Finextra and Cloudera Report Reveals Hybrid AI is the New Standard in Financial Services, with 91% Citing It as Highly Valuable

Global study of financial executives finds a persistent "implementation gap" as 97% of firms face data silos and rank data security as the top barrier to AI success

Santa Clara, California - November 11, 2025 - Cloudera, the only company bringing AI to data anywhere, today announced a new global report. The report, created in partnership with Finextra Research, is based on a survey of 155 executives and leaders across the globe. Findings reveal that hybrid AI deployment has become an essential strategy in the financial services industry, with an overwhelming 91% of organizations rating a hybrid approach as highly valuable. Additionally, while AI adoption is widespread, the study confirms that significant data and security barriers prevent firms from achieving full, enterprise-wide integration.

The survey shows 62% of financial services organizations are now using a hybrid AI approach that includes public cloud, data centers, and edge environments to deploy AI wherever data resides. This model is considered critical for managing legacy systems, scaling efficiently, and handling the resource-intensive tasks of training and deploying AI models. The widespread adoption proves that a flexible, data-anywhere infrastructure is no longer an option, but a core requirement for competitive advantage.

Bridging the AI Implementation Gap

Data security has emerged as the primary obstacle to bridging the AI implementation gap. Furthermore, 97% of financial services organizations report that data silos hinder their ability to build and deploy effective AI models. These challenges underscore that AI innovation can only succeed when built on a foundation of trusted, unified data governance and security.

Despite high AI ambitions, many firms still struggle to unlock true transformational value. Nearly half of organizations (48%) have moved beyond initial AI experimentation, but have not yet fully integrated the technology into their core operations. This puts them at a disadvantage compared to the 26% of firms that have achieved full enterprise-wide AI adoption.

"The report confirms that a data-anywhere, hybrid strategy is non-negotiable. It also highlights that infrastructure alone isn't enough," said Adrien Chenailler, Global Director, AI Solutions for Financial Services at Cloudera. "To truly bridge the implementation gap, financial institutions need a unified data and AI platform that ensures consistent governance and security across all environments. This is the only way to build trust, manage risk, and accelerate AI adoption at scale."

Key Findings

• Hybrid AI is the Dominant Approach: 62% of financial services firms are actively using a hybrid approach

• AI Adoption is a Strategic Necessity: 97% of financial services firms are now deploying at least one AI/ML use case, moving AI from an emerging technology to a core business driver

• Unified Governance is Non-Negotiable: With the rise of hybrid deployments, 84% of organizations consider a unified data governance and security framework across all environments to be "critical" or "very important"

• Security Capabilities Drive AI Investments: One in four firms (25%) rank security as their top priority when evaluating an AI platform vendor

"For our members, the reality is clear: AI can only deliver its full potential when data sovereignty, privacy, and trust are guaranteed," said Gary Wright, managing director, Finextra Research. "Our survey results highlight both progress and gaps, underscoring that AI success will depend not just on the scale of investment, but on strategic decisions around infrastructure, vendor partnerships, and robust data governance. We're pleased to share these insights in partnership with Cloudera, helping our global members navigate this rapidly evolving landscape."

Read the full report.

Methodology

The report is based on a global survey conducted by Finextra Research in August 2025 of 155 respondents from financial services and technology organizations. Participants held senior roles across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

About Finextra Research

This report is published by Finextra Research. Finextra Research is the world's leading specialist financial technology news and information source. It offers more than 130,000 fintech news, features and TV content items to some 800,000 monthly visitors to https://http://finextra.com. Finextra covers all aspects of financial technology innovation involving banks, institutions and vendor organisations within the wholesale and retail banking, payments and cards sectors worldwide.

About Cloudera

Cloudera is the only data and AI platform company that large organizations trust to bring AI to their data anywhere it lives. Unlike other providers, Cloudera delivers a consistent cloud experience that converges public clouds, data centers, and the edge, leveraging a proven open-source foundation. As the pioneer in big data, Cloudera empowers businesses to apply AI and assert control over 100% of their data, in all forms, delivering unified security, governance, and real-time predictive insights. The world's largest organizations across all industries rely on Cloudera to transform decision-making and ultimately boost bottom lines, safeguard against threats, and save lives.

To learn more, visit Cloudera.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X. Cloudera and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudera, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.