In my opinion AI is the straw that is breaking the camel’s back and the technology that the most entrepreneurial forward thinking leaders will want to adopt. However, we hear that 95% of AI projects fail, and that my friends is because our AI pioneers are focussing on the technology and not the benefits, of focussing on the outputs and not considering the inputs. So in my view the most entrepreneurial, magnificent, forward thinking, smart leaders are going back to their entrepreneurial roots and wanting to know the benefits and what we’re doing to ensure we are prepared for AI by sorting out the quality and compliance of our data, not just now, but forever! 

I have been around the IT industry for nigh on 40 years. Over that time I’ve seen everything from paper tape, cards, valve computers to virtual devices, world wide web, data warehouses, lakes, lake houses and clouds. And so much software change that it’s hard to remember it all! Over the years, myself and colleagues have worked hard to understand the changes a foot and deliver a range of business benefits for our clients by implementing new technology in its various forms.

Let’s look at the benefits first as these haven’t changed in over 70 years of tech innovation. And all AI implementations should be looking at delivering on one or more of these every time.

The early business benefits of implementing computers into the workplace, especially from the 1950s to the 1970s, were significant, even if limited by the technology of the time. They were…

1. Increased Efficiency and Speed

• Computers could process large amounts of data far faster than humans. Tasks like payroll, inventory tracking, and accounting that once took days or weeks could be completed in hours or minutes.
• Example: Banks used early computers for cheque processing, reducing manual errors and speeding up transactions.

2. Improved Accuracy

• Computers drastically reduced human error in calculations and record-keeping.
• Example: Accounting departments benefited from automatic arithmetic processing, reducing costly mistakes.

3. Data Storage and Organisation

• Early computers allowed businesses to store more data in a structured format, making retrieval and management easier.
• Example: Customer records and inventory lists could be kept digitally rather than on paper, freeing office space and improving organisation.

4. Cost Savings in the Long Term

• Although computers were expensive initially, they reduced labour costs for repetitive tasks.
• Example: Fewer clerks were needed for data entry or manual bookkeeping.

5. Support for Decision-Making

• Computers allowed managers to access reports and data summaries faster, supporting better decision-making.
• Example: Early management information systems (MIS) provided summaries of sales or production data.

6. Competitive Advantage

• Companies that adopted computers early could respond more quickly to market changes and streamline operations.
• Example: Airlines used computers to manage flight schedules and ticket bookings, improving customer service.

7. Standardisation of Processes

• Computers helped enforce standard procedures, especially in data handling and reporting, leading to more consistent operations.

In short, early computers allowed businesses to handle more work, more accurately, and faster than before, paving the way for the modern data-driven enterprise.

But in some respects delivering business benefits in the past was easy. We were dealing with green field opportunities, especially in the 1980s and 1990s as computing power increased and became more affordable, storage capacity increased, coding became less concerned with efficient storage and processing and more concerned with utilising the memory, storage available as quickly as possible as it was cheaper to just go and buy some more. Good practice was sidelined, because we could get away with it.

This legacy of “bad practice” (in data management terms) has created the problems we have today. Data has rarely if ever been managed, it is an afterthought, ”put this new technology in and the benefits will come” was the mantra. However, they don’t follow as easily as they once did. Why? Because we have a legacy from historical projects (most of which had dubious business benefits to start with) that have fuelled the data mess we now have.

Implementing AI will undoubtedly herald a new dawn in business benefit realisation BUT and it’s a big BUT, only if the organisation sorts out its data management processes once and for all. So in my view AI has come along just at the right time, because now is the right time to sort your data out and put sustainable data quality and compliance management processes in once and for all. If you really want to attain the benefits listed above which have been achievable on just about every technology implementation in the past, then you simply must invest in your data foundations and management. If you as a business leader do that, you’ll go down in history with statues raised and pictures in the corridors of power of you and heralding your magnificent contribution.

If you have been moved to sort your data management practices out as a consequence of this article, please get in touch as to how we can help you do it.