The Next Planning Challenge isn't AI, it's Data - Solutions Review

Everyone's blaming AI for failed implementations. But most of the time, AI isn't the problem at all. If you bought an AI tool that nobody on your team actually uses, you're not alone — and you're not

Everyone's blaming AI for failed implementations. But most of the time, AI isn't the problem at all.

If you bought an AI tool that nobody on your team actually uses, you're not alone — and you're not foolish. The vendors never told you the real reason it failed.

Here's the uncomfortable truth the gurus skip over: AI doesn't fail because you picked the wrong tool. It fails because the data feeding that tool is a mess. Scattered spreadsheets. Disconnected systems. Numbers your team doesn't fully trust. AI just amplifies whatever's already broken underneath.

This is actually good news. It means you don't need a new tool yet. You need to answer one question first — "what data does my business actually run on?" Not all of it. Just the one number that drives your biggest decisions.

Start there. Identify that one metric, find where it lives, and make sure it's clean and accessible. That single step makes any AI tool you add later ten times more likely to stick.

No ripping out systems. No new software this week. Just clarity on your foundation before you build on it.

That's what creates a real first win.

What's the one business number you wish you had more confidence in right now?

#AIStrategy #SmallBusiness #BusinessGrowth #DigitalTransformation

Original Source

At BARC, we've spent years discussing the importance of data management, integration, and governance in enterprise performance management (EPM). What ...