AI Opportunity & Use Case Assessment
Best if: You’ve decided to act on AI but haven’t agreed where to start.
Find where AI can create the greatest value in your business.
We’ll work through one or two priority process areas to identify, assess and prioritise the AI use cases with the strongest potential business impact and business case.
Outcome
A prioritised AI opportunity roadmap focused on where to act first.
Scope:
One or two nominated business processes.
- Process opportunity map showing where AI is and isn't likely to add value.
- Prioritised use case register, scored on value, feasibility, data readiness and risk.
- Profiles of the top one or two use cases.
- Outline business case for the highest-ranked use case.
- Executive summary report and readout session.
- Processes beyond those nominated at scoping.
- Prototypes, proofs of concept or build work.
- Vendor evaluation or platform selection.
- Data remediation, engineering or integration work.
AI Adoption & Coaching
Best if: Your AI licences are deployed but the value isn't landing.
Get more value from the enterprise AI tools you already have.
Already invested in Microsoft 365 Copilot, Claude or ChatGPT? We’ll work intensively with one of your teams to redesign how work gets done using the AI and agentic capabilities already available to them.
Outcome
Practical new AI-enabled ways of working that your team can start using.
Scope:
One process, one AI tool you already license, and one or two workflows within it.
- Current adoption snapshot for the nominated process.
- One or two redesigned workflows, documented as current and future state.
- Guidance on what AI handles, what is reviewed and what stays with people.
- Three facilitated coaching sessions for up to six participants.
- Team playbook and recommendations for adjacent processes.
- Licence procurement, provisioning or negotiation.
- Technical configuration or IT change activity.
- Custom development, integration or agent engineering.
- Organisation-wide rollout or a broader training program.
Enterprise AI Estate & Independence Review
Best if: AI is already running across multiple platforms and you want to understand your exposure.
Make sure today’s AI decisions aren’t creating tomorrow’s technology lock-in.
We’ll independently assess your current AI estate, architecture and key dependencies, identify areas of risk and exposure, and provide independent recommendations for your future AI roadmap.
Outcome
A clearer view of your AI architecture dependencies, risks and the decisions you should consider next.
Scope:
Your current AI estate.
- AI estate inventory covering models, copilots, agents, embedded platform AI and integrations.
- Dependency register of technical, commercial and data dependencies.
- Independence and concentration heatmap across eight domains.
- Summary.
- Target architecture design.
- Implementation or remediation roadmap.
- Cost modelling, contract review or negotiation.
- Security testing or compliance certification.
AI & Legacy Risk Check
Best if: You’re expanding AI and need to understand the risks in your existing systems.
Find what needs strengthening before connecting more AI.
Ageing platforms, complex integrations and unclear data access can create risks. Understand where the gaps are and what to address first.
Outcome
Clear priorities for what to strengthen, modernise or replace to support safer AI adoption.
Scope:
One business process or connected group of systems supporting an AI use case.
- A focused business and technology stakeholder workshop.
- Review of systems, integrations, data access and critical dependencies.
- Assessment of key risks, control gaps and ownership.
- Prioritised recommendations and an executive briefing.
- Penetration testing or vulnerability scanning.
- Security certification or compliance audit.
- System configuration, remediation or implementation.
- Software licences or third-party costs.
What makes a strong entry?
Entries will be assessed by an SMC judging panel, including an independent external judge, based on:
- Potential business impact
- Suitability for the selected offering
- The organisation's ability to put the outcomes into action
What you'll need to provide
Whichever project you choose, the successful organisation will need:
- An executive sponsor
- Access to the right subject matter experts within agreed timeframes
- Relevant documentation, such as process, architecture or licensing information
- For AI Adoption & Coaching: active licences, and the same team of up to six people at every coaching session
The Fine Print
Everything you need to know before you enter.
Australian and New Zealand organisations with annual revenue exceeding $20 million. One entry per organisation.
One of the four AI consulting offerings, with SMC professional fees provided up to a maximum value of $20,000.
Software licences, AI model usage, third-party costs, or travel and accommodation expenses. Delivery may be undertaken remotely where appropriate. The grant is not redeemable for cash and cannot be transferred.
SMC and the successful organisation will hold a short scoping discussion to confirm the selected offering, objectives, participants, scope and expected outcomes. If we believe another of the three offerings would deliver greater value, we will discuss this with you. Delivery timing will be mutually agreed.
Each offering is deliberately focused — one or two process areas, one team, or one enterprise AI assessment — so we can go deep enough to deliver practical and valuable outcomes within the available consulting investment.
The successful organisation will be invited to take part in a brief case study about the experience. Any external publication is subject to mutual agreement and the organisation’s approval.
For 20 years, SMC has helped organisations make better technology decisions,
improve how they work and successfully navigate major change.
AI will reshape the next 20.
We want to help one organisation get ahead of it.
750+
Technology projects
20years
Advising Australian & NZ organisations
100%
Independent - Always client side
Enter the SMC 20th Anniversary AI Innovation Grant
Applications close