Generative AI adoption is sweeping across industries at an unprecedented pace—faster than the rise of PCs, smartphones, or even the internet. At the Accelerate 2025 virtual summit, Becky Flint, founder and CEO of Dragonboat, called it a “tidal wave of innovation.”
Yet, despite the hype, a sobering MIT study reveals 95% of enterprise GenAI investments fail to deliver measurable ROI. Why? Most get stuck in disconnected pilots or proofs of concept, missing the mark on real business impact. So, what sets the top 5% apart?
The AI Iceberg: Success Lies Beneath the Surface
Think of AI implementation as an iceberg. The visible part—AI tools, chatbots, or prototypes—is just the tip. As Becky noted, “AI is only as good as what lies beneath.”
The hidden foundations of successful GenA in enterprise settings include:
- Comprehensive, unified data from multiple sources
- Contextual integrations that transform data into actionable insights
- Strategic relevance to ensure AI aligns with key business outcomes
- Understanding interdependencies in your organization’s operating model
- A trust mechanism to ensure data integrity and reliable outputs
Without these, AI initiatives suffer from the “garbage in, garbage out” trap, leaving companies with flashy experiments but no ROI.
The Trap: Data Without Context
Imagine a product team using AI to prioritize a roadmap. Without context—how features align with goals, resource allocation, or customer needs—the AI delivers meaningless outputs. It’s like navigating without a compass.
Lack of contextual integration across workflows is the silent killer of most AI initiatives and projects.
The 5% Mindset: Foundation First, Technology Second
So how do the top-performing 5% transform their AI investments into ROI engines? They focus on foundation first, technology second. It’s not just about flashy AI models but ensuring:
- Integration with business workflows
Successful organizations integrate AI into their normal business operations, connecting both the foundation and applications of the technology. - Strategic alignment as the North Star
Rather than diving into technology for its own sake, they design AI initiatives with purpose. Every prototype, data model, or experiment actively supports their broader strategic objectives. The strategy comes first; technology is an enabler.
“Teams can get excited and build a cool piece of technology that doesn’t have a persona and use case. Without clear customer value, work isn’t ready to ship.”
— Gloria Ramchandani, SVP, Product at Copado
Learn more about how product leaders make decisions around portfolio investments in the AI era.
Enter Portfolio Intelligence: The Bridge to Success
So how do you build that solid foundation? The answer lies in portfolio intelligence—a framework that connects your organization’s strategy, planning, and execution in real-time. This approach integrates:
- Diverse, distributed data sources
- Planning workflows with business context
- Delivery processes with continuous feedback loops
Platforms like Dragonboat address these fundamental challenges by creating a unified data layer that connects strategy, planning, and delivery processes. This foundation provides the context and integration necessary for successful AI implementation.
- Monitor progress against objectives with live dashboards
- Identify underutilized opportunities waiting in your backlog
- Optimize how resources are allocated across teams
- Instantly align stakeholders on roadmap updates
Ready to Be Among the 5% Who Achieve AI Success at Enterprise Scale?
Do you want to achieve GenAI success at enterprise scale? Start with these steps:
- Evaluate your data: Is it unified, accessible, and meaningful?
- Integrate workflows: Does information flow seamlessly across systems and teams?
- Align with strategy: Are your AI investments tied to clear business goals?
By focusing on clarity, context, and connection, you can transform GenAI from a costly experiment into an ROI champion.
As demonstrated at Accelerate 2025, a proper implementation allows teams to:
- Have the visibility to track progress against goals in real-time. Learn more →
- Identify areas of under and over-investment. See an example →
- Discover opportunities on the backlog that align with strategic objectives. Learn more →
- Plan resources more effectively across teams. See an example →
- Communicate roadmap updates automatically to stakeholders. See an example→
Interested in learning how portfolio intelligence can help your organization achieve measurable ROI with AI? Get a Demo and see how Dragonboat connects strategy, planning, and delivery to drive outcomes at AI speed and scale.
