As with any new technology, you need to have your ducks in a row regarding existing systems, requirements, and security concerns. This preparation includes change management best practices and strategies.
New technology influences processes and people. To have a clear vision for success, you need to have executive sponsorship that is mandated from the top down. Be sure to detail and explain why the transition to a new system will have a positive impact on company growth and make employees more efficient.
To carry out leadership’s vision, it’s best to identify a Program Manager to empower the team carrying out the implementation. It is also recommended to have a dedicated and talented Project Manager to facilitate day-to-day execution.
Rather than waiting for every facet of the contract to be wrapped up with your vendor of choice, pull in procurement and legal teams to work in parallel of closing efforts to avoid unforeseen delays for kicking off the project.
Security and IT concerns should be addressed as early as possible. Involve the appropriate departments to ensure the vendor is ISO/IEC 27001 Certified and is following best practices to secure your sensitive data. Whether or not the vendor stores a copy of you data in their platform or simply connects to information, there are processes and regulations to follow. However, there is an advantage (beyond security reasons) if the vendor doesn’t have to store data in their platform.
The overall goal for preparation should be to keep excitement and momentum moving once a final decision is made to move forward with a new AI-powered system. The quicker you can kickoff the project, the quicker the system can learn and enable you to provide insights faster than the competition.
Rather than having a singular timeline with rigid dependencies for moving forward with an implementation, involve all of the major players (leaders, program managers, procurement, legal, security & IT) throughout the process. Otherwise, your project may stall out, resulting in a loss of momentum to get up and running as fast as possible.