Scroll through any news outlet today, and you’ll find Artificial Intelligence making at least one headline. From tools that write emails in seconds to platforms that analyse data faster than any human could, the prolific rise of AI is inescapable.
The challenge isn’t deciding whether to adopt AI tools (that ship has long since sailed). Increasingly, it’s not even about choosing which tools you’re going to adopt. Instead, business leaders like you must now navigate preparing their business for AI integration in a way that’s secure, efficient, and aligned with your long-term goals.
At Intalex, we see the enormous potential in AI. But, we’ve also seen what happens when integrating AI goes wrong.
Before you jump in headfirst to these exciting new tools, let’s talk about what groundwork your business needs to lay, the risks you should mitigate, and the secret to improving business efficiency with AI.
How Are Businesses Really Using AI to Save Time and Money?
While there’s plenty of hype, real-world examples show where AI delivers tangible results. Based on discussions across small business forums and our own client experiences, companies are seeing the most success when using AI for:
- Customer communication – Drafting email responses or summarising conversations in Microsoft Copilot.
- Marketing content – Generating first drafts of blogs or social posts, which your team can refine.
- Data analysis – Spotting patterns in sales or supply chain data that would take days for humans to process.
- Task automation – Scheduling meetings, generating reminders, or automating reporting processes.
- Customer support – Using chatbots to answer routine queries, freeing staff for higher-value work.
- Contract summarisation – Extracting key points from lengthy legal or supplier documents.
- Training content – Generating onboarding or policy guides for new starters.
- Translation – Converting HR policies or customer-facing content into multiple languages.
On the flip side, businesses often report limited success when AI is used in isolation or for highly specialised tasks where human expertise is still essential.
In most of these cases, it’s not that AI can’t be helpful – it’s just been implemented without strategic guidance from professionals that understand what it takes to improve business efficiency with AI.
Why Preparing Your Business for AI Is the Most Important Part
AI thrives on data, connectivity, and secure systems. If your IT environment is outdated, scattered, or poorly protected, you’ll quickly discover that even the most powerful AI tools won’t deliver results.
- Old systems can’t keep up with AI’s demands.
- Scattered data makes AI models less effective.
- Weak security opens doors to compliance issues and reputational damage.
Without proper preparation, you risk investing in tools that don’t work as intended, frustrate your team, or even create new vulnerabilities. That’s why preparing your business for AI isn’t about chasing trends but about laying strong foundations that will support operations in the long run.
Key Considerations Before Introducing AI
1. Assess Your Current IT Infrastructure
Start by reviewing whether your existing IT systems can support AI-driven tools. Outdated servers, unpatched software, or poor internet bandwidth will all create bottlenecks.
Ask yourself:
- Are our systems fast and reliable enough to handle AI workloads?
- Do we have cloud capacity for storage and processing?
And if you can’t answer those questions internally, it might be time to enlist the help of experienced IT service professionals.
Top Tip
Book a strategic IT roadmap session with Intalex’s experts. We’ll come on-site and identify gaps in your performance, security, and data management.
Getting unbiased advice when preparing your business for AI will prevent you from wasting time and money trying to integrate new tools into an unsuitable IT environment.
2. Get Your Data in Order
Secure AI adoption should be your absolute number one priority. AI thrives when it has access to data (structured or unstructured), but only if that data is well-governed. If not, new tools could introduce more risks than rewards.
To prepare, focus on:
- Setting clear rules for what data AI tools can and can’t access.
- Protecting sensitive information with permissions and encryption.
- Establishing guidelines on how data is stored, shared, and retained.
This is also a good time to begin optimising Microsoft 365 for AI. With everything from SharePoint to Teams connected, you can unlock smoother workflows and make future AI adoption far more effective.
This way, your team can safely experiment with AI without exposing the business to compliance or security risks. Speaking of your team…
4. Build Awareness and Training
Contrary to popular belief, AI isn’t plug-and-play. Employees need to understand both how to use it effectively and where it can fall short – because it can, and often does, fall short. Training should cover:
- Recognising AI’s limitations (for example, outputs still need human review).
- Ethical use of AI, including data privacy.
- Practical use cases tied to their roles.
Make this training mandatory even for team members you don’t expect to be using AI tools. Chances are, they’re already using one or two, whether or not you realise it, creating vulnerabilities in your business they don’t even know exist.
