AI is no longer a “nice demo” sitting next to the business. It is moving into the core of business processes, and that’s exactly why so many organizations get stuck. The bottleneck is rarely the technology. It’s the lack of explicit strategic decisions: Do we embed AI inside our processes or keep it as a separate assistant? Do we use AI to support people (Copilot) or let it execute steps autonomously (agents)? Do we centralize AI creation or empower teams with Copilot Studio while staying in control? And are we honest about the one foundation AI cannot live without: reliable, governed data?

In this session, you’ll get a clear, practical framework: 10 strategic AI decisions that determine whether AI becomes a collection of disconnected experiments, or a scalable capability that reshapes your operating model. Each decision is explained through a real-world lens: what it changes in process design, roles & responsibilities, governance/compliance, and Microsoft architecture (Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, and the Power Platform).

You’ll leave with an actionable “decision compass” you can use immediately with leadership teams and architecture boards, covering topics like cost reduction vs value creation, standardization vs managing variation with AI, central vs federated governance, and why “AI without data is gambling.”

Key takeaways

- A clear map of the 10 decisions and what each one means in practice
- How to position Copilots vs autonomous agents
- Why data quality and ownership are board-level topics: “AI without data is gambling”
- A governance approach that prevents AI “wild growth” without killing innovation

Audience: Business leaders, IT/architects, product owners, process owners, and anyone building or scaling AI in a Microsoft ecosystem.

When I speak at community conferences, I sometimes miss the business track / sessions. And I think it's very important to get our clients ('the business') to these kind of conferences. Therefore, I created this 100% business session. And, of course consultants are welcome too. So they can use this knowledge in challenging their customers.