Delivering Strategic AI Solutions

Strategic AI solutions are transformative initiatives that reimagine how business units (BUs) operate, delivering significant value through tailored, AI-driven capabilities. Unlike simple automation or off-the-shelf tools, these solutions require deep collaboration, custom development, and robust knowledge transfer to ensure sustainable impact. A centralized Applied AI shared service center delivers these solutions through standardized offerings—engagement and discovery, development, deployment and operation, and post-transition services—designed for scalability, usability, and measurable outcomes. This article outlines these offerings and their value in empowering BUs to achieve lasting transformation.

Standardized Strategic AI Solution Offerings

1. Engagement and Discovery Services

These services lay the foundation for strategic AI solutions by aligning BU needs with high-impact opportunities through a standardized intake and assessment process.

• Opportunity Intake and Assessment: BUs submit strategic opportunities via a formal process, including a business case outlining potential impact. The AI center conducts a feasibility assessment and ROI analysis, using standardized templates to evaluate revenue growth, cost reduction, or market differentiation potential. A joint steering committee, comprising BU leadership and AI center experts, defines success metrics, timelines, and ownership transition criteria upfront.
• Deep Domain Integration: The AI center embeds 1-2 specialists within the BU to gain deep workflow and domain understanding. Standardized observation protocols and documentation ensure consistent insights, delivering a clear project roadmap tailored to BU priorities.

Value: Standardized intake and assessment streamline BU submissions, ensuring rapid alignment on high-value initiatives. Consistent processes foster trust and clarity, enabling BUs to pursue transformative solutions with confidence.

2. Development Services

Development services create custom AI solutions through a collaborative, standardized process, ensuring solutions are purpose-built and sustainable.

• Collaborative Solution Building: The AI center leads development, leveraging standardized frameworks to design agentic systems and custom tools. BU subject matter experts are assigned to provide domain input, with weekly demos and feedback loops ensuring alignment. Standardized documentation captures all architectural decisions and runbooks from the outset.
• BU Champion Empowerment: BUs identify “AI Champions” who shadow the AI center team during development. These champions engage in hands-on learning, following a standardized training protocol to prepare for eventual solution ownership, ensuring seamless knowledge transfer.

Value: Standardized development frameworks accelerate delivery of tailored solutions, while consistent champion training ensures BUs are equipped to sustain AI capabilities, minimizing dependency on the AI center.

3. Deployment and Operation Services

These services deliver and manage strategic AI solutions with standardized processes, ensuring reliable performance and a smooth handoff to BUs.

• Managed Deployment: The AI center fully manages initial deployment on internal platforms, using standardized testing and monitoring protocols to ensure stability. BU Champions participate in deployment and early operations, following a structured onboarding process. Clear escalation paths and shared performance monitoring maintain reliability.
• Gradual Ownership Handoff: A standardized transition plan, triggered by predefined milestones (e.g., usage rates, stability metrics), facilitates BU ownership. A “rotation model” embeds 1-2 AI center staff in the BU for 3-6 months to train teams, with standardized runbooks ensuring consistency. The AI center retains architectural oversight and emergency support rights.

Value: Standardized deployment and handoff processes ensure reliable, scalable solutions that BUs can adopt with minimal disruption. Clear transition milestones and support models enable confident BU ownership.

4. Post-Transition Services

Post-transition services provide ongoing support and optimization through standardized advisory and personnel programs, ensuring long-term success.