Top Tip
To encourage safe and productive adoption, some businesses run “AI wins” sessions. These informal catchups give staff the opportunity to share how they’ve used AI tools to save time or improve workflows. This builds a culture of transparency and ensures tools are adopted securely, not in the shadows.
Preparing Your Business for AI: How to Mitigate the Top 3 Risks
Shadow IT – employees experimenting with unsanctioned AI apps, as we just discussed – is just one example of the dangers that can emerge when businesses don’t properly prepare themselves for AI.
In one recent audit of a business whose Senior Leadership team were certain AI wasn’t being used in their business, we discovered that 85% of staff were already using around 25 different AI tools (many unsanctioned and insecure)! Without governance, this creates major risks around data leaks and compliance breaches.
The other main risks we see, and how to tackle them, include:
- Data privacy breaches – Ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR by setting strict controls on how AI tools handle sensitive data. AI companies aren’t always the most transparent about how the data you feed into their tools is going to be used and stored, so ask an AI consulting expert for clarification before implementing any new tool.
- Over-reliance on automation – AI should support, not replace, human judgement. Hallucinated data isn’t uncommon in outputs from tools like ChatGPT, which could be detrimental to customer trust if it isn’t picked up on before publishing AI-generated content. Embed review processes to prevent mistakes like these from slipping through.
- Cost creep – Licensing fees can add up, especially as platforms like Claude introduce newer, more expensive ‘premium’ tiers and limit usage for what used to be their ‘pro’ plans. Regularly audit usage to confirm you’re not paying for tools that deliver little business value, and be prepared to have to increase spending if this trend continues.
Building a Long-Term AI-Driven IT Strategy
It’s best not to approach AI integration as a one-off project. To get lasting value, you need a strategy that aligns with your long-term goals and is primed to evolve as technology matures.
When preparing your business for AI, we’d recommend you:
Start with a Pilot Programme of AI Tools for Business Leaders
Identify one area of your business where AI could clearly save time or money – like automating reports, summarising customer support tickets, or analysing sales data – and try introducing an AI-powered tool there.
This kind of pilot programme is the best way to avoid wasted effort and cost creep. It lets you test tools, gather feedback, and measure ROI without overcommitting.
Scale Gradually to Maintain Business Efficiency with AI
Once the pilot proves successful, expand into other areas of the business. This step-by-step approach helps your team build confidence, ensures smoother adoption, and keeps risk manageable.
If the pilot doesn’t turn out as expected, don’t panic. It’s your opportunity to revise your plan and increase your chances of a fruitful full-scale adoption.
Keep Secure AI Adoption at the Core
Embedding cyber security into your AI strategy, from access controls to compliance checks, is non-negotiable. It’s something we pay particularly close attention to in our IT strategy sessions, because ensuring adoption remains both productive and safe is our highest priority.
Make Sure Your AI-Driven IT Strategy Really Does Align With Your Business Goals
AI should never be a shiny add-on. Your IT roadmap should define how AI adoption is going to support growth, client service, and efficiency. That way, every new tool is evaluated against real business outcomes, not surface-level appeal.
A structured and well-integrated AI-driven IT strategy is the key to turning a buzzword into a sustainable advantage. It’ll give you the flexibility to adapt as new tools emerge, while keeping your systems secure and your investments aligned with your growth. This is something we can help you create.
Why Partner with Intalex When Preparing Your Business for AI?
At Intalex, we’ve seen too many businesses rush into new technologies without the right preparation. The result? Missed opportunities, wasted budgets, and unnecessary risks.
Our AI consulting services are built to change that. We help businesses align technology with their ambitions, ensuring every step – from consolidating data to embedding AI into workflows – is secure, practical, and tailored to your goals.
If you’re not ready to commit to an ongoing partnership just yet, our strategic IT roadmap sessions could still give you clarity on your current technology environment, as well as expert advice on preparing your business for AI. You’ll receive a clear action plan tailored to your business, ready to be implemented by the IT service provider of your choosing.
So, Are You Ready to Embrace AI?
AI has the potential to reshape how businesses operate, but success won’t come from simply adopting the latest tool. It’s a matter of building the right IT foundations, secure processes, and a clear strategy for implementation.
Whether you want to explore how a tool like Copilot boosts productivity, learn how to optimise Microsoft 365 for AI, or develop a broader AI-driven IT strategy, the first step is the same: ensure your business is ready.
Book your strategic IT roadmap session to start preparing your business for AI today.
