Build Your AI Strategy Roadmap
Transforming the organization with AI.
- Organizations need to understand this disruptive technology and the trends to properly develop a strategy for leveraging this technology successfully.
- The AI strategy requires alignment to a business strategy.
- Establish responsible AI principles to mitigate the risks involved with implementing AI-based solutions.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Business stakeholders need to cut through the hype surrounding AI, including apps like ChatGPT, to optimize investments for leveraging this technology to drive business outcomes.
- Understand the market landscape, benefits, and risks associated with AI.
- Understand the gaps the organization needs to address to fully leverage AI.
Impact and Result
- A high-level plan that provides guiding principles for AI applications that are fully driven by the business needs and capabilities that are essential to the organization.
- A strategy that tightly weaves business needs and the applications required to support them. It covers AI governance, data management, people, processes, and technology.
- A way to ensure that the necessary people, processes, and technology are in the right place at the right time to sufficiently support business goals.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.4/10
Overall Impact
$55,357
Average $ Saved
33
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Chemeketa Community College
Guided Implementation
7/10
$1,507
2
Provided the break through needed as to why following the tools and guidance of other Info Tech tools on this subject to hadn't worked within the ... Read More
MDU Services LTD
Guided Implementation
10/10
$17,100
20
Workers Federal Credit Union
Guided Implementation
7/10
N/A
N/A
Since this was just the first meeting with Martin, it is too premature to put value based on the first call. I think Martin will bring a lot to the... Read More
Kentucky Housing Corporation
Workshop
10/10
$34,250
35
The workshop could easily be configured for 5 days. This would allow for further consumption of the material and process. Overall, the workshop is ... Read More
Goodwill of Colorado
Guided Implementation
10/10
$68,500
100
IDP EDUCATION LIMITED
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Great conversation
British Columbia Lottery Corporation
Workshop
8/10
$100K
10
Enjoyed the connecting of AI practicioners in one spot to talk about current state and the future. I felt a little too much time was spent review... Read More
British Columbia Assessment
Workshop
10/10
$100K
80
Both Areez and Jeff were fantastic to work with on this project. Their knowledge and experience was invaluable. Areez is an exceptional facilitato... Read More
Altarum Institute
Guided Implementation
10/10
$13,700
5
Altaz is very knowledgeable and helpful.
PowerNet Limited
Guided Implementation
9/10
$34,250
32
Julianna was fantastic to work with, The Info-Tech material was very easy to work through. No bad parts. I believe the process could have gone fa... Read More
Douglas County, Colorado
Guided Implementation
10/10
$34,250
60
knowledge of SME was outstanding and the ability to use proven roadmap
Dentons Canada Services LP
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
10
Altaz takes a very pragmatic approach and offers very grounded advice. Tremendous value packed into a one hour call!
Focused Education Resources
Guided Implementation
10/10
$9,000
2
City of Arlington
Workshop
10/10
$137K
90
We are incredibly grateful for the facilitator and the AI strategy process, which truly stood out as the most impactful part of the workshop. As a ... Read More
HR Green, Inc.
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
20
This survey has come a bit too soon - we aren't done yet. So far Ryan has demonstrated very knowledgeable in AI as well as skilled at guiding me t... Read More
Manatee County
Workshop
8/10
$68,500
35
Excellent format for attacking a challenge. There was a nice flow from problem to possible roadmap for next steps. Our presenter was very adept at ... Read More
C.H.I. Overhead Doors Inc.
Workshop
10/10
N/A
47
Best: Authoritative voice on the framework and how to make smart decisions. Worst: Nothing negative to report. The workshop is a process. It is ... Read More
Niterra
Workshop
10/10
$34,250
50
Asia was wonderful to work with, She knows her domain and did a fantastic job of keeping the workshop on track and focused. The business case deliv... Read More
First Global Management Services, Inc.
Guided Implementation
10/10
$13,700
N/A
This was good reinforcement of the messages we've been hearing from other IT leaders but it was delivered in a more programmatic way. It was a good... Read More
Utah Valley University
Workshop
10/10
$2,466
5
PG Group
Workshop
10/10
$13,700
120
Really great session, engaging throughout. High praise from all involved.
County of San Luis Obispo
Workshop
10/10
$51,375
20
Well organized material; knowledgeable, well effective presenter (Areez); quick turnaround and excellent follow-up on findings; practical applicat... Read More
Primaris Management Inc.
Guided Implementation
10/10
$50,000
10
Al Nahdi Medical
Guided Implementation
8/10
$2,603
2
Royal Canadian Mint
Guided Implementation
10/10
$20,500
35
Thomas James Homes
Guided Implementation
10/10
$6,850
2
concise, knowledgeable and practical.
