Language
.svg){kind=icon}
The digital transformation, powered by Artificial Intelligence, is unstoppable. Nevertheless, Dutch organizations are visibly struggling to implement them. Recent research by McKinsey shows that only 18% of Dutch companies are operationalizing their AI initiatives at scale. This is not due to a lack of ambition, but due to structural challenges within the IT landscape. This gap between potential and practice makes it crucial to understand why AI doesn't always take off, where real opportunities lie, and how existing data platforms can accelerate transformation.
In practice, organizations experience various barriers that frustrate the adoption of AI. The first significant brake is the fragmentation of data within organizations. Data silos, often the result of outdated processes and legacy IT systems, ensure that data remains locked in departments without useful coherence. This makes it difficult to obtain reliable, standardized data sets that require AI models.
In addition, legacy IT itself remains a major stumbling block. Many companies are still running systems that are not designed for rapid integration with modern AI tools or cloud services. This limits agility and delaying migrations are complex and expensive.
Finally, there is often a lack of a solid AI governance structure. Governance includes control, ethics, privacy, and transparency around AI projects. Without clear guidelines and responsible roles, uncertainty arises; this leads to reluctance in large-scale AI implementations and increases the risk of unwanted side effects.
Despite these challenges, there are plenty of opportunities for organizations that use AI in the right way. Workflow automation is a proven starting point; repetitive and time-consuming tasks can be automated with AI, allowing employees to focus on more complex tasks. This increases efficiency and reduces operational costs.
Another high-impact domain is AI in customer contact. Conversational AI such as chatbots and virtual assistants help to serve customer demand 24/7 and significantly improve customer satisfaction. Because these solutions continuously learn from interactions, they are becoming smarter and more personal.
In addition, AI enables modern companies to make faster and more informed decisions. Predictive analytics and AI-supported dashboards reveal patterns in large data sets that would otherwise go unnoticed. This leads to optimization of processes, better risk assessments and innovation in product development.
Most Dutch organizations work with cloud platforms such as Azure, Google Cloud or AWS to manage data and applications. These platforms offer comprehensive AI services — from ready-to-use machine learning models to advanced data lakes and real-time analytics. It is important not to implement AI as a separate silo, but to integrate it into existing data platforms so that data remains accessible, secure and consistent.
By using managed AI services within these clouds, companies can experiment and scale faster without heavy infrastructure investments. Responsible data management, combined with guidance from AI specialists, helps to make datasets understandable and reliable. This not only brings innovation within reach, but also ensures control over risks.
AI is thus a catalyst for modern IT architectures: a hybrid approach where modern cloud-native AI tools merge with traditional systems. This is the only way to achieve a future-proof digital transformation.
The complexity surrounding AI requires cooperation with specialized parties that bring knowledge about data engineering, cloud infrastructures and AI governance. By working together on a clear AI strategy, you get a grip on data, processes and the transformation itself. For example, AI can no longer be seen as hype, but as an essential part of a smart, agile organization.
The acceleration in AI will undoubtedly continue to affect every part of the business community. Dutch companies that invest today in solving barriers and smartly integrating AI into their existing IT landscape are building an advantage that will make a difference tomorrow.
