Ben King

The rush towards AI has created a fascinating shift in customer conversations. Twelve months ago, many organisations were asking what AI might mean for their business. Today, the question is much more practical: how do we actually use it to create value?

What we’re finding is that AI itself is rarely the starting point. The organisations seeing the greatest success are the ones doing the foundational work first. They understand that before AI can deliver meaningful outcomes, data needs to be organised, accessible and trusted.

In many ways, the next phase of AI adoption will be determined less by the quality of the models and more by the quality of the foundations organisations build beneath them.

Getting data ready for AI

One of the biggest priorities we see across customers is the consolidation of data into a single platform.

For years, organisations have accumulated information across multiple systems, departments and applications. While that may have been manageable in a traditional reporting environment, it creates significant challenges when businesses begin exploring AI.

AI is only as effective as the data it can access.

Customers increasingly recognise that fragmented data limits their ability to generate insights, automate processes and make informed decisions. As a result, many are focusing on bringing information together into unified environments that provide a reliable foundation for future AI initiatives.

Interestingly, this work often delivers benefits long before AI is fully deployed. Better data quality, stronger governance and improved visibility can enhance decision-making across the organisation regardless of where they are on their AI journey.

Moving from AI experimentation to business outcomes

The AI conversation itself is becoming more mature.

Customers are no longer exploring AI simply because it is the latest technology trend. They are looking for specific business outcomes.

For some organisations, that means achieving measurable productivity gains. Even modest improvements of five to twenty percent across key processes can create significant commercial impact when scaled across a business.

Others are focused on democratising access to insights. Traditionally, extracting value from data often required specialist analysts, engineers or data scientists. AI is beginning to change that dynamic by making information more accessible to a broader range of employees and decision-makers.

There is also a competitive dimension. Many leaders recognise that AI will influence how industries evolve over the next decade. The concern is no longer whether AI will create change, but whether their organisation will be ready when that change accelerates.

What customers want is not AI for its own sake. They want practical, measurable outcomes that improve how their organisations operate.

Security remains non-negotiable

While AI dominates many boardroom discussions, cyber security continues to sit firmly on the priority list.

As organisations become more connected, more data-driven and increasingly reliant on cloud-based services, the importance of protecting information and systems continues to grow. Every new technology introduces opportunity, but it can also introduce risk.

That is why many organisations are approaching AI adoption cautiously. They want to move forward, but they want to do so safely.

The businesses making the strongest progress are typically the ones balancing innovation with governance. They understand that trust, security and compliance are not barriers to transformation. They are the foundations that allow transformation to happen confidently.

Helping consultants do more, not less

Internally, our own focus reflects many of the conversations we are having with customers.

One of our biggest priorities is implementing AI agents across the business to augment our consulting teams. The objective is not to replace expertise but to enhance it.

Consulting has always been a knowledge-driven profession. AI presents an opportunity to remove administrative friction, accelerate research, improve access to information and enable consultants to spend more time solving customer problems.

The organisations that gain the most value from AI will not necessarily be those that automate the most. They will be the ones that use AI to elevate the capabilities of their people.

That is the lens through which we view the technology.

Building a culture that can adapt

Technology changes quickly. Culture often does not.

One of the strategic priorities we are focused on is creating a culture capable of adapting more quickly to change. As new technologies emerge and customer expectations evolve, organisations need to be able to learn, adjust and improve without becoming paralysed by complexity.

Adaptability is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage.

The challenge for many businesses is not access to technology. It is creating an environment where people can embrace change, adopt new ways of working and continuously improve how they operate.

For us, efficiency is not simply about systems and processes. It is about building a culture that is comfortable evolving alongside the market.
growth creates its own challenges

Like many growing businesses, one of our biggest challenges is talent.

Demand for skills continues to outpace supply across many areas of technology and consulting. Finding great people is difficult. Finding them quickly enough to support growth can be even harder.

While technology continues to evolve, the reality is that businesses are still built by people. The quality of your team ultimately determines the quality of your outcomes.

Growth is exciting, but it also requires organisations to continually invest in attracting, developing and retaining the right talent.

Learning from people who have already done it

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received did not come from a boardroom or a mentor. It came from a simple observation about books.

A great business book is often the culmination of ten, twenty or even forty years of someone else’s experience. Reading that book is a shortcut to knowledge that would otherwise take decades to acquire.

That perspective fundamentally changed the way I approach learning.

Since then, I have made it a habit to read at least one business book every month. Not because every book contains a breakthrough idea, but because every book offers a new perspective, a different way of thinking or a lesson learned through someone else’s successes and failures.

In a market changing as rapidly as technology, continuous learning is not optional.

The organisations that thrive over the next decade will be those willing to learn faster than the rate of change around them. Sometimes the simplest way to do that is to spend a few hours learning from someone who has already walked the path before you.