Is AI all about data?
In the world of artificial intelligence, there’s a slightly corny phrase that gets repeated a lot: ‘data is the new oil.’ I don’t like it, but it’s catchy. It makes a point. But like all catchy phrases, it oversimplifies reality. Yes, data fuels AI, but does that mean you need to stop everything until your data is pristine? Nope.
In fact, for many organisations, waiting for perfect data is a big reason they never get going with AI.
Why data matters
Data is clearly a critical input for any AI system. Just like oil, it must be extracted, cleaned, refined, and used to power something else. From training models to personalising customer experiences, data is the raw material that enables AI to deliver value.
But that aside, you don’t need perfect data to start making AI work for your business.
We meet organisations all the time who have thousands of files, multiple databases, more spreadsheets than you can imagine, customer records, PDFs, you name it, but who haven’t done anything with AI yet because they feel they need to ‘sort the data first’.
They’re staring down the barrel of a multi-year, six figure plus project which may never give them the desired end result.
The result is paralysis. Endless preparation. Possibly in some cases deliberate procrastination. But definitely no progress.
You can do a lot before perfecting your data
If you think AI can’t help your business until every bit of data is categorised, structured and labelled, then it’s time to take a step back and think again. There’s plenty you can do now.
Here are just a few examples of AI activities you can do without a fully sorted data estate:
- AI productivity tools: Copilot in Microsoft 365 can help employees summarise emails, draft documents, create presentations and suggest Excel formula without any special data prep.
- Customer insights: You can use off the shelf SaaS AI tools to analyse recent customer surveys or social media.
- Process automation: You can automate repetitive admin tasks like invoice processing or appointment scheduling with tools like Microsoft Power Automate and AI Builder.
- AI workshops and training: You can get started with improving AI literacy and teach your teams to understand where AI can help them before diving into complex data projects.
In short, you can build momentum with AI using what you have right now.
Use the tools you already have
While we don’t recommend waiting to start your AI journey, we also recognise that better data governance can lead to bigger opportunities.
If you are an organisation built on the Microsoft stack, then there is lots you can do now with licences you may already have paid for.
Tools like Microsoft Purview help you discover, catalogue, and classify your data across your organisation. SharePoint and OneDrive can help organise unstructured documents. Dataverse can help you move away from endless spreadsheets to store structured data in a secure, scalable way and Power BI can help you visualise your data and build AI-ready dashboards.
Start with a use case
Rather than trying to ‘get your data ready’ in it’s broadest sense, start with a real business problem. Identify and prioritise your use cases as a starting point.
Once you’ve defined your priority use cases, it becomes easier to identify which data matters and which tools or processes will make the biggest difference.
That’s how we approach AI strategy at iwantmore.ai, by helping organisations find their priority use cases and grow from there.
Key takeaways
- Yes, data is important, but you don’t have to wait for it to be perfect.
- You can start using AI today for personal productivity, insights, and automation.
- Tools like Microsoft Purview, Power BI and SharePoint can help structure your data over time.
- The most important thing is to pick a use case and get started.
We are iwantmore.ai – an AI consulting firm who help UK organisations uncover their use cases and tackle their data challenges. Contact us for a free no obligation conversation about how we can help your business.
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