Stop Buying AI Snake Oil: The AI projects you’re being sold will not give you the value you want.
NO ONE ACTUALLY WANTS AI. People want headcount reduction and reallocation for the sake of productivity gains. If a steam engine, instead of AI, could reduce/reallocate headcount, that’s what people would want.
You read articles from fancy universities and publications that claim ~95% of AI projects fail or fail to deliver intended results. Why? Because the intended results are headcount reduction or reassignment, and that’s not possible when you’re only fixing one or two little project areas with the snake oil you’re being sold today. You need to transform to reap the true, intended results.
Projects Don’t Transform
Here’s the truth: NO ONE WANTS AI “projects”, but they ask for them because that’s the snake oil they are being sold and marketed by tech services firms that slapped “AI” in front of their decades old services. Most of these firms don’t know how to transform your org with AI so they are happy to get paid for individual projects that won’t actually achieve your goals..
Stop implementing AI “projects”, and start working on transforming the way you do business, with AI.
Example - You automate your call center with the most impressive AI/ML available. Your call center headcount reduces. Looks like a win.
But now orders, returns, complaints…they flood in at levels your other teams can’t handle because the call center has a productive AI solution but the rest of your business doesn’t. Suddenly you’re hiring more people in other functions to keep up with that amazing AI.
This is not transformation. This is a project. And when you bolt a bunch of projects together, you don’t get transformation. You get a mess.
Transformation Requires Horizontal Thin-Slicing
Org change. Internal UI overhaul. BU-to-BU workflows. Delivery methodology. AI-based tools.
Transformation means end-to-end. It means “thin-slicing” so AI touches every part of your business, not one function in isolation.
The challenge? Throw a rock in any direction and you’ll hit a consultancy that claims they can deliver an AI project. Throw that same rock trying to hit one that can actually deliver an AI transformation - you’ll have a much harder time sifting through the SNAKE OIL.
Everyone Claims the Same Things
I looked at seven CSD firms’ AI offerings. Guess what? Same tired list with shiny labels:
AI-first
AI native
AI infused
Data & AI readiness
AI fluent
Agentic AI
AI transformation methodology
They also all claim digital transformation, agile software delivery, data & analytics, and digital platforms. Sound familiar?
We’re right back to the standard tiers of providers:
Capacity-tier
Average-tier
Premium-tier
If you want to stand out, you have to specialize, not just against your own tier, but against other tiers pretending to play in spaces they don’t belong.
Examples of What’s Real vs. Snake Oil
REAL - A premium-tier firm launched an AI-based mainframe modernization solution. Holistic. Actually transformative.
SNAKE OIL - An average-tier firm just released a marketing campaign where they pulled up decades old client case studies and marketed them as the latest and greatest AI-first thinking.
SNAKE OIL - A capacity-tier firm slapped “AI” on their pod structure and called it unique. Project-based junk.
REAL - Another average-tier firm built a delivery methodology to make the entire org AI-driven. From requirements to PoCs, production deployment, and ongoing evolution; every delivery stage is transformed.
SNAKE OIL - Another premium-tier firm is doing a huge push on their Agentic accelerators that will expedite deploying individual agentic projects. No integration with the rest of the org or consideration for how the rest of the business will adapt.
See the pattern? Some are projects. Some are actual transformations. Most are snake oil.
Where ROI Comes In
At ROI, we help you cut through the noise.
For providers, we go deep with case studies, staff expertise, and outcomes delivered to define your specialization and holistic transformation story. That’s your differentiation. That’s your sales pitch.
For buyers, we identify which partners can walk the walk, not just talk. Who has the roadmap. Who can impact your intended results.
AI is already commoditized. Everyone says they can do it. But not everyone can transform with it.
That’s the ROI difference.
