If Your CFO Is Picking Your AI Tools, You Do Not Have an AI Strategy
Your CFO should absolutely control the money. Your procurement team should absolutely manage the buying process. But neither of them should be deciding which AI capabilities your company adopts, because AI is not a printer.
Capability is the only durable AI moat. Tooling is rented; capability compounds.
Treat AI as an operating decision, not a purchasing decision.
AI changes the nature of work itself, unlike commodity tools that merely sit on top of existing workflows. Its adoption reshapes roles, skills, and organizational capacity.
The evaluation of AI tools requires domain-specific operational knowledge to understand impacts on output, velocity, and workflow rather than merely commercial terms.
Rapid iteration and continuous learning are inherent to AI adoption; traditional procurement cycles designed for stable, long-term contracts impede this dynamism.
An organization’s ability to integrate and leverage AI capabilities, rather than simply acquire tools, determines its competitive differentiation.
Decide whether the AI line item is being audited or invested. The two require different organizations.
Capability is the only durable AI moat. Tooling is rented; capability compounds.
Treat AI as an operating decision, not a purchasing decision.
AI changes the nature of work itself, unlike commodity tools that merely sit on top of existing workflows. Its adoption reshapes roles, skills, and organizational capacity.
The evaluation of AI tools requires domain-specific operational knowledge to understand impacts on output, velocity, and workflow rather than merely commercial terms.
Rapid iteration and continuous learning are inherent to AI adoption; traditional procurement cycles designed for stable, long-term contracts impede this dynamism.
An organization’s ability to integrate and leverage AI capabilities, rather than simply acquire tools, determines its competitive differentiation.
Decide whether the AI line item is being audited or invested. The two require different organizations.
After 20 years in software development, Norman is both a hands-on leader and defining the new age of AI SDLC for some of the biggest brands in the world — and exploring it with the builders. He writes here about things he is hearing and seeing. All posts are his personal points of view and do not reflect any employer or any customer he has ever had contact with.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not represent the positions of any employer, client, or affiliated organization.
