Readiness to responsibility: A practical path to AI adoption

In summary

• Most businesses are looking at how to use AI, but many of the most powerful applications don’t require cutting-edge technology  
• Strategic thinking on AI adoption needs to focus on issues, opportunities and outcomes  
• This will inform AI and technology decisions far better than simply finding and adopting the next big thing  
• Successful AI adoption starts by understanding an organisation’s current state, including data maturity, technology infrastructure and operational readiness

As artificial intelligence continues to dominate boardroom conversations, many organisations are asking the same question: “Where do we start?” The promise of AI is compelling, from enabling the discovery and automation of routine tasks to unlocking new insights through data, but the path to adoption is often unclear.  

At S&W, we work to help clients move from curiosity to practical capability, with a clear line of sight to commercial value. Our approach is grounded in practical experience, uses structured frameworks, and integrates a commitment to responsible innovation. We’re not here to sell technology; our role is to help organisations to prepare to use it wisely and well.  

Before diving into readiness or strategy, it’s worth pausing to ask what we mean by “AI”. In our experience, many organisations begin an AI conversation that quickly turns into a discussion about automation, analytics or process improvement. That’s not a bad thing: Walking before running is often the right thing to do, and there are important fundamentals to cover along the journey of AI exploration.  

AI is a broad term that encompasses a range of technologies, from machine learning and natural language processing to generative models and intelligent agents. But not every solution needs to be cutting-edge AI. Many of the most valuable opportunities lie in straightforward automation, data-driven decision-making or machine learning models that are already well understood, widely used, often relatively straightforward to implement and can have an incredibly positive impact.  

That’s why we encourage clients to focus less on the label and more on the pain they’re facing and outcomes they’re trying to achieve. Whether it’s reducing manual effort, improving forecasting accuracy, or enhancing decision support, the right solution might involve AI… or it might not. What matters is that it’s effective, responsible and aligned with your goals. 

Before diving into use cases or vendor demos, it’s essential to understand your organisation’s current state. That’s why we begin with a structured AI Readiness Review, designed to assess three critical dimensions: 

• Data maturity –  Is your data accessible, high-quality, and well-governed? 
• Technical infrastructure – Can your systems support AI workloads and integration? 
• Organisational readiness – Do you have the leadership, skills, and culture to adopt AI responsibly? 

To guide our readiness evaluation assessment, we use a tailored framework based on several well regarded resources and frameworks including the AI Resilience Maturity Model (AI-RMM), the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and various MITRE resources. Our model provides a structured way to evaluate a client’s readiness across domains such as strategy, data governance, infrastructure, talent and ethics – with maturity levels that help identify gaps and set realistic goals. 

We’ve developed a practical tool that enables an efficient and meaningful evaluation. It’s designed to be used in support of workshops and interviews, and it supports both qualitative insight and quantitative scoring. The result is that we quickly form a clear picture of where you are today and what needs to change before AI can be safely and effectively deployed.  

Once readiness is understood, the next step is to define a strategy that aligns with your business goals. This isn’t about writing a 50-page AI manifesto. (We’ve seen enough of those.) Instead, it’s about making smart, informed decisions about where AI can add value, and how to manage the risks. 

Our AI strategy development work typically includes: 

• Clarifying the vision – Are you exploring the art of the possible or do you already have specific goals in mind, eg for a particular function or the whole company? 
• Identifying use cases – Which processes are most ready for AI support, and are there any that are off-limits (for now)? 
• Designing the operating model – What skills, structures and technologies are needed to deliver AI safely? 
• Establishing governance – Who owns AI once it’s out of the box? What are the boundaries? How will risks be managed? 

To support this, we incorporate risk management thinking, including by drawing on the NIST AI Risk Management Framework. This aligns with international standards and provides a robust foundation for responsible AI governance while also mapping to other practice frameworks for cyber security and privacy that are vital components of responsible AI Adoption, governance and safety. Our approach inherently aids clients to bake in thinking about ethical use, lifecycle management and performance monitoring, as well as privacy and security by design and default.  

We are set apart by our independence.  We are not a technology vendor and don’t push specific platforms. Instead, we help clients make informed decisions, including how to get more from the technology partners they already have. Many SaaS platforms already incorporate AI features, and often these are available to use, whether or not they are formally adopted and governed (since some may pose a security risk). 

We also understand that every organisation is different. Some clients want a light-touch review to get started; others are ready for a deep dive. Some are looking for quick wins; others are focused on long-term transformation. Our frameworks are flexible enough to support all pathways.  

AI is not a silver bullet. It’s a journey we must undertake and will look different for everyone. Like any journey, it starts with understanding where you are, where you want to go and how to get there safely. 

If your organisation is exploring how to adopt AI, or simply where to begin, we’d welcome the opportunity to support you. Whether you need a readiness review, a strategy workshop or just a sounding board, we bring structure, insight and independence to every engagement.