VM Group
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
The experience has been great. Lots of useful information. Still awaiting some information promised in the onboarding meeting. AI use cases in cr... Read More
Kichler Lighting
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
This was a great exploratory start of our journey. It was a good level set and provided us with a solid place to start discussions.
Texas Mutual Insurance Company
Workshop
9/10
$137K
10
I thought the dialogue was very honest and we tried to keep these ideas in perspective with our current situation. I don't believe everyone would... Read More
Focused Education Resources
Guided Implementation
10/10
$25,000
9
Great interaction with Altaz, very helpful guidance and responsive to our needs.
Workshop: Build Your AI Strategy Roadmap
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Establish the Scope of Your AI Strategy
The Purpose
Confirm the boundaries and limitations of your AI strategy.
Key Benefits Achieved
Develop your readiness to act based on validated goals and principles.
Activities
Outputs
Understand AI in the context of your industry.
Develop the AI vision and strategic principles.
- AI vision statement
- Strategic AI principles
Identify the drivers of value.
Articulate your responsible AI principles.
- Responsible AI principles
Module 2: Assess Current AI Maturity and Identify AI Use Cases
The Purpose
Understand and confirm the current state.
Key Benefits Achieved
Well-informed set of AI use cases with strong link to strategy and culture
Activities
Outputs
Understanding the dimensions of AI maturity.
- Business AI initiatives
Assess the current state of AI maturity.
- AI maturity assessment results
Identify AI use cases in alignment with strategic business goals.
Module 3: Prioritize AI Use Cases
The Purpose
Establish priorities for next steps.
Key Benefits Achieved
Promotion of high-value ideas with believable ability to execute
Activities
Outputs
Filter and prioritize use cases based on value and feasibility of execution.
- Prioritized AI use cases
Define business-aligned AI initiatives.
- Identified challenges and risk for use cases
- Initiative one-pagers for selected AI use cases
Module 4: Develop Your AI Roadmap
The Purpose
Visualize high-priority use cases in a realistic timeline.
Key Benefits Achieved
Leadership alignment on priority and timing
Activities
Outputs
Develop the AI roadmap.
- AI roadmap (Gantt chart format)
Determine next steps and communication approach.
- Preliminary AI strategy presentation
Present the AI roadmap to the executive leadership team.
Build Your AI Strategic Roadmap
Develop your AI strategy to maximize return and mitigate risks with your AI investments
Analyst Perspective
Transforming the organization with AI
Today, every organization is being challenged to determine their strategy on the use of AI-based solutions. Never in our history has a technology become so accessible and at that same time, so disruptive with the benefits and new risks introduced. This is a unique time in our history where the benefits of AI are transformative and readily accessible to all organizations. But the introduction of transformative capabilities also introduces new risks that need to be planned for.
A successful business-driven AI strategy requires:
- An AI strategy that is driven by and aligned to the organizational strategy.
- Responsible AI guiding principles to mitigate the risks that are introduced with the deployment of AI-based solutions.
- Candidate business capabilities that can be augmented or automated with AI that drive business value.
- A roadmap to deliver and support new AI-based solutions.
Principal Research Director
Info-Tech Research Group
Executive Summary
Your ChallengeAI is disrupting all industries and providing opportunities for organization-wide advantages. Organizations need to understand this disruptive technology and the trends to properly develop a strategy for leveraging this technology successfully.
All organizations, regardless of size, should be planning how to respond to this new and innovative technology. |
Common ObstaclesBusiness stakeholders need to cut through the hype surrounding AI, like ChatGPT, to optimize investments for leveraging this technology to drive business outcomes. They need to:
Without a proper strategy and responsible AI guiding principles, the risks to deploying this technology could negatively impact business outcomes. |
SolutionInfo-Tech’s human-centric, value-based approach is a guide for deploying AI applications and covers including:
This blueprint will provide a list of activities and deliverables required for the successful deployment of generative AI solutions. |
Info-Tech Insight
Create awareness among the CEO and C-suite of executives about the potential benefits and risks of transforming the business with generative AI.
Key concepts
AI Vision Statement
An effective AI vision statement is usually forward-looking and aspirational and reflects the organization’s commitment to leveraging AI to deliver positive and responsible outcomes.
Strategic AI Principles
Guiding principles that align the business strategy with the AI strategy and reflect the organization’s overall approach to the use of AI. Whether AI should be used or not and the decision whether to buy or build the AI application are examples of strategic principles.
Responsible AI Principles
Guiding principles to govern the development, deployment, and maintenance of AI applications to mitigate the possible risks from deploying AI-based applications. In addition, these principles also address human-based requirements that AI applications should address.
