Every enterprise leader knows they need an AI strategy. But before you invest in tools, hire data scientists, or launch pilot projects, there’s a more fundamental question: Is your organization actually ready for AI?
Based on our conversations with dozens of enterprise leaders — we’ve distilled the essential readiness assessment into ten questions.
The Checklist
1. Do you have a clear business problem to solve?
AI is a solution, not a strategy. If you can’t articulate the specific business problems you’re trying to solve, you’re not ready to invest in AI.
Ask yourself: Can I describe, in one sentence, the business outcome I expect from AI?
2. Is your data accessible and reasonably clean?
AI models are only as good as the data they’re trained on. You don’t need perfect data, but you need to know where your data lives and have a realistic plan for making it usable.
3. Do you have executive sponsorship?
AI transformation requires sustained investment and organizational change. Without genuine executive commitment — not just lip service — initiatives will stall.
4. Is your IT infrastructure ready?
Can your current systems support AI workloads? This includes compute resources, data pipelines, and security infrastructure.
5. Do you have the right talent (or a plan to get it)?
You need a mix of AI/ML expertise and deep domain knowledge. The best AI teams combine both.
6. Is your organization culturally ready for AI?
AI often changes how people work. Resistance to change is the #1 killer of enterprise AI projects.
7. Do you have a governance framework?
Who decides what AI can and can’t do? How do you handle bias, fairness, and transparency?
8. Can you measure success?
Define your success metrics before you start. If you can’t measure it, you can’t prove ROI.
9. Are you prepared to iterate?
AI projects rarely succeed on the first try. Budget for experimentation and learning.
10. Do you have a realistic timeline?
Enterprise AI transformation takes 12-24 months to show meaningful results. Set expectations accordingly.
What’s Next?
Score yourself honestly on each question. If you have confident answers to at least 7 out of 10, you’re in good shape to begin. If not, focus on shoring up the gaps before making major investments.
