Persistent, IIMA to measure AI Investment returns for enterprise

In a move aimed at helping enterprises bring greater discipline to artificial intelligence spending, Persistent Systems on Tuesday announced a research collaboration with IIM Ahmedabad to launch the “AI Value Compass”, a strategic framework designed to help organizations prioritize, govern and scale AI investments with measurable business outcomes.

The framework comes as enterprises increasingly shift from AI experimentation to large-scale deployments of generative and agentic AI technologies, while grappling with challenges around readiness, governance and business alignment.

Developed through joint research between Persistent and IIM Ahmedabad, the AI Value Compass seeks to move enterprises beyond technology-led deployments by assessing AI initiatives through a broader operating-model lens. The framework evaluates AI projects across five key dimensions: business alignment, people readiness, operational integration, data preparedness, and risk and governance.

The companies said the framework is intended to address a widening gap between rapid AI adoption and the organizational capabilities required to deliver sustainable outcomes. The study found that barriers to successful AI deployment are often operational and organizational rather than purely technological.

According to the research, many enterprises continue to struggle with fragmented AI initiatives, unclear leadership structures and weak governance mechanisms, limiting the long-term value generated from AI investments.

The framework is designed to help organizations identify readiness gaps early, prioritize high-impact AI initiatives, strengthen data and governance foundations, improve organizational adoption and increase predictability in AI-led outcomes.

Jaideep Vijay Dhok, Chief Operating Officer – Technology at Persistent, said enterprises now face the challenge of making the right AI investment decisions at scale rather than merely accessing new technologies.

Meanwhile, Ankur Sinha, Professor of Operations and Decision Sciences at IIM Ahmedabad, said organisations continue to focus heavily on localised efficiency gains instead of using AI for broader strategic transformation.

Persistent said the AI Value Compass is already being integrated into client engagements and will continue to evolve through real-world enterprise applications and ongoing academic-industry collaboration.

The initiative also expands the longstanding relationship between Persistent and IIM Ahmedabad, with both institutions indicating plans to extend collaboration into applied research, talent development and knowledge exchange around enterprise AI adoption.