Why AI Has to be the Infrastructure, Not the Strategy ft. Elon Salfati

Gone are the days where organizations can think of AI as the strategy. At least, they should be. In this episode of Bringing Data and AI to Life, host Amy Horowitz, GVP Solutions Sales and Business Development at Informatica, welcomes Elon Salfati, Founder of the Salfati Group, to explore why you should treat AI as infrastructure rather than a standalone tool. What You’ll Learn How to reframe AI from "what can we use it for?" to "what's our operating model when AI orchestrates it?" The three-step workflow mapping framework Why "AI-ready data" is a myth and what to do instead The federated data access strategy to dissolve silos without expensive multi-year migrations How to identify your AI accountability gap and best align the team The one-sentence test that separates real AI initiatives from board-mandated theater If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here. This podcast is brought to you by Informatica, the leader in enterprise cloud data management. Links: Elon Salfati on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elonsalfati/ Salfati Group Website: https://salfati.group/ Informatica: https://www.informatica.com/ Amy Horowitz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyhorowitz/ Informatica Website: https://www.informatica.com/ Episode Highlights: 00:00 Introduction 01:04 Meet Elon Solfati: Building AI-Native Organizations 02:39 AI as Infrastructure, Not Just Another Tool 04:33 The Three-Step Workflow Mapping Framework 08:26 Why "AI-Ready Data" Is a Myth 11:04 Breaking Down Data Silos with Federated Access 13:00 Change Management & Elon’s Guide to Assessing AI Readiness 16:35 The One-Sentence Test: Define Success Before You Start 18:15 Key Takeaways & Closing Thoughts Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/47FSzqh Spotify: https://bit.ly/4dhadUU YouTube: https://youtu.be/rXRr5bBPgZM