Overcome AI pilot purgatory by building a powerful data platform

The road to AI-fuelled growth must be underpinned by an integrated data ecosystem that delivers accuracy, speed and insight. Gartner predicts that, through 2026, organisations will abandon 60% of projects unsupported by AI-ready data; a concern when 63% of organisations are unsure they have the right data practices in place.

Data integration is key to improving operational efficiency and ensuring businesses can make smart decisions in a dynamic economy that’s being buffeted by uncertainty. It means leaders can understand their operations more precisely to identify opportunities and risks and uncover insights into customer behaviour that drive growth.

Yet it takes governance to ensure data is reliable and meets enterprise requirements. Without that, there’s no transparency, explainability or oversight into how AI models use data to make decisions. This increases risk exposure and complicates compliance; no wonder regulators are making governance a priority for risk management around AI.

As Liza Allen, partner at Fujitsu’s consulting business Uvance Wayfinders, Oceania, explains: “Data foundations are a critical component of successful AI investments. Without a strong data foundation and governance model, organisations cannot realise the benefits of AI or broader technology investments.”

Meanwhile Laura Entwistle, also a partner at Uvance Wayfinders, Oceania, adds: “Governance and integration must be looked at holistically. If data quality or integration is poor, AI will produce unreliable results.”

Leading on governance and integration isn’t easy. Building shared data platforms is the best route forward, but many organisations are still working with legacy architectures and lack a single source of data. This is a major impediment that could slow down innovation, undermining enterprise efforts to deliver real business results through AI.

Data is fundamental to every part of the organisation, yet it’s often difficult to gain traction on governance initiatives without broad awareness of the risks. Without risk management embedded, along with cross-departmental accountability, frameworks and processes can stall. Gaps will emerge in implementation and execution, making it harder to transform AI progress into tangible business outcomes.

Changing the culture

Some of these barriers are systemic and can be tackled by identifying the data necessary for smooth end-to-end workflows and then standardising, cleansing and harmonising it to  deliver meaningful insight and value. 

Yet, as Allen notes, “the more challenging barriers occur at the culture level.” She argues that businesses need to provide clarity around ownership and accountability and define responsibilities.

“Technical challenges must be addressed,” she adds, “but organisational culture, accountability and change management require equal attention.”

Entwistle feels that enterprises can begin by ensuring business and technology leaders align on their AI priorities, providing operating model clarity before AI initiatives are progressed and released into production.

“Include governance from the beginning,” she recommends. “Consider data privacy, compliance and security requirements early, not later.”

Allen agrees, suggesting that IT leaders should see these data issues through a strategic lens. By establishing ownership and making progress towards governance maturity, organisations can address their data challenges head-on before scaling out.

Here, partners can help by bringing an external perspective to bear, built on experience across multiple industries and deep expertise in data privacy, integrity and quality. They can help IT leaders refine their data strategy and resolve any cultural issues that block the path to governance maturity. What’s more, they can share lessons learned from successful AI projects completed with similar organisations. By prioritising meaningful, sustainable transformation, they can help enterprises de-risk their AI initiatives and ensure they meet their business goals.

Find out more about Uvance Wayfinders.