As artificial intelligence continues to dominate the executive agenda, many PE-backed companies are feeling pressure to move quickly. From automated forecasting to predictive maintenance, the promise of AI is compelling—but without a solid foundation, it can lead to false starts, fragmented investments, and stalled initiatives.
2024 was the year of experimentation. In 2025, firms are expected to execute—but elite operators know AI isn’t plug-and-play. Success starts with readiness: the operational, data, and digital maturity required to responsibly integrate AI into the business.
We believe that responsible AI adoption begins long before models are deployed or insights are generated. It starts with the infrastructure, governance, and roadmap that support AI at scale.
AI Readiness Is the Missing Link
Most middle-market companies weren’t built with AI in mind. Their systems—often inherited through years of bolt-on acquisitions or underinvestment—can be fragmented, under-documented, or manually maintained. This creates critical challenges that must be addressed before meaningful AI integration can take place:
- Infrastructure gaps: Legacy ERP or EPM systems limit the speed and accuracy of data extraction, making it difficult to enable real-time AI use cases.
- Data chaos: Disconnected data sources, poor data hygiene, and lack of governance create risk and reduce the reliability of insights.
- Undefined roadmap: Without a structured plan tied to business priorities, AI pilots often become isolated experiments with unclear ROI.
That’s why E78’s AI & Analytics service emphasizes a readiness-first approach. We help companies establish the right digital architecture, align on business objectives, and build a scalable roadmap that links AI initiatives to measurable performance gains.
Explore our full AI & Analytics capabilities here.
The Foundation: Digital Systems Built for Scale
AI adoption isn’t a substitute for digital transformation—it’s the next stage of it.
Modernizing enterprise systems is a prerequisite to realizing the full value of AI. A modern ERP, for example, can streamline workflows, improve transparency, and create the platform for scalable automation and insights. This foundation unlocks efficiencies like:
- Improved demand forecasting, boosting revenue by 2% to 4%
- Smarter product targeting, increasing gross margins by 50–250 basis points
- Enhanced supply planning, reducing inventory by 5% to 20% and improving margins by up to 50 basis points (Source: Boston Consulting Group)
For private equity firms, these digital investments are value levers—not just IT upgrades. They position portfolio companies for both near-term gains and long-term scale.
Bridging Strategy and Execution
It’s not enough to build the foundation—companies must also align stakeholders, define use cases, and enforce governance. Our approach to AI readiness helps leadership teams:
- Assess current capabilities and technology stack
- Establish data governance frameworks and ownership models
- Develop a phased roadmap that balances quick wins with strategic priorities
- Integrate AI into core workflows like planning, reporting, and customer engagement
This readiness framework ensures that AI investments are grounded in business context—and able to evolve with it.
AI as a Value Creator
Private equity sponsors increasingly recognize that AI is not just a technical innovation—it’s a driver of portfolio performance. But as we discussed in our recent article, Technology as a Value Creator for Private Equity Portfolio Companies, technology only delivers when paired with the right strategy, execution, and partner support.
E78 helps sponsors and portfolio executives take a measured, strategic approach to AI—starting with readiness, and ending with results.
Ready to Build a Smarter Foundation?
Whether you’re looking to evaluate your current infrastructure, modernize core systems, or develop a scalable AI roadmap, our team can help. Let’s start with a conversation about where you are—and where AI can take you.
