Guiding an Engineering Firm Toward AI Readiness

July 30, 2025

The Client & Industry

A Mid-Sized Architecture, Engineering, & Construction Firm

The Challenge

An established engineering firm was intrigued by the promise of AI but hesitant to begin its journey. Leadership lacked visibility into how data was used across departments and needed assurance that investing in tools like Microsoft Copilot wouldn’t introduce new risks. The organization wanted a clear understanding of their current state and a defined roadmap toward AI adoption and improved governance.

The Solution

Thrivence conducted a focused four-week AI Readiness Assessment involving cross-functional departments including Accounting, HR, Marketing, IT, and Operations. Through virtual workshops, we explored each team’s core systems, data flows, pain points, and existing policies. Using a guided discovery process and a standardized engagement deck, we captured system inventories, identified gaps, and benchmarked governance maturity.

We synthesized workshop findings into a centralized data and systems inventory—spanning 56 platforms—and delivered a custom roadmap outlining both AI and organizational opportunities. Key deliverables included a maturity framework analysis, tool recommendations, and a prioritized roadmap featuring seven targeted initiatives.

Each initiative was supported by a one-page project summary with estimated timelines, budgets, and resourcing. Recommendations ranged from quick wins—like AI-enabled RFP prospecting tools and prompt competitions—to long-term investments such as integrating with their ERP system (Deltek) and deploying governance classification policies across Microsoft 365 and AEC-specific platforms like Egnyte.

The Results

The firm gained:

A high-confidence, department-specific understanding of data use and sensitivity.
A practical, visual roadmap that aligned stakeholders and enabled governance planning.
Renewed internal momentum and organizational clarity around AI enablement and content centralization.

The project was completed in just four weeks and helped transform hesitancy into action. The roadmap has since been used to inspire additional interest across peer organizations.