Is your business actually ready for AI? This guide sets out the full AI readiness assessment: what it measures, the six dimensions of AI readiness, a 1-to-5 scoring matrix with a worked example, the red flags that mean “not yet”, a costed 90-day plan to close the gaps, and an honest comparison of DIY versus consultant-led assessments for UK SMEs.
Most AI projects stall between a convincing demo and something the business can depend on, and the reason is almost never the model. It is the material underneath it: duplicated customer records, nine versions of the same price list, scanned PDFs no parser can read, and permissions that were never designed to be queried by a machine. This guide sets out a seven-step preparation programme for the business data estate — inventory, quality profiling, structure and formats, metadata, classification and security, the delivery layer, and the measurement that keeps it honest. It closes with realistic costs, timelines, what each AI use case actually demands, and the mistakes that quietly stall these programmes.
Copilot does not break your permissions – it exposes them. Here is how Microsoft Purview handles oversharing, sensitivity labels, DLP for Copilot, auditing, retention and insider risk, and the order to do it in so the rollout does not stall.
