Fabio Hepworth, head of data and integration at Prosperity 24/7, introduces the second stage of the firm’s ADAPT framework and explains why data is the fuel on which AI runs
THE ADAPT framework is a practical way to help organisations approach AI with purpose and confidence. This month, we turn to the second element: D for data, design and development.
Data is the fuel on which AI runs. If the foundations aren’t right, even the cleverest tools will not give you the results you’re looking for. Once your data is in the right shape, robust products and rapid prototypes become far more valuable.
AI and agents are quickly being embraced as part of our day-to-day work. They can summarise a meeting, answer questions about a document, organise information or help draft an email in seconds. Used well, these tools allow us to get more done in the time we have, but there is a limit.
AI cannot reliably answer a customer’s question when the information is scattered across spreadsheets, inboxes and conflicting policy documents. Business value depends on trusted, accessible and well-understood data.
Is your data ready?
Most organisations are not short of data. The challenge is that it has accumulated over many years, across operational systems, documents, spreadsheets, reporting platforms and individual teams.
That does not mean every piece of data needs to be fixed before you can start. The key is to work backwards from the outcome you want to achieve. What information does that outcome depend on, and can that information be found, understood and trusted?
This is often where the real data challenges become apparent.
Data can be fragmented, making it difficult to build a complete picture. It can be duplicated, leaving people unsure which version they should trust. It can be missing or of poor quality, requiring manual work and judgment to fill the gaps.
Often the bigger problem is meaning. Two teams can use the same word to mean subtly different things, or different words to describe the same thing. If “margin” means one thing to finance and something slightly different to operations, AI will not resolve that disagreement for you. It may simply reproduce both versions more confidently.
There is also the question of ownership and access. Who is responsible for the information? Who decides what is authoritative? Who should be able to see it? And who is accountable for keeping it accurate as the organisation changes?
These are not new problems created by AI. They are problems many organisations have been managing for years. What AI changes is the importance of addressing them.
As we increasingly expect technology to find, combine, interpret and act on information on our behalf, the quality and consistency of those foundations matter more.
Start with the outcome you want to change, then assess the data and processes it depends on. Modern data platforms such as Microsoft Fabric can help by bringing information from different systems together and making trusted data more accessible for reporting, automation and AI.
At Prosperity 24/7, we help organisations explore their data readiness and assess the data and processes behind their ambitions. Let’s work backwards from your desired outcome together.
