While most enterprises today want to adopt generative AI (gen AI), they struggle to embrace it because of organizational unpreparedness. Consulting service providers can play a key role in this transition. Discover Everest Group’s Organizational Gen AI Readiness Framework, which includes critical strategy and operations components for successful gen AI adoption.
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The challenge of embracing change
Enterprises that have successfully embraced automation and digitization now face another technological challenge: gen AI. A recent Everest Group survey of over 200 enterprises reveals contrasting sentiments about gen AI adoption. Despite as many as 90% expressing a desire to adopt gen AI, only about 10% of respondents indicated they would significantly invest in the technology during 2024. Most enterprises plan to implement gen AI in small areas, run pilots, or begin building strategies this year.
Additionally, when asked about key challenges with gen AI adoption, more than half (57%) cited organizational readiness as the top obstacle, which was unsurprising. Here are the results:
Survey on gen AI adoption challenges
The survey findings underscore a broader enterprise sentiment where excitement for the future is tempered by the challenges of adopting gen AI into established business models. It reflects a blend of eagerness and trepidation, with significant concerns about organizational preparedness for this change.
In this transition, consulting service providers become crucial in bridging these gaps and ensuring smooth adoption into existing operation frameworks. Let’s delve into this further.
Everest Group Organizational Gen AI Readiness Framework:
Crafting a blueprint for a gen AI-driven future
The ease of using gen AI from an end-user’s perspective often belies the complexity of building and operating gen AI models and applications. Consulting service providers can play a critical role in assisting clients in comprehensively understanding their internal capabilities for gen AI.
Leading consulting organizations have developed unique gen AI readiness frameworks that can add significant client value. These frameworks are essential to help organizations analyze their current state in-depth, identify areas needing enhancement, and craft tailored strategies for effective gen AI deployment.
In guiding organizations through gen AI adoption, a consulting firm’s approach is anchored in two principal tenets:
- Strategy involves shaping a visionary outlook, navigating market trends, managing risks, and identifying innovative opportunities
- Operations focuses on refining processes, building a skilled team, enhancing technology infrastructure, and implementing effective performance metrics. Together, these elements form the backbone for successful gen AI adoption
Gen AI readiness framework
The strategy
Vision
For gen AI consulting providers, it’s vital to engage clients in a thought-provoking dialogue about their gen AI objectives. Instead of prescribing a set path, encourage clients to consider the following:
- Clarify the end objective with gen AI: What do clients hope to achieve through gen AI? Guide them to ponder whether they see it as a strategic tool transforming their business model or merely as a means to fill specific capability gaps
- Alignment with organizational goals: Assist clients in aligning gen AI initiatives with their broader organizational goals. Is gen AI a step toward future innovation, or is it addressing immediate operational needs?
- Crafting an integration roadmap: Encourage clients to consider their gen AI integration roadmap. This should encompass not just the immediate technological requirements but also longer-term industry trends, potential disruptions, and opportunities for innovation.
Organization and culture
Culture as the cornerstone of gen AI adoption
Corporate culture can accelerate or impede gen AI adoption. The same cultural traits underpinning organizational success – such as adaptability, agility, and innovation – are now the bedrock for gen AI adoption. Creating an environment where transparency, connectivity, and continuous learning are not just buzzwords but the essence of the organizational ethos is crucial.
Cultural changes needed for gen AI adoption
Governance, security, and compliance
For gen AI consulting providers, navigating governance, security, and compliance is a multi-faceted challenge in a domain where innovation often outstrips regulation. Consultants must guide clients in developing robust governance strategies, enhancing security measures, and ensuring compliance to build trust and manage risks associated with gen AI.
Integrated framework for governance, security, and compliance in gen AI
Return on investment (ROI)
Understanding the economic impact of gen AI is crucial. Consulting firms should help clients evaluate the ROI of gen AI initiatives. This involves cost-benefit analyses and identifying areas where gen AI can drive revenue growth and efficiency gains. As part of the readiness assessment, enterprises must establish clear, measurable metrics for gen AI adoption that align with their strategic objectives, such as efficiency gains, revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and innovation. This can provide data-driven insights into the effectiveness of gen AI solutions.
Operations
Talent
The impact of gen AI spans all levels, from enhancing the employee experience to empowering managers, as well as requiring a new leadership paradigm focused on fostering gen AI adoption and integration. Consulting providers will become essential in helping enterprises adapt and evolve their talent strategies.
Talent strategy transformation needed for gen AI adoption
| Impact category | Examples | Description |
| Roles that will become extinct | Traditional Data Analysts, Basic IT Support Technicians | These roles, primarily focused on repetitive tasks and manual testing, will likely become obsolete as gen AI automates these processes. |
| Roles that will emerge | Gen AI Ethics Officer, Gen AI Integration Specialist | New positions like Gen AI Ethics Officer will arise to address ethical considerations of gen AI use. Gen AI Integration Specialists will be needed to blend gen AI solutions effectively into existing tech infrastructures. |
| Roles that will evolve | Software Developers to Gen AI-enhanced Developers, HR Managers to AI-Driven Talent Strategists | Existing roles like Software Developers will evolve into Gen AI-enhanced Developers, focusing more on AI-driven solutions, while HR Managers will transition to AI-Driven Talent Strategists, leveraging gen AI for talent acquisition and management. |
Tech
Consulting providers must have a nuanced understanding of the organization’s current gen AI capabilities. They should enable clients to discern where they stand on the gen AI integration spectrum – whether they are at the stage of creating gen AI solutions from scratch (Do It Yourself), using ready-made components (Do It With Me), or adopting fully developed gen AI products (Do It For Me).
Gen AI tech stack readiness categories
Data
For most enterprises, the immediate priority lies in addressing gen AI’s data-related risks. Confidentiality, data leakages, reliability, and plagiarism are the four horsemen of the gen AI apocalypse, each capable of causing financial, legal, and reputational damage. The solution? Getting the data house in order. This involves scalable data management, prioritizing discovery, acquisition, and curating data to effectively feed into the gen AI models.
Ecosystem
The ecosystem aspect is pivotal in preparing organizations for gen AI. Consulting service providers play a critical role in:
Strategic partnerships: Assisting clients in forming alliances with technology providers and industry experts to access essential gen AI resources and knowledge.
Seamless integration: Helping clients blend gen AI into their existing business and technological frameworks, ensuring that gen AI efforts align with broader organizational strategies.
Fostering innovation: Encouraging clients to engage with innovation networks supporting continuous gen AI development, idea sharing, and collaborative growth.
Conclusion
As the gen AI wave gains momentum, consulting providers are uniquely positioned to guide enterprises. By focusing on providing services around technological, cultural, and structural transformations, they can lead these organizations not just in adapting to gen AI but also in harnessing its full potential for innovation and growth.
Read more Everest Group Research on Consulting and gen AI in our reports:
- Digital Transformation Consulting Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2023
- Digital Transformation Consulting State of the Market 2023: Consulting in Pursuit of Value
If you would like to reach out to us to learn more, email Sandeep P, [email protected], Alisha Mittal, [email protected], and Parul Trivedi, [email protected].
