasoffocusastheyplanhowtoscaleuptheuseofAIagents.

Weaskedwhichindicatorsorganizationsaremonitoring,orwillmonitor,todetermineifagenticAIisdeliveringacompetitiveadvantage.Thetop

responsewasnetworkperformanceandresiliencemetrics(57%)outpacingbusiness-centricoutcomeslikecustomeracquisition,inancialmetrics,andinnovationspeed.Atirstglance,thatmightseemsurprising.Butwiththesweepingchangesagentsarebringingtoworkforcesandentire

industries,andwithmodernizednetworksemergingastheessentialfoundationforagent-drivenexperiences,it’snowonderexecutivesarelaser-focusedonnetworkperformanceasacriticalKPI.

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TheagenticAIeraishere,buthowdoorganizationsknowifit’strulydeliveringacompetitiveadvantage?They’renotjustguessing.Companiesareactivelymonitoringspeciicindicatorstomeasureitsimpact.Thechartbelowrevealsthekeymetricsexecutivessaidthey’retrackingtomeasuretheimpactofagenticAIonbusiness.

ThekeymetricsformeasuringtheimpactofagenticAI

Whatindicatorsareyoumonitoringorplanningtomonitortodetermine

whetheragenticAIdeliversacompetitiveadvantageforyourorganization?

(percentofrespondents,N=649,multipleresponsesaccepted)

57%

Networkperformance

andresiliencemetrics

forAIworkloads

54%

Customeracquisitionandretentionmetrics

54%

Operationalefficiencygainsovercompetitors

51%

Newproductandservicedevelopmentvelocity

50%

Financialperformancemetrics

40%

Talentacquisitionandretention

33%

Marketsharechange

TheRacetoAgenticAI10

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Thenext24months:

Majorityofworkforceto

collaboratewithAIagents

WhenitcomestoagenticAI,thetimelineforworkforcetransformationismeasuredinmonths,notyears.

Onaverage,executivesestimate55%oftheirworkforcewillregularlyworkalongsideagentswithin24months.

Thechallenge:60%ofthatgrouplackstheskillstocollaboratewithagentsefectivelytoday.

Thebreadthofrequiredskilldevelopmentcompoundsthechallenge.TheagenticAI

erademandstechnicalAIunderstanding,systemsupervision,promptengineering,

dataliteracy,andcriticalthinking.Infact,72%oforganizationsprioritize“technicalAIunderstanding”asthetoprequiredskillwithinthenext24months.Thismeansworkersacrossthebusinesswillneedtograspconceptsliketrainingdataquality,model

limitations,potentialbiases,andhallucinationrisks,enablingthemtoworkefectivelywiththeirdigitalcounterparts.

Onaverage,executivesestimate55%oftheirworkforcewillregularlyworkalongsideagentswithin24months.

Thechallenge:60%ofthatgrouplackstheskillstocollaboratewithagentsefectivelytoday.

Foremployees,theimperativeisclear:TechnicalAIliteracyissettobecomethebaselinerequirementtothriveintheagenticAIera.

Additionally,65%ofexecutivessurveyedpointedtoAIsystemsupervisionandoversight

asanessentialcapability.Thismeansmonitoringagentbehavior,auditingdecisionsfor

accuracyandfairness,andknowingwhentooverrideautonomoussystemsoperating

outsideparameters.Thisemphasisunderscoresthatfornon-technicalroles,“technicalAI

understanding”isoftensynonymouswiththeabilitytocriticallysuperviseandcollaboratewithAI.

Otherskillsarealsocited:49%oforganizationsemphasizeAIpromptengineering—craftingefectiveinstructionsguidingagentbehavior—asanimportantskill.Another47%prioritizedataliteracy.Buttechnicalskillsalonewon’tsuffice:Criticalthinking,problem-solving,andadaptability(48%)remainessentialforworkers.

