Let’s begin with some perspective: Artificial intelligence is not the first transformative technology to affect our businesses, nor will it be the last.
We’ve been in the IT industry since 1991. We’ve seen the advent of email, the internet, cloud computing, remote work, and more—and we’ve helped our clients navigate these changes in a thoughtful and methodical manner.
While AI can (and will, and probably should) inspire wonder and awe, it need not inspire fear. To that end, we wanted to present a clear and concise framework that you can use to incorporate AI into your 2025 strategy. Our 4-step process follows.
But First! Security & Use Policy
Diving into AI without clear parameters can lead to unintended vulnerabilities—or even breaches.
Say you want to look into Microsoft’s Copilot, for example. Copilot will work within the access levels of each particular person, pulling data from the files they have permission to view. If an oversight led to them having unknown access to the HR folder, that could lead to serious problems. Work with your IT team to do an audit of your access and permission settings.
There’s also an educational aspect: your team won’t know what they can and cannot safely feed to these platforms unless you tell them. Work with a CIO-level resource to create a formal use policy.
Once those protections are in place, the fun can begin!
Step 1: Learn & Experiment
It’s difficult to conceptualize what AI could do for your organization if you haven’t had any exposure to the technology.
We recommend dedicating time to intentional “play” with AI products that are readily available to you. This can include programs like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Zoom but perhaps more importantly AI add-ons to your line-of-business applications.
This experimentation isn’t a free-for-all, but rather a guided and purposeful exploration of real use cases for AI. Seek out limitations, capabilities, and potential.
Key Action Items:
- Assemble an AI task force within your organization
- Have the taskforce commit X hours over Y weeks for experimentation
- Explore AI capabilities and limitations within the tools you already use
Step 2: Assess Needs & Baseline
Now that your taskforce has a better sense of what AI can do, see if and how those abilities align with your business needs. Consider processes that could be made more efficient, rote tasks that could be automated, and gaps that could be filled.
A nonprofit client of ours, for example, does lots of manual data analysis within their CRM to track and anticipate donor behavior. They could realize significant time savings if some or all of that analysis were handled by AI instead.
With this specific process identified, determine whether you’re ready to introduce AI into the picture. If you want to add AI to your CRM, is the data in your CRM complete and properly organized, or do you need to run a clean-up project first? Determine your baseline and prerequisites.
Key Action Items:
- Brainstorm the business problems AI could potentially solve
- Consider the prerequisites to making a change
- Create a plan and timeline to achieve “AI readiness”
Step 3: Pilot & Measure
So you’ve identified a business need, an AI tool that can fulfill that need, and your prerequisites. Now it’s time to put the tool through the ringer.
With AI, it’s especially important to dig into what technology underpins the application, where your data goes, who is allowed access to that data, what protections are in place, and so forth. If you’re satisfied with the vendor’s responses, move into a pilot phase that quantifies the value.
Going back to the example of CRM data analysis, track how many hours per day or per week go into that task currently. Then track how many hours it takes with the AI tool. Determine if that delta is worth the investment it’ll take to (1) satisfy any prerequisites and (2) roll out the new technology.
Key Action Items:
- Have a CIO-level resource deeply explore the product with the vendor
- Test the tools to make sure they actually do what you need
- Calculate whether the result is worth the cost of implementation
Step 4: Train & Implement
If you’re familiar with our approach to technology projects, you know we have to mention the importance of training! With your use policy as the starting point, walk your team through when and how they can use the new tool and why it’s in their benefit to do so.
For more on our methodology for generating buy-in and adoption, watch our 45-minute webinar on demand.
Key Action Items:
- Consider both the technical roll-out and adoption/change management
- Select internal champions to lead the initiative and generate buy-in
Need Help?
Our CIO Consultants have been helping our clients incorporate AI into their 2025 strategy starting with an AI Readiness Assessment. This discrete engagement will have our seasoned experts quarterback this 4-step process for you. To see if we might be a fit to help, contact our team here.