The AI pilot is the easy part.
A convincing demonstration can now be built in an afternoon. Summarise a document. Draft an email. Analyse a spreadsheet. Put a chatbot on a handful of PDFs.
Then the difficult phase begins: productive operation.
A recent Swiss survey makes the gap visible. Fifty five per cent of companies already use AI deliberately in at least one business area. Thirty one per cent remain in the pilot phase. Only 9 per cent report that AI has changed their business model. Swiss SME Portal
The obstacle is no longer access to technology. It is the organisation around it.
Which data are reliable? Which processes may be automated? Where must a person approve the result? Who monitors quality? Which systems are connected? Which roles need new skills? How will economic value be measured?
Infrastructure comes next. According to the same survey, data quality and data silos are among the biggest barriers. Security and data protection concerns follow close behind.
That may make 2026 the year after the first wave of AI enthusiasm. The technology now has to enter real processes, and that costs money. Sixty four per cent of Swiss CFOs surveyed by Deloitte accordingly expect technology and IT spending to rise. Swiss SME Portal
A pilot answers whether the technology can do something. Scaling answers a harder question: Can our company use it reliably, securely and economically?