In my last column, I likened artificial intelligence to the wizard in “The Wizard of Oz.” It received a good reaction so I wanted to continue with the theme of Hollywood movies— and look at how companies can help offset the huge cost of artificial intelligence adoption by joining forces with technology providers and other potential partners. Since it’s Oscars season, I thought I’d find a contender for best picture that could work as a metaphor. I looked through the nominees:
“The Substance?” No, AI adoption should not be a horror show.
“Conclave?” No, with AI strategies, it’s better to avoid surprise twists at the end.
“A Complete Unknown?” We all love Bob Dylan, but clearly, his intelligence was not artificial and he wasn’t exactly a team player.
While none of those seem like a fit, Timothee Chalamet got me thinking about his 2023 movie, “Wonka,” which led me back to another good, old-fashioned family film. How about “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory?” Yes, that’s the ticket—literally!
At the start of “Willy Wonka,” people around the world are looking for a golden ticket that will make their dreams come true. Families spend fortunes buying up chocolate bars. Even Charlie Bucket’s family scrapes together what little savings they have to buy one for the boy on his birthday.
Eager families spending all their hard-earned money for a chance to find a golden ticket is reminiscent of companies today, and their huge investments in AI.
Waiting For ROI
Companies are counting on AI to revolutionize their businesses by lowering costs, wowing clients and expanding profit margins. Most CEOs understand that, without this AI-fueled transformation, in just a few years they will struggle to compete with rivals who more successfully harness this transformative power. In fact, some companies that really fail to integrate AI might cease to exist altogether as their industries leave them behind.
What is less clear to corporate executives is how long it might take for companies to realize the return on investment of the money they’re pouring into AI. Technology investments don’t pay off overnight and, sometimes, they never pay off at all. Companies want the AI dividend now but have only begun to pay for it and the efficiencies haven’t yet started flowing through.
Think about mobile phones. The first one hit the market in 1983. It was so big and heavy people called it “the brick” and it cost nearly $4,000. Motorola spent millions of dollars developing and commercializing this technology. Early customers paid dearly to be one of the first able to make calls from their cars. The expense wasn’t just the up-front cost of the phone; actually using the phone was exorbitantly expensive. I clearly remember getting a call from my father on my first mobile phone. He was absolutely amazed to be talking to me while I was in my car. I, on the other hand, was just anxious. “Dad,” I said, “this is costing me a fortune. I am paying $2 a minute, not you. I’m hanging up.”
At that point, the technology was there, and it was delivering some degree of utility, but at a super high cost to both the provider and the customer. That’s about where we are with AI today.
It took almost 25 years for mobile phones to become a ubiquitous part of society. Of course, as the pace of innovation has accelerated so much since the days of early mobile phones, AI will evolve and permeate our lives and businesses at a much faster pace. Nevertheless, companies will have to figure out how to survive the gap between today’s high costs and minimal utility for the eventual astronomical ROI of AI.
So how can companies ride out this period of huge investment? In one word: mutualization. It’s a word I use often with my clients when discussing innovation and product development. In this context, it means working together to share costs. Too many companies fail to realize they don’t always have to bear the costs of technology development on their own. There are a host of potential candidates who might be willing to partner on development projects, including fintech vendors, and even clients.
Vendors Bring Their Own AI Capabilities
The first place companies should look for possible partners is on their vendor lists. Large companies today are partnering with a host of vendors that provide technology and business solutions, many of which are deeply embedding AI into company workflows. Many of these vendors in turn have their own AI products, as well as ongoing development programs.
Salesforce, for example, has emerged as a leading early provider of agentic AI, or AI models that can operate independently of human input, making decisions, taking action and “learning” autonomously. Since many companies already employ Salesforce as a CRM vendor, it makes sense to reach out to the provider to see how it can help the company acquire and deploy AI capabilities. There are countless other fintechs and service providers who fall into a similar category, and many of them might be willing to partner with your company in a way that defrays AI development costs as a means of building a stronger relationship with you, the client.
Clients Have Many Of The Same AI Goals
Another source of potential development partners that companies often overlook: the client base. Just like you, your clients are looking for ways to integrate AI into their businesses while minimizing costs. There are many ways of joining together in this effort, ranging from direct investment in a shared development program, resource sharing or having the client act as a founding anchor client for a new AI-powered offering, providing feedback and otherwise helping in the development and testing process.
The bad news for companies is that we’re still at the beginning of this movie. We’re emptying our pockets to buy popcorn and candy bars. Fortunately, there is no shortage of potential partners companies can lean on to help pool resources and find that golden ticket together.
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