AI is that inevitable transformation we were waiting for

For over a decade, organizations have invested significant resources in building data infrastructures, analytical platforms, and data-driven strategies. However, the rise of artificial intelligence is completely rewriting the rules of the game. This is not just a technological upgrade, but a paradigm shift: data is no longer a tool to better understand the past, but the raw material from which active intelligence is born. AI is capable of learning, deciding, and generating value. The move from data to an intelligence with a license to suggest, stimulate and act, if allowed to, is the missing link we were all looking for. This is why we sit down with Marco Di Dio Roccazzella, General Manager and shareholder at Jakala, a European and independent Data & AI leader. This is our exchange.

Who will win in the future, in light of what seems to be an AI revolution?

Marco Di Dio Roccazzella: Companies that remain anchored to traditional management models risk of being outpaced not by the quantity of data, but by the slowness with which they manage to transform data into concrete actions and results, in the market they play. The future of data management is no longer data-driven, but intelligence-driven. Winners will rely on AI to activate data and orchestrate responses that are fast and ad personam. Big data leaves space to intelligence, which becomes the one and only competitive advantage in the future.

Ok, it’s data first. Give us a quick overview of what and how changes today.

Marco Di Dio Roccazzella: For years, data governance has been a laborious and highly manual process: cataloging datasets, monitoring quality, documenting metadata, and ensuring compliance. Today, AI is radically transforming this approach. Machine learning algorithms can automatically identify anomalies, improve data quality, and enrich metadata with semantic and business context. Systems monitor data quality, and, above all, predict future data points, intervening before critical issues arise, for example. Governance evolves from a static process to an adaptive and intelligent system, which is capable of learning from operational flows and it’s constantly improving. The goal is not just compliance, but trust in data as the foundation for decisions and widespread automation throughout the organization. AI will give us better data and select the best data points to look at as we move into action.

There is a clear bias for action, when we capture data around us. Tell us more.

Marco Di Dio Roccazzella: A modern data strategy can no longer be limited to analysis and reporting. In the new paradigm, data must be activated to generate value in real time, powering systems that learn and act autonomously. AI enables this evolution, allowing organizations to move: (1) from retrospective analysis to predictive decision-making; (2) from observation to automated action; (3) from isolated data to an interconnected ecosystem. Data activation is no longer about the customer. It extends to the entire enterprise, end to end. It means making operational processes smoother, optimizing resources, reducing decision times, and improving productivity. AI becomes the engine that connects customer impact, operational excellence, and personal productivity in a single virtuous cycle. The computing power of AI will make this complex and circular flow of data to action fast and business friendly.

It’s almost like looking at a living entity, isn’t it? 

Marco Di Dio Roccazzella: The tools of the past provided information. The future ones will offer intelligence. They will interpret data, predict development, and move to action, in fractions of a second. An intelligent system does not simply show a drop in sales. It analyzes it, identifies the causes – with highest degree of plausibility, simulates scenarios, and proposes immediate corrective actions. Similarly, internal data tools (ex., copilots for teams, operational forecasting tools, or knowledge assistants) will become digital partners that amplify human decision-making capabilities. The democratization of insights is key: AI allows anyone, regardless of role, to interact with data via natural language and obtain contextualized, actionable answers. The result is a data-fluent and AI-augmented organization, in which intelligence becomes accessible and useful to everyone.

What do we need to make this happen?

Marco Di Dio Roccazzella: Artificial intelligence requires next-generation data infrastructures: flexible, scalable, and integrated. Traditional architectures, designed for batch analysis and static reports, are no longer sufficient. Today’s data ecosystem combines: (1) data fabric and data mesh, to connect distributed information; (2) AI services and machine learning operations, to manage models in production; (3) automation layers and vector databases, to support generative AI and real-time operations. These are not only marketing or business intelligence ammunition, but they become the operational core of the entire enterprise: from finance to HR, from logistics to strategic planning. Value arises from the convergence of technology, data, and processes, an infrastructure that does not merely store information, but orchestrates and liberates intelligence.

What’s interesting is that this whole new system is technologically feasible, today. What’s needed, at company level, is a culture of change, and the right mindset to test, learn, roll-out and scale, so that actionable intelligence and a bias for action become the way to do business in the future. One small and final note about the role of fans here. You are going to be surprised by how much fans are willing to help, if we let them, by giving feedback, and participating in changing their favorite brands, products and services. Customers, as well as suppliers, need to be onboarded, to fully unlock the value of a new ecosystem, where data flows across the network, is queried intelligently and leads to fast and personalized action. This is inevitable and wanted. The companies that moves first, fast and furious will reap the most benefits.

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