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WhereupskillingisneededfortheagenticAIera

WhichofthefollowingskillsisyourorganizationprioritizingforyouremployeestoworkmoreefectivelywithagenticAI?(percentofrespondents,N=600,multipleresponsesaccepted)

72%

TechnicalAIunderstanding

65%

AIsystemsupervisionandoversight

49%

AIpromptengineering

48%

Criticalthinking,problem-solving,andadaptability

47%

Dataliteracyandanalysis

38%

Processredesignandcontinuousimprovement

31%

Ethicaldecision-making

TheRacetoAgenticAI12

Organizationsthattreatskilldevelopmentwiththesameurgencyastechnologydeploymentwillbethemostlikelytosucceed.Thismeanscontinuouslearningprogramsembeddedindailyworkflows,microlearningopportunitiesforincrementalskillbuilding,andhands-onpracticeenvironments.

Butskillsonlymatterifinfrastructuresupportstheirapplication.Anemployeesupervisingagentscan’tefectivelymonitoragentswithoutvisibilitytools,audittrails,andsecuritycontrolsbuiltintotheunderlyingarchitecture.Thesearen’tseparateinitiatives—they’reinterdependentrequirementsfortransformation.

Productionpioneersunderstandthis:53%activelyinvestingovernancetrainingandspecializedcourses,comparedtojust36%ofincubators.

Thetimelineforupskillingisunforgiving:Within24months,organizationswilleitherhaveworkforcescapableofefectivecollaboration—andinfrastructurecapableofsupportingit—orthey’llstrugglewhilecompetitorspullahead.

WhenagenticAIwillbeessentialtoorganizationalcompetitiveness

Inyouropinion,bywhatyeardoyouexpectagenticAItobeessentialforcompetitivesurvivalinyour

industry?(percentofrespondents,N=650)

50%

Bytheendof2026(orsooner)

30%

2027

12%

2028

4%

2029

3%

2030orlater

0%

Itwillneverbeessentialforcompetitivesurvival

TheRacetoAgenticAI13

Architectingagility:EnterprisescentralizeAIefortstoowntheagenticAIera

StrategiesusedtoscaleagenticAI

EarlyagenticAIadoptionfavoreddecentralization.Individualunits

experimentedindependently,leadingtoafragmentedviewofAI’simpact.ButasorganizationsscalefromAIpilotstoenterprisedeployment,this

approachprovesuntenable.TobeneitfromagenticAI,organizationsneedamorecohesiveapproachtogovernance.

Whichapproachbestdescribesyourorganization’sstrategyforscalingagenticAI?(percentof

respondents,N=650)

WehaveacentralizedAIcenterofexcellence

59%

Wehavebusinessunit-ledinitiatives

7%

Today,91%oforganizationsaremovingawayfromdecentralized

experiments,choosingcentralizedAIcentersofexcellenceorfederatedmodelswithstronggovernance.TheemergenceofChiefAIOfficer

rolesreflectsthisevolution.Theseexecutivesprovidecross-functional

leadershipneededtomovebeyondexperimentationtowardtransformation.

Wehaveafederatedmodel

withcentralgovernance

32%

Wearestilldeterminingourapproach

2%

TheRacetoAgenticAI14

Amongproductionpioneers,thepushforcentralizationisevenstronger:79%haveestablishedcentralizedAIcentersofexcellence,comparedtojust55%ofincubators.

Threeimperativesdrivecentralizedgovernance:

123

Consistency.Decentralizeddeploymentscreatepatchworksystemswithinconsistent

behaviorandfragmenteduserexperiences.Centralizedgovernanceensuresagentsoperateaccordingtocommonstandards.

Security.Autonomoussystemsaccessingsensitivedatarepresentsigniicantriskifnot

properlygoverned.Decentralizeddeploymentsmakeconsistentsecurityprotocolsandauditcapabilitiesnearlyimpossible.Centralizedoversightprovidesnecessarycontrolandvisibility.

Standardization.ScalingagenticAIrequirescommonframeworksfordevelopment,

deployment,andmonitoring.Centralizedteamsestablishbestpractices,maintainreusablecomponents,andensureorganization-widelearning.

