AI Strategy & Consulting
Find where AI pays off, fix the data beneath it, and leave with a plan your team can run.
MBE certified (Minority Business Enterprise)
Overview
About AI Strategy & Consulting
AI projects fail more often from unclear goals and weak data than from weak models. Desmata starts with the business problem, then checks whether your data, systems and people can support a solution. You get an honest answer, including when the answer is not yet.
We advise on IT strategy and AI strategy together, because each depends on the other. The result is a prioritized roadmap with sequence, cost ranges and the risks to manage, written so a VP can defend it to a CFO.
We structure governance around established guidance such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and we help you prepare for rules that apply to your sector. When you are ready to build, the same people can deliver and staff the work.
Start with a conversation
Tell us what you are working on. A member of the Desmata team will reply by email or phone.
Call us on +1 (214) 407-8089Outcomes
What you get
A ranked list of AI use cases
Each idea is scored on business value, data readiness, effort and risk, so you fund the few that matter.
A data strategy that supports it
Ownership, quality rules and a target architecture show what to fix before models are built.
Governance you can explain
Policies for model review, human oversight and data use give legal, security and business leaders a shared basis.
A plan you can carry out anywhere
The roadmap is vendor-neutral. You can execute it with your team, with us or with another firm.
Capabilities
What we do, in detail
AI readiness assessment
An honest view of where you stand.
- Data inventory, quality and access review
- Infrastructure, security and integration review
- Skills and operating model gaps
- Use case scoring by value, feasibility and risk
Workflow automation
Automation where it saves real time and cuts errors.
- Process mapping with the people who do the work
- Document processing with NLP and OCR
- Assistants and retrieval-augmented generation over internal knowledge
- Rules-based automation with UiPath or Power Automate where processes are stable
Data strategy
The foundation every AI project builds on.
- Data governance, ownership and cataloging
- Target lakehouse or warehouse architecture
- Privacy, retention and consent rules
- Master data and quality standards
IT strategy and planning
Technology investment tied to business goals.
- Application and infrastructure portfolio review
- Multi-year technology roadmap with sequence and cost
- Build-or-buy analysis and vendor selection criteria
- Budget and benefits cases for leadership
Responsible AI and risk
Controls that match the risk of each use case.
- Policies aligned to the NIST AI RMF and its Generative AI Profile
- Bias, explainability and drift reviews
- Controls for prompt injection and data leakage, informed by the OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications
- Human oversight points and decision logs
Approach
How an engagement runs
Step 1: Frame the goals
We meet leadership and process owners to agree the outcomes you want and the constraints that apply.
Step 2: Assess readiness
We review data, systems, security and skills, and record the gaps against each candidate use case.
Step 3: Prioritize
Use cases are scored and sequenced, so the first investments are the ones most likely to pay back.
Step 4: Prove it small
For the top candidate, we can run a small pilot with a clear success measure before you commit to scale.
Step 5: Roadmap and handoff
You receive the roadmap, governance model, data plan and budget case, with options to execute internally or with us.
Technologies and standards
What we work with
Tools, platforms, frameworks and standards our teams work with and design for. Standards are context for the work, not certifications held by Desmata.
AI platforms
- Azure AI services
- Amazon Bedrock
- Google Vertex AI
- OpenAI and Anthropic model APIs
Machine learning
- Python
- scikit-learn
- PyTorch
- Hugging Face
- MLflow
Retrieval and knowledge
- pgvector
- Pinecone
- Azure AI Search
- LangChain
- LlamaIndex
Governance and risk
- NIST AI RMF
- NIST AI 600-1 Generative AI Profile
- ISO/IEC 42001
- OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications
- EU AI Act (for firms with EU exposure)
Automation
- UiPath
- Microsoft Power Automate
- Apache Airflow
Engagement models
Ways to work with us
AI readiness assessment
A time-boxed engagement that ends with a ranked use case list, gap analysis and roadmap.
Strategy advisory
Ongoing access to a senior consultant for planning, vendor selection and governance questions.
Pilot sprint
A short build of one prioritized use case against agreed success measures.
Staff augmentation
AI, data and automation specialists added to your team to carry the roadmap forward.
Technology and talent
Technology and talent together
A strategy only helps if you can staff it. We recruit AI and data specialists on contract, contract-to-hire or direct hire, and can supply the first delivery team from our own practice.
Roles we can also staff
- AI and machine learning engineer
- Data scientist
- NLP engineer
- MLOps engineer
- Data engineer
- AI product manager
- Solutions architect
- Business analyst
- Data governance analyst
- Automation developer
Need the people as well as the plan?
The engineers who design the work and the specialists who join your team come from one firm.
Why Desmata
Why Desmata
Advice shaped to your business
We start with your processes and data, not with a catalog of AI products. The roadmap reflects what is feasible for you.
Advisors who can also deliver and staff
The plan connects to engineers and recruiters in the same firm, so strategy does not stall at handoff.
Value stated up front
Each use case carries a business measure, such as hours saved or errors avoided, so progress can be judged by results.
A culture of building
We build our own AI products, so recommendations come from engineering experience, not slideware.
Proof
Our work in practice
Virtual SME: a smart claims-processing interface for insurers
Virtual SME is a smart claims-processing interface for insurers and enterprises. It uses NLP-based document understanding and contextual analytics to raise productivity and reduce human error. It is an example of AI applied to a specific, measurable workflow rather than to a general ambition.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How do we know whether we are ready for AI?
Readiness depends on three things: usable data, systems that can integrate a new capability, and people able to own it. Our assessment checks each against your top use cases and tells you what to fix first.
Do you recommend specific AI vendors?
We recommend what fits your data, security needs and budget. We work with the major cloud AI platforms and open-source tools, and we state the trade-offs between them.
How do you handle AI risk and compliance?
We use the NIST AI RMF and its Generative AI Profile to structure governance, review models for bias and drift, and set human oversight points. Legal obligations vary by sector and state, so your counsel decides what applies, and we help you prepare.
Can we use the roadmap without hiring you to build it?
Yes. The roadmap is written to stand on its own, with sequence, cost ranges and requirements, so it can be executed by your team or another firm. If you would like our help, we can deliver or staff the work.
Find out what AI can do for your business
Describe the process or decision you would like to improve. A Desmata consultant will reply with how we would assess readiness and what you would receive.
MBE certified (Minority Business Enterprise)