Few inventions in the world have experienced growth as rapid and adoption as widespread as AI. Some people and businesses have embraced this technology with open arms, while others have taken a more skeptical approach. But, regardless of individual perceptions, one thing is clear—the AI revolution is no longer a quiet one, affecting virtually every sector and application. To stand a chance in the fast-paced AI race, companies are designing new ways to integrate data sets, improve decision-making, and better understand the audiences they serve.
With AI projected to contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, 77% of businesses reported either using or exploring the use of AI in their strategies, with 83% making it their top priority. Research shows that this technology is expected to improve employee productivity by 40%, making 90% of organizations support it for its competitive advantage. Another report states that although only 25% of small enterprises are utilizing AI, over 50% of firms with more than 5,000 employees and a staggering 99% of Fortune 500 companies have done the same.
These numbers attest to what society already knows – the AI era is here, and it can't be stopped. To adapt to this evolving landscape, businesses are searching for solutions that elevate their existing systems, joining the innovation race. According to Brett Davis, Managing Partner at Continuum Advisors, an M&A advisory firm dedicated to driving transformational growth, "While it's understandable to want to jump on the bandwagon as quickly as possible, there is only a small percentage of truly impactful and differentiated AI solutions out there, and understanding how to swiftly determine which of those meets your investment objectives, is more important than ever."
Brett, an M&A expert specializing in digital marketing and creative industries with more than 20 years of experience, has assisted many clients grappling with swift AI adoption, identifying two most common approaches: opting for modifying off-the-shelf AI tools to fit to meet organizational needs or entrusting specialist teams to build AI tech stacks from the ground up. Complete polarities, the first method – significantly more affordable – leads to companies implementing cookie-cutter solutions that don't provide them with a competitive edge, while the second one – though personalized to their needs and goals – is incredibly cost-intensive and unattainable to smaller entities.
As with most new projects organizations take on, there is a learning curve, and a decisive leadership team can make all the difference in the world when transforming operations and business strategy. Options range from, doing nothing, investing the bare minimum to hopefully remaining relevant, to making a bold decision to use this as an inflection point to gain competitive advantage. "Our position in the marketplace, gives us visibility into how many are approaching this transformation," adds Brett. "Aside from people, the two most critical factors at the heart of this transformation are information and tools. Publicly available information is within everyone's grasp, as are incremental improvements to the ever-popular (and often useful) ChatGPT. To potentially gain a competitive advantage, companies can pull one of two levers - collect and leverage relevant data that no one else has and/or develop proprietary, impactful tools."
Those companies believing that AI implementation is the holy grail solution may choose to spend hefty amounts of money, investing a large amount of capital into developing AI from scratch. With investments ranging from $5,000 for subscription-based tools to several million for more complex solutions, and with additional costs including necessary hardware, cybersecurity measures, regulatory compliance, and more, this is not without risk.
"If you spend months developing proprietary technology, and, suddenly, the market shifts and technology evolves, you will have to adapt along with it. What makes this transformation even more challenging is that the demand is outpacing the capacity of our existing infrastructure for data processing and computing, but that's another story," stresses Brett.
While the landscape remains challenging, Brett believes that, with a thoughtful strategy, opportunities to create significant shareholder value are greater than ever. According to him, M&A can provide proprietary technology at an accessible price point, empowering businesses to harness the technological prowess of other firms while reaping the many other benefits of a merger or acquisition – entering new sectors, gaining a new talent pool, consolidating market share, and many others.
"At Continuum Advisors, we understand the difficulties of navigating the complexities of a tech-driven era. But we also know that there are accessible, easy-to-implement solutions that can make or break success," Brett muses. "Don't overinvest, don't expect appreciable gains through incrementalism, and don't try and 'keep up with the Joneses.' Ultimately, if you want to not only survive but thrive in the AI storm, it's useful to buddy up."
