As organisations mature in their use of generative AI, particularly Microsoft Copilot, a new operating reality begins to emerge. In this, AI becomes an embedded, invisible part of everyday business processes.

At IBRS, we predict that by the end of 2027, the early adopters of AI will have moved past manual prompting and isolated projects and be focused on deeply weaving AI-driven automation into their operations.

This next phase represents the industrialisation of AI. This is when tools such as Copilot become part of the organisation’s standard operating fabric; consistent, reliable, and embedded in everyday workflows.

For SMBs, industrialisation is about taking proven AI use cases from successful pilot projects and scaling them across teams, processes, and systems so that AI works in the background, delivering value without manual effort. It’s less about size, more about maturity and repeatability.

Put in context with the pilot and adoption phases covered in the previous posts, it’s something like this:

• Pilot: delivering value to prove capability.
• Adoption: creating value to expand capability.
• Industrialisation: realising value to embed capability as a strategic driver.

In this phase, the partner is also more likely to become deeply embedded within the customers business.  Even high-maturity SMBs may lack the in-house skills and capacity to continuously manage, optimise, and secure AI at scale. They’ll depend on trusted partners to keep AI environments high-performing, compliant, and cost-efficient.

Now, let’s get into more detail about running AI at scale!

Following on from the previous two posts in our Copilot Insight series, this is the final matrix view of initiatives, capabilities and solution areas that we at IBRS predict will become central when AI moves into the industrialisation phase within business environments.

It highlights:

• The operational practices that will need to be ongoing (e.g., continuous model optimisation, governance).
• The major technology and process areas that will underpin AI at scale (e.g., managed AI fabrics, multi-model orchestration, intelligent search, embedded AI workflows).
• The higher-value, cross-functional opportunities partners can align to (e.g., security integration, advanced automation, industry-specific AI agents).

The industrialisation phase will create demand for external expertise in a number of ways, and these are outlined for you through the rest of this article.

Partners move from Plays to Actions: defining the difference

Before I dive into the demand drivers for this phase, a quick note on terminologies.  In the adoption phase post, I identified a number of ‘partner plays’ – moves that partners can make to position themselves and capture market opportunity.  Below, I’ll be indicating ‘partner actions’. It’s a subtle yet important distinction.

Adoption is a stage with lots of room for experimentation and competitive positioning, so it makes sense that our guidance would signal ways to win.

Industrialisation is about operationalising at scale. Sustained execution matters more than seizing short-term opportunities. There will always be plays to make of course, but at this stage of the game, winning will rest upon execution excellence.

Managed AI Fabrics: The New Cloud Opportunity

One of the biggest future needs will be managed AI environments — or AI Fabrics. These are complex ecosystems of data platforms, AI models, and orchestration tools that require constant monitoring, optimisation, and governance.

Partner actions:

• Manage Microsoft Fabric and other AI data platforms end-to-end as ‘critical infrastructure’ including ingestion pipelines, data lakes, model orchestration, integration and compliance controls.
• Build tiered service offers (monitoring, optimisation, full lifecycle) to match varying maturity and budget levels.
• Include cost governance and utilisation tracking to align AI spend with measurable business outcomes.

Why these actions: Most SMBs — even those with mature AI use cases — will lack the in-house headcount and skills to operate complex AI environments cost-effectively. Many are already turning to third parties for managed cloud ops because of cost and skills gaps — AI Fabrics are the logical next step. Partners who master this space can extend existing relationships and create high-value recurring revenue.

AI Ops: From Development to Ongoing Optimisation

In the industrialised stage, AI Ops becomes the operational backbone for AI models. This includes Generative AI Ops (LLMOps) and Machine Learning Ops (MLOps).

Partner actions:

• Run value definition workshops before optimisation cycles to tie performance to client KPIs
• Create AI performance dashboards showing both technical metrics and business impact.
• Perform regular performance/bias audits to ensure outputs stay aligned to business KPIs
• Implement regular retraining and fine-tuning schedules as part of managed services.

Why these actions: Cited statistics in the public domain estimate that 80% of Machine Learning projects fail to deliver expected value — often because success isn’t defined in business terms. Continuous optimisation is not optional; it’s essential for ROI.

The Rise of Intelligent Search & RAG 2.0

The next evolution of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) will be powered by Graph technologies and multi-model orchestration, enabling more contextual, accurate search and virtual agents.

Partner actions:

• Build domain-specific RAG workflows for regulated and data-rich sectors (e.g., compliance queries, customer service).
• Prepare customers for Graph integration now, so they can adopt advanced capabilities faster when cost and skills align.
• Offer AI agent health checks to audit accuracy, data sources, and compliance.

Why these actions: As SMBs expand AI usage and AI agents become integral to business workflows, the value shifts from simple Q&A to deep integration with business data, enabling faster, more accurate decisions.  Keeping them relevant, accurate, and secure will directly impact productivity and customer trust.

Power Platform: Where Custom AI Will Thrive 

With all trend indicators pointing to a ‘low-code everywhere’ future state in business operations, Microsoft’s Power Platform is set to become the go-to hub for custom AI workflows — replacing manual prompting with AI-driven automation. 

Partner actions: 

• Develop industry-specific solution blueprints for Power Platform AI workflows. 
• Embed AI into Dynamics 365 and other business applications to streamline complex processes. 
• Train citizen developers within client teams but offer co-build programs to maintain governance and security. 

Why these actions: Crayon’s own study of SMB operations across the APAC region shows critical priority settings being placed on unlocking more value from data and upskilling employee digital capabilities, reflected in high adoption intent for low-code, AI-enabled business apps. This is where much of the repeatable AI development revenue will be generated in the industrialisation stage.

AI Governance, Risk & Cybersecurity: Continuous Auditing 

With AI embedded across systems, governance and security auditing move from “good practice” to “business necessity.” 

Partner actions: 

• Work with clients to develop AI governance frameworks covering policy, ethics, and regulatory compliance. 
• Monitor for internal and external abuse of AI tools, including privilege misuse and prompt injection attacks. 
• Build or facilitate AI SecOps capabilities that use AI to detect and respond to AI-powered cyber threats. 

Why these actions: Security and compliance are already top IT priorities for SMBs. AI industrialisation increases the stakes and the complexity. 

Finding your AI Niche

The tipping point for true transformation is always when a technology moves from being exciting, curious and novel to becoming used with such ease and frequency, we don’t even think about it.

Some of you may remember when VOIP was considered a complex dark art, and the technology was the headline feature.  Today, it’s still in everything as the invisible plumbing behind modern communication suites – yet rarely discussed or even thought about.  We all rely on it but need not think on why – It just does what it does.

The future of AI adoption will evolve similarly across multiple stages — from pilots to full industrialisation. For service providers, success will come from knowing:

• Where your skills fit in this journey.
• How your offerings map to client maturity.
• Where you can create repeatable, scalable services that become “sticky.”

Organisations won’t just need help getting started — they’ll need long-term partners to manage, optimise, secure, and evolve their AI environments.

AI is no longer about if — it’s about how well.  As tools like Copilot and business use of Generative AI continues to mature, the pace toward industrialised AI will quicken.

By 2036, Generative AI will be as ubiquitous within digital business operations and workplaces as VOIP – and the partners that travel with their clients toward this future state will be recognised as value creation leaders in their field.