From Shadow to Strategy: Empowering Your Business with an AI Center of Excellence

In the era of easily accessible Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, the risk of uncontrolled innovation and its consequences—like security breaches and strategic missteps—grows. Creating an AI Center of Excellence (CoE) can counter the dangers of shadow technology by guiding businesses to focus on valuable AI applications. By prioritizing strategic oversight, governance, and impactful use cases, an AI CoE turns the widespread use of AI into a competitive advantage, not a source of shadow technology chaos.

Shadow technology refers to any software, hardware, or resources used in business operations without the knowledge or approval of the technology department. It often stems from third-party software, apps, and services. For instance, a project manager might use Trello for project management when the enterprise lacks similar tools. Additionally, shadow technology includes improperly using approved technology, such as businesses extensively depending on Excel macros for automation and calculations.

In one example of shadow technology, a department at a manufacturing company, unhappy with technology procurement timelines and seeking low-cost solutions, clandestinely used Google Sheets and iPads for audits. They avoided technology oversight by connecting to office WiFi. This makeshift system, chosen for perceived ease over the company's comprehensive audit and ERP system, led to a severe data breach. An unsecured iPad was stolen, and its data was leaked online. The breach highlighted the dangers of shadow technology and underscored the need to enable innovation in a well-managed way. Additionally, this uncontrolled innovation may have been an excellent strategic solution for enterprise audits if the technology and business leaders had worked more closely together.

AI solutions' capabilities, speed, and risks will be far beyond those available today. Business leader's demands for AI solutions will grow much louder over the next few years. Yet, technology leaders struggle to adopt AI tools for their businesses due to a lack of clear strategy, expertise gaps, and challenges in integrating AI with existing systems and processes. Finding solutions to these challenges in a well-managed way is the role of an AI CoE.

An AI CoE can play a pivotal role in helping technology leaders overcome the hurdles of adopting AI tools by providing a centralized hub of expertise and best practices. It bridges the gap in strategy and knowledge, offering guidance on aligning AI initiatives with business goals and facilitating the upskilling of staff to handle AI technologies. Moreover, the CoE can streamline the integration of AI with existing systems and processes, ensuring a smoother transition and more effective implementation. Through its comprehensive support, an AI CoE enables leaders to navigate the complexities of AI adoption, turning potential challenges into opportunities for innovation and growth.

An AI CoE combats shadow technology and will upskill businesses by fostering an environment of guided innovation and continuous learning. By centralizing expertise and governance, an AI CoE ensures that AI initiatives align with the organization's strategic objectives, mitigating the risk of unauthorized tools and technologies that emerge from unmet needs or formal support. This centralized approach also streamlines the adoption of approved technologies, making it less likely for departments to seek shadow IT solutions.

Furthermore, an AI CoE is crucial in upskilling the workforce and offering training programs, workshops, and resources tailored to various organizational skill levels. Employees become more proficient and confident in leveraging AI tools within approved frameworks by democratizing AI knowledge and skills. This empowerment reduces reliance on shadow technology, as teams are better equipped to utilize sanctioned platforms and tools effectively.

We have already seen the impact an Automation CoE can have on a business. The Automation CoE, when adequately invested in, has significantly enhanced operational efficiency by reengineering and automating processes, leading to cost reductions and improved productivity. The Automation CoE has equipped employees with the necessary skills to implement and manage automation technologies, fostering innovation and engagement. Additionally, the CoE's governance framework minimizes the emergence of shadow technology by providing clear guidelines and approved tools, ensuring secure and aligned technology use across the organization.

Easy access to AI tools presents opportunities and challenges in today's digital landscape. Establishing an AI CoE is crucial to leverage AI's benefits while avoiding the pitfalls of uncontrolled innovation, like security risks and strategic misalignments. An AI CoE ensures strategic oversight and governance and focuses on valuable AI applications, turning AI adoption into a competitive advantage rather than a source of shadow technology issues. It guides technology leaders in AI integration and empowers the workforce with necessary upskilling. Highlighted by examples of shadow technology, the importance of an AI CoE in promoting secure, aligned, and efficient AI use across organizations is evident. By adopting an AI CoE, businesses can navigate the complexities of AI, ensuring their technological advancements foster innovation, security, and strategic growth.