Before AI, Get Your Data Ready

AI is quickly becoming part of everyday business conversations. Organisations are looking at Microsoft Copilot, automation and generative AI as ways to improve productivity, reduce repetitive work and help employees work more efficiently.

But before deciding what AI can do for your business, there is a more important question to ask.

Is your data ready for AI?

AI does not operate separately from the rest of your organisation. It works with the information, permissions and systems that already exist within your business. That could include client information, financial records, contracts, employee data, intellectual property and years of documents stored across Microsoft 365.

If access to that information is already too broad, files have been shared incorrectly, sensitive documents have not been classified or nobody has a clear view of where important information is stored, AI does not make those problems disappear.

It can actually make them more important.

Before introducing AI more widely, businesses need visibility over their data. They need to understand what information they hold, where it is stored, who has access to it and what should be considered sensitive.

This is where technologies such as Microsoft Purview and Data Loss Prevention can become part of the wider AI readiness conversation.

Purview can help organisations identify and protect sensitive information across their Microsoft environment, while DLP policies can help control how that information is accessed and shared.

But the technology itself is only part of the solution.

The real objective is to create an environment where employees can take advantage of AI without unnecessarily increasing the organisation’s exposure to data risk.

Governance before adoption

There is understandable pressure on businesses to adopt AI quickly. Employees are already experimenting with AI tools, competitors are investing in them and organisations do not want to feel as though they are falling behind.

But adopting AI without first understanding the data environment can create problems later.

A better approach is to establish the foundations first.

Know where sensitive information sits. Review permissions and access. Understand how information is being shared. Decide what employees should and should not be able to do with AI. Then introduce the technology within those boundaries.

This does not mean businesses should slow down their AI ambitions. In many cases, doing this groundwork can actually make adoption easier because the organisation has greater confidence in how its data is managed.

It also changes AI from simply being another piece of technology into part of a wider business strategy.

Your cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 environment, data protection, IT support and longer term technology plans all have a role to play. AI should fit into that ecosystem rather than sit separately from it.

Start with the data

The businesses that benefit most from AI will not necessarily be the ones that adopt every new tool first. They are more likely to be the organisations that understand where AI can create genuine value and have the right security and governance foundations behind it.

At VBT, we believe this is where the AI conversation should begin.

Before asking “Are we ready to use AI?”, businesses should first ask:

“Is our data ready for AI?”

If you cannot confidently answer that question, that is a good place to start.

VBT can help organisations review their Microsoft 365 environment, understand potential data risks and explore how solutions such as Microsoft Purview, DLP and AI governance can support a more secure approach to AI adoption.

Talk to VBT about preparing your business and your data for AI.