AI Strategy
A business-driven AI strategy is aligned with the organizational strategy of the firm. Key components of the AI strategy include:
- AI Vision and Mission Statements
- Business Value Drivers
- Strategic AI Principles
- Responsible AI Principles
Business Value Drivers
These drivers represent the key ways value is recognized by the organization and are used to ensure candidate AI initiatives are aligned to the goals and objectives of the organization.
AI Maturity Model
AI strategic directions are part of the overall strategic planning process and are designed to align AI initiatives with the organization’s vision and goals. These directions provide a roadmap regarding where to leverage AI to maximize the benefits to the organization.
Your challenge
This research is designed to help organizations that are looking to:
- Develop a business-driven AI strategy to maximize benefits and minimize the risks associated with AI-based solutions.
- Understand the potential opportunities to improve business outcomes and best practices to govern the risks with developing or deploying AI applications.
- Assess the organization’s capabilities to provide AI governance, a data platform optimized for analytics, access to AI skills, processes, and the supporting technology infrastructure.
- Have clear metrics in place to measure the progress and success of AI initiatives.
- Build the roadmap to implement the candidate use cases.
Common obstacles
These barriers are challenging for many organizations:
- Getting all the right business stakeholders together to develop the organization’s AI strategy, vision, and objectives.
- Establishing responsible AI guiding principles to guide AI investments and deployments.
- Advancing the AI maturity of the organization to meet requirements of data and AI governance as well as human-based requirements such as fairness, transparency, and accountability.
- Assessing AI opportunities and developing policies for use.
Info-Tech’s definition of a business-oriented AI strategy
An effective AI strategy is driven by the business stakeholders of the organization and focused on delivering improved business outcomes.
A business-oriented AI strategy includes:
- guiding principles for AI applications that are fully driven by the business needs, and capabilities that are essential to the organization.
- a strategy that tightly weaves business needs and the applications required to support them. It covers AI governance, data management, people, processes, and technology.
- a way to ensure that the necessary people, processes, and technology are in place at the right time to sufficiently support business goals.
- an AI strategy roadmap to communicate how strategic initiatives will address business concerns.
This blueprint in context
This guidance covers how to create an AI strategy roadmap for executing AI initiatives
Scope
- This blueprint provides guidance for aligning your AI strategy with your organizational strategy.
- This approach sets the foundations for building and applying responsible AI principles and AI policies aligned to corporate governance and key regulatory obligations (e.g. privacy). Both steps are foundational components of how you should develop, manage, and govern your AI program but are not a substitute for implementing broader AI governance.
Guidance on how to implement AI governance can be found in the blueprint linked below.
Download our AI Governance blueprint
Measure the value of this blueprint
Leverage this blueprint’s approach to ensure your AI initiatives align with and support your key business drivers
This blueprint will guide you to drive and improve business outcomes. Key business drivers will often focus on:
- Improving customer experience
- Increasing revenue
- Reducing costs
- Improving time to market
- Reducing risk
Once you implement your 12-month roadmap, start tracking the metrics below over the next fiscal year (Year 1) to assess the effectiveness of measures:
Business Outcome Objective |
Key Success Metric |
Improving Customer Experience |
Increased customer engagement and market share |
Increasing Revenue |
Increased revenue from identified key areas |
Reducing Costs |
Decreased costs for identified business units |
Improving Time to Market |
Time savings and accelerated revenue adoption |
Reducing Risk |
Cost savings or revenue gains from identified business units |
In phase 1 of this blueprint, we will help you identify the key AI strategy initiatives that align to your organization’s goals. Value to the organization is often measured by the estimated impact on revenue, costs, time to market, or risk mitigation.
In phase 4, we will help you develop a plan and a roadmap for addressing any gaps and introducing the relevant AI capabilities that drive value to the organization based on defined business metrics.
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst
Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 11 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation 1: Session 1: Establish Scope of AI Strategy
- Call 1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenges
- Call 2: Define AI vision statement.
- Call 3: Identify strategic principles
- Call 4: Establish responsible AI guiding principles
Guided Implementation 2: Session 2: Assess Current AI Maturity & Identify AI Use Cases
- Call 1: Assess the organization’s current state capabilities for managing AI
- Call 2: : Identify candidate business capabilities to be addressed by AI-based solutions
Guided Implementation 3: Session 3: Prioritize AI Use Cases
- Call 1: Assess the value and feasibility for the business AI initiatives
- Call 2: Prioritize the business AI initiatives
Guided Implementation 4: Session 4: Develop Your AI Strategy Roadmap
- Call 1: Build a strategy roadmap
- Call 2: Build a communication plan
- Call 3: Build an executive AI strategy roadmap deck
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