Aug23
Choosing AI solutions today feels like buying a smartphone that will be outdated before you've finished removing the screen protector.
Last month's cutting-edge large language model is this month's digital dinosaur. The groundbreaking image generator you just implemented? There's already something twice as good at half the cost. That carefully crafted prompt engineering strategy your team spent weeks developing? The new models don't even use the same syntax.
Welcome to AI procurement in 2025, where the only constant is rapid, relentless change.
Traditional software procurement focuses heavily on features—those tidy little checkboxes on RFP documents that procurement teams love to tick. "Does it do X? Does it integrate with Y? Can it produce reports in format Z?"
This approach made perfect sense in a world where software changed incrementally, with major releases once a year. You could evaluate features, make a purchase, and reasonably expect those capabilities to remain relevant for the duration of your contract.
With AI, feature-focused procurement is like trying to hit a moving target while riding a roller coaster—blindfolded—in a thunderstorm.
The organizations thriving amidst this chaos have shifted their focus from features to adaptability. Rather than asking, "What can this AI solution do today?" They ask, "How easily can this solution evolve with our needs and technological advances?"
This requires evaluating potential partners on entirely different criteria:
It's less about what buttons the software has and more about how quickly new buttons can be added—or old ones removed—as needs change.
This shift explains why the most successful AI implementations are built as platforms rather than products. A platform approach provides the foundation and framework to accommodate rapidly evolving components.
Think of it as building a house with modular rooms that can be swapped. You start with the foundation and basic structure, but you can upgrade the kitchen next year, expand the living room the year after, or add smart home features as they become available—all without tearing down and rebuilding the entire house.
And this is precisely why the procurement paradigm has flipped from product-centric to team-centric. The critical question isn't "Which AI solution should we buy?" but rather "Who has the expertise to build and continuously evolve our AI platform?"
Look for teams with:
Because let's be honest—no one knows precisely what AI capabilities will be available six months from now, let alone two years from now. The team that acknowledges this uncertainty and builds with adaptability as a core principle will deliver far more value than one that promises specific features that may soon be irrelevant.
This reality transforms how organizations should approach AI vendor relationships. Rather than the traditional vendor-client dynamic, successful AI implementation requires genuine partnership.
You're not just buying a product; you're investing in a relationship with a team that will help you navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape, continuously adapting your strategy and implementations as new capabilities emerge and business needs grow.
In the swirling storm of AI advancement, the organizations that thrive will not be those that pick the perfect product at a single point in time. They'll be the ones that build adaptable platforms with expert partners who can help them continuously evolve.
Because in AI, the race doesn't go to the swift—it goes to the adaptable. And adaptability isn't something you can buy in a box. It's something you build with the right team.
By Robert Bye
Keywords: Agentic AI, AI, IT Strategy
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