Persistent and IIM Ahmedabad introduce ‘AI Value Compass’ framework for enterprises

The joint research initiative aims to help enterprises evaluate AI readiness, strengthen governance and scale artificial intelligence investments through a structured, outcome-driven framework focused on long-term business impact and operational alignment.

Persistent Systems has announced a research collaboration with Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad to launch the “AI Value Compass”, a strategic framework designed to help enterprises assess, prioritize and scale artificial intelligence initiatives with measurable business outcomes.

The initiative comes at a time when enterprises across industries are rapidly increasing investments in Generative AI and Agentic AI technologies. However, while many organizations have moved beyond experimentation and pilot projects, several continue to face challenges in aligning AI initiatives with broader business goals and operational readiness.

According to the study, successful AI adoption depends not only on technology capabilities but also on factors such as governance, organizational preparedness, workflow integration and data maturity. The AI Value Compass has been developed to address these concerns by offering enterprises a structured framework for AI decision-making and execution.

The framework combines Persistent’s enterprise transformation expertise with IIM Ahmedabad’s research capabilities in management and decision sciences. It evaluates AI initiatives across five key areas — business alignment, people readiness, operational integration, data preparedness, and governance and risk management.

Framework designed to improve AI execution

The research highlights that many organizations continue to struggle with fragmented AI adoption strategies, weak governance structures and the absence of clearly defined business outcomes. According to the companies, the framework is intended to help enterprises identify readiness gaps early, prioritize high-impact AI initiatives and improve the predictability of AI-driven business outcomes.

The AI Value Compass also aims to support organizations in strengthening internal collaboration, improving operational processes and aligning stakeholders around enterprise-wide AI adoption strategies.

Jaideep Vijay Dhok, Chief Operating Officer - Technology, Persistent, said, “Enterprises today have greater access to AI technologies and the focus is on making the right investment and execution choices at scale. As organizations advance in their AI journeys, the need for structured approaches to assess readiness, sequence initiatives and align AI efforts with business priorities is becoming more important. The “AI Value Compass”, developed with IIM Ahmedabad, is designed to provide that clarity, enabling leaders to drive more disciplined, outcome-led AI execution as they scale AI across the enterprise.”

Persistent said the framework is already being incorporated into enterprise client engagements as part of its broader AI advisory and transformation initiatives.

Industry-academia partnership expands AI research

The collaboration between Persistent and IIM Ahmedabad is also expected to strengthen industry-academia engagement in the field of artificial intelligence. Beyond the research initiative, both organizations plan to work together on knowledge-sharing, talent development and applied AI research programs.

Ankur Sinha, Professor, Operations and Decision Sciences, IIM Ahmedabad, said, “Despite rising investments in Artificial Intelligence, most businesses continue to focus on localized efficiency gains rather than leveraging AI for strategic transformation. Our study with Persistent highlights fundamental gaps, including the absence of clear AI leadership, lack of a coherent strategic vision, poorly defined success metrics, and weak ownership and governance structures that significantly constrain the ability of organizations to unlock long-term value from AI. The "AI Value Compass" enables enterprises to address these gaps and drive more consistent, outcome-led AI adoption.”

Industry experts believe enterprises will increasingly require structured governance and execution models as AI adoption moves from isolated deployments to organization-wide operational integration and business transformation.