AI made building a POC ridiculously fast. But it also created a dangerous illusion: if the POC was fast, production should be too.
It won't be. Here's why.
Let's say you've checked every box. The POC proves real value. Your data and pipelines are solid. Your users are on board. Green lights everywhere.
You're still not close.
The Organizational Maze
Because productization isn't an R&D problem. It never was, but today it's more and more an organizational one with AI.
- IT needs to grant access rights.
- Privacy needs to clear your data flows.
- Security needs to sign off on your architecture.
- Usability needs to validate the experience.
- Compliance needs to review.
- Infrastructure needs to scale.
- And many more unknown pitfalls in the maze...
None of these teams were part of your two-week POC sprint. And none of them move at POC speed.
"This is the weakest link nobody talks about. Not the technology. Not the model. Not the data. The organizational readiness around your team."
You can have the best R&D squad in the industry. If they're waiting three weeks for access rights, your AI product is just a deck with a demo link.
The growing POC graveyard in front of us confirms it.
Before You Promise Timelines
Manage expectations. The distance from POC to product is not measured in code. It's measured in organizational alignment.
Invest in your team. Not just technical skills, but also the ability to navigate the maze around them.
And be BOLD enough to stop. If the organization can't enable it, say so early. A killed project saves more than a zombie one that drains your team for months.
The POC is your spark. The organization is your oxygen. Without both, nothing burns.