Why start AI in 2025 versus waiting longer? Where do we even start on our AI journey? What is the near term value to our business? These are very common questions that we hear at Intelos from our customers and prospects regarding AI.
Doing Nothing Comes With A Risk
In my tenure in the IT space, I have never seen a technology adopted as rapidly in the workplace as AI. We have been doing cloud implementations for 15 years now and we still find companies with on premise infrastructure. It has been a little over a year since Microsoft first released the licensed CoPilot version. It was 2 years ago that ChatGPT was only releasing a certain number of new accounts. Now, many of us have one or the other (or both) plus countless other AI technologies. Imagine where AI will be in another 2 or 5 years. If your company is not on a formal AI journey, now is the time.
Shadow AI Implementation
If your company is not adopting a formal AI journey, it is likely that your team is already leveraging Shadow AI. This concept is that workers on your team are already using AI tools within the organization without explicit approval and without any oversight from IT teams or security teams. While Shadow AI adoption can bring great efficiencies, it also brings great risks in security, confidentiality, and compliance risk.
Understanding the AI Journey
I have read the analogy that humans with AI will replace humans without AI. I really like this analogy as I don’t suppose in the immediate future that AI will replace jobs. AI makes teams more efficient and capable of producing more but AI does not replace people.
AI is like having an infinite pool of interns. One of the great things about interns is their patience level. Most are present to learn and absorb and then produce. AI will do the same thing. You can ask an infinite number of questions and the tools just continue to answer until it is right. AI also forgets everything from the last conversation and we must start each conversation new. AI requires clear instruction and ongoing coaching.
Starting as a Novice in AI
I remember the first time I rode a bicycle without training wheels. It was an epic experience in a church parking lot that ended abruptly with the first speed bump. The rest is history in my cycling career. We all must start somewhere and that is the novice level. Those at the novice level in their AI journey have never used AI. At the novice level, we are somewhat aware of the possibilities but awareness is minimal. Organizations at a novice level may be leveraging AI in a Shadow AI model but this usage is unknown and unmeasured.
Moving to Exploring AI
Once I got past the speed bump and got back on the bike, I was riding laps around the church parking lot before I knew it. Much to my parents dismay, I was also riding around the neighborhood probably further than they were ever aware. As we move into the exploring phase, we start using some public tools. These may be tools such as ChatGPT and GoogleAI. We find immediate value in asking ChatGPT questions and receiving an almost instant and relevant answer. Gone are the days of Google searches where we had to read the article. Google provides an AI generate summary. These results feed an emerging desire to explore AI further yet our organization lacks any formal AI data policy or strategy.
Enthusiastic on AI
Once I had conquered the neighborhood, my father showed up with a dilapidated garage sale 10 speed. As a kid, I immediately knew I had gears! I can go faster on level ground and I can climb hills. I sat and stared at this bike while he and I rebuilt it together. Our organization’s AI journey takes a similar step. We have conquered ChatGPT, GoogleAI and other tools. We have the same vision as that kid with a 10 speed. We have identified AI power users and set them up on an enhanced journey to further integrate into our organization. We are identifying horizontal use cases across functions such as Marketing, HR, etc. While our AI data policy remains informal, our strategy is emerging. We leave this step in 7th gear!
AI Specialist
I remember completing the MS-150 in my 20s. I had just cycled from Houston to Austin in 2 days. As a young adult, I could hardly believe it. I had come so far from that day in the church parking lot where my father was exercising his patience skills getting me off of training wheels. Our AI journey will accelerate this fast too when we are devoted to larger automation goals. In the specialist phase, our organization has tailored industry specific and company specific use cases. Our documented business processes incorporate and acknowledge AI. AI data policies and strategies are formalized. AI data is emerging but it also remains limited to point of use.
Leading with AI
My cycling career did not excel much beyond the MS-150 but I continued to lead many groups until parenthood took priority. This was a point in cycling that I was ahead of most that I rode with. I was a leader to many during this phase. Our AI journey continues a similar path once we have experienced some of the wins in the enthusiastic and specialist phases. As an AI leader, we have implemented fully private AI systems. These systems leverage company specific documentation and data. We have executed mature and formalized AI data policies and strategies. All AI data has access controls and it is indexable. We are leaders in our industry and we are producing quantifiable positive ROI on our investment in AI.
Key Takeaways
AI is emerging fast. While we have heard the term for years, the acceleration from concept to reality has happened overnight compared to other common technologies. With this acceleration, being stagnant or behind is a real threat. Regardless of industry, those who embrace and invest in AI will accelerate ahead of those who do not. At our current phase, every one of us is on a journey to learn and implement. AI is an elephant. I have heard for a long time that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Regardless of where your organization is in your AI journey, now is the time to set goals and accelerate progress.
About Intelos
Intelos is a managed services provider (MSP) based in Texas and Louisiana. Our primary focus is energy, manufacturing, and local government. We are a cloud and security focused MSP with a mission to empower organizations with transformative technology, guiding them towards enhanced efficiency, profitability, and risk mitigation.