Data Makes the World Go 'Round

Chapter 13The Business Strategy Behind the Technology

In this chapter, we will examine the following:

• What does the business need?
• Stakeholder engagement
• Is AI the right tool for the business problem?
• Future-proofing for AI
• Evaluating the strategic value of AI
• Balancing innovation and risk

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this book so far, and along the way, I’ve emphasized a core idea: technology must be tied to solving real business problems. In this chapter we’ll look at this in more detail. We will even ask, “Is AI the right tool for this problem?” because often AI is not always the best tool. We’ll also talk about evaluating the strategic value of AI and balancing risk and innovation. This chapter lays the groundwork as we move into discussing more about AI technologies, including how to build models and applications (including agentic AI).

What’s the Business Need?

“Build it, and they will come” (yes, I know that isn’t the exact quote) might work in baseball, but it doesn’t necessarily work for AI. It always surprises me when I see organizations start to build out a data solution or purchase AI tools without having a good idea of the business needs that they are trying to meet with the technology.

Companies are all about driving revenue growth, improving customer satisfaction, boosting operational efficiency, and maximizing profitability. They should also ideally care about their employees. Many vendors, when trying to sell their products, draw on these kinds of drivers ...