Scaling up in 2025: 3 ways to propel your business growth using data and AI
In the fast-paced world of business, ambitious companies are continuously seeking new ways to grow and scale with confidence. Whether it's boosting profitability, opening new revenue streams, acquiring or merging with another organisation, raising new investment, or planning for an exit, business leaders need a strategic approach that delivers sustainable value.
In 2025, the power of data-driven strategies will be at the forefront of achieving accelerated growth. Data and AI are powerful value levers that can help you gain insights for competitive edge, optimise operations, access entirely new markets, reduce long term costs and improve your overall business value so that you’re ready for the future you want to create.
Yet, many businesses hesitate, fearing high initial expenditure, complex roll outs, lack of skills or just not knowing where to start. The good news is that adopting data and AI doesn't necessarily mean major overhauls or enormous budgets. With an approach that works for your business, you can start small, achieve quick wins, and propel your growth from there.
1. Start small: gradual integration of data and AI
Adopting AI doesn’t mean you need to transform your entire business overnight or invest millions upfront. In fact, the most effective data and AI strategies often start small, focusing on targeted use cases that solve specific problems and create new value.
To begin, you could look at areas of your operations that are repetitive, time-consuming, or prone to human error. These processes can be ideal candidates for automation with AI. For example, a professional services firm might use AI for generating routine client reports, while a creative agency could use AI to categorise content or analyse audience engagement trends. Corporate finance businesses could deploy AI to improve deal sourcing or speed up due diligence processes.
2. Upskill your team: adopting a Human+ approach
A common misconception about AI is that it’s going to replace everyone's jobs. In reality, AI is far more effective when it’s used as a tool to support and enhance human capabilities - a concept we refer to as the "Human+" approach.
To make this shift successfully, it’s important to invest in educating and training your team. The goal isn’t to turn everyone into a data scientist, it’s about helping your employees understand how AI can benefit them in their specific roles – from your executive leadership team to your freshest graduates. Beginners could run through an AI Education overview - like the AI upskill workshop we use with our clients to improve adoption - and more advanced colleagues could embark on role-specific training, focusing on practical applications that can accelerate their productivity.
Whatever training format you choose, the focus should be on giving employees a practical understanding on what AI is, how it can improve the business and specific roles, and what governance the business is putting in place to ensure staff feel confident and empowered to use it effectively.
Companies embedding a culture of AI are more likely to exceed their goals
Data and AI should be weaved throughout the culture of an organisation from executive leaders to junior professionals.
As data-driven growth consultants, we know that embedding data and AI within the culture of your business is crucial for long-term success. Companies with strong data-driven cultures are twice as likely to exceed business goals compared to those without* and organisations with innovative cultures are deploying generative AI six times faster than those lagging behind in innovation**.
Understanding the challenges within your business and creating a working group to solve one small case at a time is a good first step. Ensuring you’re allowing your teams to feedback to the solutions and communicating your progress regularly is a sure-fire way to bring your colleagues on your data and AI journey with you.
3. Measure ROI: align AI adoption with business outcomes
One of the key challenges when adopting innovative technologies is understanding their return on investment - especially with board members and investors scrutinising Capex spend and P&L accounts.
To effectively measure ROI, businesses need to align AI adoption with specific business outcomes and track progress over a set period. Here are some practical ways to do this:
To expand into new markets or penetrate your market further: Measuring how AI has enabled you to achieve this type of goal successfully could involve tracking how quickly you’re able to break into new markets, how much revenue is generated from new customer segments post AI-integration, or how your data and AI strategy has impacted new product developments in relation to your objectives.
Operational efficiencies: To measure the ROI of efficiency gains, you can track metrics such as reduced cycle times, cost savings, and faster, more accurate insights. You could also measure the impact on profitability over a defined period – potentially in the lead up to an investment round or investor exit, assessing whether automation has allowed your business to take on more projects without increases in staffing costs.
Becoming more technologically mature: You could measure the impact of this by understanding how AI adoption has led to the development of new capabilities, improved customer satisfaction, or even a pivot to a more data-driven business model – and how those changes have increased the value of your company.
Accelerating product development: Track reductions in time-to-market for new products and evaluate whether this has led to faster growth or improved competitive positioning.
The bottom line - improving your profitability: Measuring ROI here could involve comparing operational costs before and after AI implementation and assessing profit margin improvements over time.
To measure ROI effectively, it’s essential to set clear objectives and KPIs from the outset. Are you looking to improve efficiency by a specific percentage? Reduce time-to-market for new products? Enter a new market segment? Tracking metrics aligned with your goals will allow you to see the direct impact of AI initiatives and adapt your strategy based on real outcomes.
What’s next? Using data and AI as levers to propel your growth
Data and AI are no longer the future—they’re the present. For ambitious business leaders, they're essential tools for driving growth, uncovering insights, and staying competitive in a fast-moving market.
The best part is that adopting AI doesn’t have to be daunting. By starting small, upskilling your team, and focusing on delivering measurable outcomes, you can gradually integrate AI and turn it into a powerful lever for business growth. The key is to act and experiment with data and AI applications that are manageable and meaningful to your specific needs.
Are you ready to explore how data and AI can propel your business growth?
Contact us today for an initial conversation.
Let’s discuss your goals and see how we can help you to reach your full potential.
References
*Deloitte – Building an AI ready culture
**McKinsey – Companies with innovative culture have a big edge in generative AI
