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Also, Canada’s position in the Global AI Index has eroded from fourth in 2021 to eighth in 2024.

From my interactions with leaders worldwide, I see that those hesitations about implementing AI in organizations are often for lack of a clear, actionable plan.

Luckily, though, AI implementation is not rocket science anymore and can follow a clear and proven road map today.

For its benefits to fully materialize, AI has to be deeply embedded in business processes. And for that, companies must put three pillars in place: modern cloud software, modern data management, and a consistent stack of AI technologies linking with them.

Let’s start with software.

All successful companies use software to optimize their business operations — from order intake and procurement to production, delivery and customer service.

Yet, many enterprises still rely on legacy software — a wide range of programs plugged together on the company’s local IT servers — heavily modified over the years and frequently not up to date with the latest innovations.

These complex systems are costly to maintain, and they make it difficult for companies and their leaders to respond to challenges and opportunities with agility and speed.

AI applications, too, face major obstacles in legacy systems: they have a hard time grasping the company’s inner workings, making sense of fragmented and widely distributed datasets, and may not be able to find key information.

The first step toward powerful business AI, therefore, is the move from legacy on-premise software to modern cloud software. These applications are centrally managed and maintained in professional data centres, constantly updated, and tightly linked so information can flow freely among different parts of the company.

This so-called cloud migration is smoother and more transparent than ever before — thanks to the proven methods and advanced digital tools now available.

And the prize is larger than ever before, too: integrated cloud applications work together out of the box and cover the company’s software needs end to end across departments. This integration allows a car maker, for example, to reduce time and cost — say, from receiving an order through the vehicle’s production to its final delivery. Similar benefits extend to all other industries and workflows.

A cloud migration, consequently, is more than an IT project: it is the digital foundation for a thorough modernization of the entire enterprise, for moving from “good” to “great.”

Once in the cloud, companies can add advanced data management solutions with little effort. Think of advanced data management as a magic filing cabinet: it automatically stores and organizes all documents, all information, all data automatically in the right place and in perfect order — always up to date, perfectly searchable, without duplicates and errors, smartly annotated, and everything in the right context.

In combination, integrated cloud applications and advanced data management allow company leaders a holistic view of their enterprise. At the same time, they enable AI technologies to access, understand and facilitate transactions across the company — assisting human users with repetitive tasks as well as with deep analyses and insights.

And the next evolution is already at hand: based on integrated cloud applications and data management, digital coworkers — also known as “AI agents” — are now able to carry out complex work assignments. For example: find overdue invoices, identify what went wrong, resolve the issue, and make sure payment targets are met.

Realizing the tremendous benefits of AI is thus about going on a journey: from on-premise software to cloud applications, then onward to modern data management and the use of AI agents throughout the enterprise. It is this journey that unlocks the tremendous potential of AI — and enables us to completely reimagine how Canada’s businesses and economy are run.