From early impact to enduring advantage

Published March 2026Authors Manish Sharma, Senthil Ramani

With AI pilots everywhere, the harder question is how to turn pockets of impact into enterprise-wide value. This report identifies five realities shaping how AI delivers enterprise value from backloaded financial timelines and operational readiness barriers to the imperatives of strong data foundations, talent reinvention and future-ready operating models. Drawn from roughly 6,000 AI engagements and research, it charts a clear three-phase journey from Siloed AI to Structural AI and Systemic AI that create the base for an enterprise where intelligence is embedded at the core and value compounds continuously. The companies that sequence the foundations and move now will own the next decade.