AI Context Layer Maturity Index – Einar & Partners Research Unit

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Primary system of record

How would you describe your organization's primary system(s) of record for IT infrastructure, services, and operational data today?

Single CMDB (e.g., ServiceNow, BMC Helix, custom)
Jira / work management as the primary system of record
Multiple specialized databases (each domain has its own)
Mix of several systems with no clear primary
Custom-built proprietary system
No formal system of record

Number of systems of record

Auto-discovered vs. manually maintained

What percentage of your configuration and operational data is automatically discovered and synced versus manually maintained?

External data sources integrated

How many external data sources are currently integrated into your system(s) of record? (Cloud APIs, monitoring tools, HR systems, billing, business process data, etc.)

Graph database / context layer presence

Does your organization currently use a graph database or graph-based context layer - alongside, on top of, or instead of your traditional system of record?

Yes - in production, actively used
Yes - piloting or proof-of-concept stage
Planning to adopt in the next 12 months
Considered but not pursuing
No, not currently using or considering
Unsure/unfamiliar with the concept

AI agent consumption of context data

Are AI agents, copilots, or automation tools actively consuming your configuration or context data to make or recommend decisions today?

Yes - agents are in production using this data
Yes - piloting agents with this data
Planning to deploy agents within 12 months
No, but using AI/copilots elsewhere (not on context data)
No AI agents currently in use anywhere
Unsure

Data sources accessed by AI agents

Technology choices for context graph database

Are you currently using/considering a comparable vendor-native context feature, or a custom-built equivalent?

Vendor native - ServiceNow
Vendor native - BMC
Vendor native - IBM
Vendor native - Others
Vendor native - Salesforce
Home-grown context layer(custom) e.g. Neo4j or other graph database
Aware of these features but not using them
Not aware of these features
Not applicable to our platform stack

Awareness of "context layer" as a concept

How would you rate your organization's awareness of "context layer" as a concept distinct from a traditional system of record?

1 - Not aware of the concept at all
2 - Heard of the term but no clear understanding
3 - Understand the concept but haven't acted on it
4 - Actively exploring or evaluating
5 - Actively building or operating one

How real-time/reliable is your system data

How reliable is your data for AI (agents) to make decisions in the context graph

Annual spend on configuration/context data systems

What is your organization's estimated annual spend on configuration/context data systems (licensing + internal staff time + external consulting combined)?

Strategic ownership of context data evolution

Who in your organization owns the strategic direction of your context data evolution?

Deliberate investment in the past 12 months

In the past 12 months, has your organization made a deliberate investment - budget, headcount, or tooling - specifically aimed at improving context data quality for AI use cases?

Yes — significant investment (budget + headcount + tooling)
Yes — moderate investment (one or two of these)
Yes — minor investment / exploratory
No — but planned for next 12 months
No — and not currently planned
Unsure

Maturity of fragmented data integration

How would you rate your organization's overall maturity in connecting fragmented data sources into a unified, queryable model?

1 — Highly fragmented, no unification
2 — Some integration in isolated areas
3 — Partial unification across key domains
4 — Mostly unified with some gaps
5 — Fully unified and queryable across domains

Trajectory: more or less reliant on single source of truth

Compared to 12 months ago, has your organization's reliance on a single source of truth increased, decreased, or shifted toward multiple federated sources?

Significantly increased reliance on a single source
Slightly increased reliance on a single source
No notable change
Slightly shifted toward multiple federated sources
Significantly shifted toward multiple federated sources
Unsure

What is the biggest challenge your organization faces in creating a trusted, AI-ready context layer across systems and teams?

Thank You for Your Participation

We sincerely thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. Your insights and experiences are invaluable in helping us better understand the current state of AI Context Layer Maturity and its future direction. We deeply appreciate your contribution.

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