Case study

From conflicting reports to AI-ready in 90 days.

An anonymised journey of a 250-person SaaS business: how the platform assessed maturity, identified blockers, built a 90-day roadmap, and prioritised the fixes that mattered most.

250

people in the business

6

critical datasets brought under ownership

+29

point lift in AI readiness score (42 → 71)

1

AI use case live in production by day 90

47%

fewer dashboards after reporting consolidation

30 min

exec data cadence — replaces ad hoc firefighting

What leaders said

Anonymised feedback from the engagement

Quotes paraphrased from real exec interviews. Names and sectors withheld to protect commercial detail.

"Within a month we stopped arguing about whose number was right. That alone paid for the engagement."
Chief Operating Officer, B2B SaaS
"It was the first data roadmap we actually finished. Short, specific and tied to two AI use cases we cared about."
Chief Technology Officer, scale-up
"We went from five stalled AI ideas to one live use case the board could see. That changed the conversation."
Chief Executive, 250-person business
The journey

30 / 60 / 90 days

A realistic sequence shaped by budget, pace and current maturity — not a textbook transformation.

Days 1–30Phase 1

Foundations and honest baseline

Starting point: Three teams reporting different revenue numbers. No clear owner for the customer dataset. AI pilots stalled.

  • Ran the AI readiness assessment with the exec team
  • Identified six critical datasets and assigned named owners
  • Audited the top 15 Power BI reports for duplication and drift
  • Agreed one priority AI use case (sales forecasting) with the COO

Outcome: Leadership agreed on a single picture of where the business actually stood — score 42/100, stage: Early foundations.

6 critical datasets under named ownership
15 Power BI reports inventoried, 4 flagged for retirement
1 AI use case selected from 5 candidates
"It was the first time we'd written down what data we actually depend on. That alone changed the meetings."Chief Operating Officer, anonymised
Days 31–60Phase 2

Trust, governance and one source of truth

Starting point: Owners assigned but quality still inconsistent. No lightweight governance the business would follow.

  • Consolidated reporting around a curated set of definitions
  • Introduced a one-page data governance policy and AI use-case checklist
  • Baselined data quality on the six critical datasets
  • Stood up an exec data cadence (30-minute monthly)

Outcome: Conflicting numbers stopped surfacing in the exec meeting. Readiness score moved to 58/100.

Reduced report duplication by ~40% (15 → 9 active dashboards)
One-page governance policy signed off in a single exec meeting
Data quality baselined on 6/6 critical datasets
"Governance stopped being a thing we were avoiding. It became the fastest way to get an AI use case approved."Chief Technology Officer, anonymised
Days 61–90Phase 3

First AI use case, safely shipped

Starting point: Confidence rising, but the business needed proof that AI could ship without blowing up governance.

  • Shipped the sales forecasting use case with explicit guardrails
  • Added a board-ready scorecard covering readiness, risk and AI use cases
  • Sequenced the next two use cases against the maturity roadmap
  • Handover plan for an internal data lead to take ownership

Outcome: One AI use case live and trusted. Readiness score 71/100, stage: AI-ready foundations.

Sales forecasting live, used in the weekly revenue review
Board scorecard adopted as the single readiness view
Next 2 AI use cases sequenced with owners and guardrails
"We went from five stalled AI ideas to one live use case the board could see. That changed the conversation."Chief Executive, anonymised

Want a journey like this for your business?

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This case study is an anonymised composite based on real engagements. Outcomes vary by business, sector and starting maturity.

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