Fifty-ivepercentofexecutivesareconflictedabouttherisksposedbyagents.Theydon’tknowifgovernanceconcernsshouldslowdowntheiragenticAIdeploymentorifthepotentialgainsmeantheyshouldmovefastanyway.Thisbalancingactgetshardertomanageasorganizationsgofrompilotstofullproduction.ToscaleAIagents,centralizedgovernanceisarequirement.

Centralizationdoesn’tmeanalackofflexibility,though.Federatedmodelsprovideboth:Centralteamssetthestandards,whilebusinessunitsworkwithinthoseboundaries.TheseframeworksshowpeoplehowAIdecisionsgetmade.Thatbuildstrust.Fororganizationsstillrunningdecentralizedsetups,

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bringingthingstogetherisn’toptional—it’showorganizationsscalewithconidence.

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Strategicspending:Morethanathirdoftechbudgetsare

investedinagenticAIinitiatives

Followthemoney,andprioritiesbecomeunmistakable.

Onaverage,organizationsallocatenearly37%oftechnologybudgetsspeciicallyto

agenticAIinitiatives—amassivestrategicbetthatagenticAIhasmovedfromapromisingtechnologytoamandatoryinvestment.Mosttransformationaltechnologiescommand

15-25%ofbudgetsduringpeakadoption.AgenticAIdrawslargerallocationswhilestillrelativelyearlyinenterprisedeployment,signalinghowprofoundlyexecutivesbelieveitwillreshapeorganizations.

Thespendingdistributionrevealsintentionality:44%ofexecutivessaidmorethan20%ofinvestmentflowstofoundationalnetworkinfrastructure,connectivity,andsecurity.

Thisisn’taccidental.Organizationsunderstandthat,withoutresilient,secure,AI-readyinfrastructure,investmentsinAIplatforms,dataintegration,andtalentdevelopmentcan’tdeliverreturns.Thefoundationmustcomeirst.

Organizationsunderstandagentic

AIisn’tjusttechnology—it’sa

workforcetransformationenabler

requiringsimultaneousinvestmentininfrastructure,data,talent,andculture.

OrganizationsunderstandagenticAIisn’tjusttechnology—it’saworkforce

transformationenablerrequiringsimultaneousinvestmentininfrastructure,data,talent,andculture.

Investmentstrategiesreflectmatureexpectations:52%ofproductionpioneers

stronglyagreedthatagenticAImaynotshowimmediateROIbutwilldrivelong-termsuccess,comparedto42%ofincubators.Despitetheircautioussentiment,43%

ofproductionpioneersarealreadyseeingapositiveROI,andanother39%expectreturnswithin12months.

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Timingthereturn:productionpioneers’outlookonagenticAIROI

InwhattimeframedoyouexpecttoseemeaningfulROIfromyouragenticAIinitiatives?(percentofrespondents,N=123)

We’realreadyachievingameaningfulROI

43%

Withinsixmonths

19%

Insevento12months

20%

Inmorethanoneyear

17%

Organizationsmakingsubstantialinvestmentsaretakingactiondespitenothaving

alltheanswers.Theyproceedwithconvictionbecausethecompetitivecalculusis

clear:Inamarketwhere80%ofexecutivesbelieveembracingagenticAIwillbe

essentialtotheircompetitivesurvivalbytheendof2027,thecostofinactionexceedsthecomplexityoftransformation.Inarelatedinding,andonethatunderscoresthe

magnitudeoftransformationexpected,nearlythesamepercentageofexecutives

(78%)saidthewayorganizationsintheirsectoroperatewillbesigniicantlyreshapedduetoagenticAIovernextfewyears.

Usingthisresearchasabenchmark,organizationsallocatingsigniicantlylessthan35%ofbudgetstoagenticAIarelikelyunder-investingrelativetothemarket.

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Conclusion:Theopportunityisnow

AgenticAIisdrivingthemostsigniicantworkforcetransformationinageneration—andthetimelineiscompressed.MostworkerswillbecollaboratingwithAIagentswithin24months,and80%ofexecutivesbelieveagenticAIwillbeessentialforsurvivalby2027.

T