IBMAI Catalyst
IBM Consulting  /  Enterprise Advantage  /  AI Catalyst
IBM

AI Catalyst

From first idea to investment verdict and Executive Brief — AI use case evaluation with a 4-persona Executive Review Panel, Monte Carlo projections, your organisation’s real compliance context, and a complete AI token economics control framework.

MAIDF v2
CAF for AI
McKinsey · MIT Sloan
Gartner
Token Economics
STEP 01 OF 06
📋
Intake
Structured use case capture with full org context

A 5-section intake form pre-loaded with your enterprise technology stack, Microsoft licensing, compliance posture, and LOB profile — so every evaluation starts with your specific context, not a blank page.

Enterprise & LOB context auto-injected
Data sensitivity, PII, and audit trail captured
Estimated value, timeline & delivery preference
INTAKE
73%
of enterprise AI projects fail to reach production
Gartner 2024
4.2×
higher ROI when AI use cases are formally scored
McKinsey 2023
18 mo
average payback for well-governed AI initiatives
Forrester 2023
6 gates
evaluation steps from intake to Executive Review Panel
AI Catalyst
cost gap between unmanaged and governed AI workloads
Token Economics
THE PROBLEM

Why do 73% of enterprise AI projects never reach production?

Enterprise teams generate hundreds of AI ideas. Without a structured evaluation framework, resources get committed to the wrong initiatives — ones with low strategic alignment, poor data readiness, mismatched platforms, or governance gaps discovered only after significant investment.

AI Catalyst replaces opinion-driven prioritisation with a disciplined, reproducible process — from first idea to investment committee verdict.

No enterprise context in scoring
Generic scores that ignore your Microsoft licensing, compliance posture, and AI budget
Platform chosen before use case scored
Overengineered builds when M365 Copilot would have sufficed at 10% of the cost
ROI projected without org-specific data
Unrealistic business cases that fail scrutiny at investment committee
No formal investment review process
Decisions driven by HiPPO bias rather than structured 4-persona deliberation (Sponsor / Risk / CIO / Chair)
Governance bolted on after build
Regulatory exposure, EU AI Act gaps, and delayed production launches
Builder profile mismatched to complexity
Citizen developers tackling pro-code complexity — or pro-dev teams over-engineering simple automation
CAPABILITIES

End-to-end AI investment evaluation

Nine integrated capabilities — from multi-enterprise workspace management to a live 4-persona Executive Review Panel and a 13-tool AI token economics control framework — each mapped to a published framework or governance standard.

Multi-Enterprise Workspaces

Manage multiple enterprises in one platform. Each workspace has its own enterprise profile (tech stack, Microsoft licensing, compliance, AI budget), department LOB profiles, and scoped use case portfolio.

BXT Gate Evaluation

Every idea passes a Business × Experience × Technology gate — aligned to Microsoft's official AI pre-filter. Only viable use cases advance to scoring, preventing wasted evaluation effort on weak ideas.

4-Framework Scoring Engine

Deterministic scoring across CAF for AI (0–100), McKinsey quadrant (Quick Win / Strategic Bet / Foundation / Defer), MIT Sloan readiness (Data / Talent / Strategy), and Gartner AI maturity gap — all from your enterprise profile, zero extra AI calls.

Org-Specific ROI Engine

Calculates 24-month ROI, payback period, and 3-year NPV from your actual staffing costs and process volumes. Monte Carlo simulation produces conservative / expected / optimistic ranges with probability of positive ROI.

MAIDF Sequential Gate Advisory

True Microsoft AI Decision Framework — three sequential gates (M365 sufficiency → Low-code viability → Build necessity) determine the right platform tier. Start Simple Mandate ensures Phase 1 always begins at the simplest viable tier.

Executive Review Panel

Simulates a real enterprise approval process: Business Sponsor, Risk & Assurance Officer, Chief Information Officer, and Committee Chair each deliberate in their authentic voice. Live streaming deliberation with canvas-style decision artifact. MAIDF compliance gates the verdict.

Governance & Responsible AI

Auto-generates a tailored governance checklist aligned to Microsoft's 8 CoE adoption pillars, EU AI Act tiers, and your data sensitivity posture. PII handling, audit trail, and compliance framework gaps surfaced at intake.

Pipeline, Comparison & Brief

Kanban pipeline tracks each use case from intake to approval. Side-by-side comparison across up to 4 use cases. 3-page Executive Brief with Monte Carlo projections, committee deliberation summary, and platform-confirmed ROI.

AI Token Economics

A 13-tool control framework that turns opaque AI spend into measurable cost-per-outcome. Learn mode makes the problem visceral with live demos; Act mode walks you through Inform → Optimize → Operate with calculators, scorecards, and an executive summary.

NEW

AI Token Economics

Enterprise AI teams can’t optimise what they can’t see. Token Economics gives CXOs a 13-tool control framework that turns opaque AI spend into a measurable cost-per-useful-outcome — the North-Star KPI that reframes the CFO conversation from “how much are we spending?” to “what are we getting?”

INFORM

See every token — metering, cost attribution, and spend visibility across models and agents

OPTIMIZE

Cut the waste — caching, routing, prompt compression, and outcome-based pricing calculators

OPERATE

Keep it cut — governance scorecards, policy enforcement, and continuous control monitoring

Cost gap between naive and governed AI workloads
Live demo: Token Race simulation
13
Integrated tools across 6 chapters
Cost estimator · Outcome pricer · CXO scorecard · and more
30–50%
Hidden costs beyond token price
Compute, storage, review, and infrastructure overhead
3
Control phases: Inform → Optimize → Operate
FinOps-aligned loop for continuous AI cost governance
HOW IT WORKS

Six disciplined gates — from idea to investment decision

Every use case travels the same rigorous funnel. Enterprise and LOB context flows through every gate, making each evaluation specific to your organisation — not a generic benchmark.

01
Intake
Structured 5-section form pre-loaded with your enterprise tech stack, Microsoft licensing, compliance posture, and LOB context. Captures org spend, data sources, AI autonomy level, and governance requirements.
02
BXT Gate
Business outcome clarity, user Experience definition, and Technology feasibility — Microsoft's official pre-filter. Weak ideas are blocked early with specific reasoning before scoring resources are spent.
03
Feasibility Scoring
Evaluates the use case itself — is this idea worth building? AI scores it across 9 criteria (Strategic Value · Technical Feasibility · Org Readiness), computes ROI, payback, and NPV, and returns a GO / NO-GO verdict. Does not assess your organisation — that happens in Stage 5.
04
Platform Advisory
True Microsoft AI Decision Framework sequential gate evaluation: Gate 1 (M365 sufficiency) → Gate 2 (Low-code / Citizen Dev viability) → Gate 3 (Advanced AI / Build necessity). Resolves to Adopt, Extend, or Build tier with a compliant platform ladder. Start Simple Mandate enforced.
05
Evaluation Summary
The consolidated view — deterministic ROI projections with Monte Carlo simulation (P10/P50/P90 confidence intervals), framework scores (CAF, McKinsey, MIT Sloan, Gartner), governance checklist, risk assessment, and platform-confirmed ROI. Everything the Executive Review Panel needs, in one place.
06
Executive Review Panel
Four-persona live deliberation: Business Sponsor (value & urgency), Risk & Assurance Officer (compliance & governance), Chief Information Officer (technology readiness & integration), and Committee Chair (synthesis & verdict). Streaming debate with canvas-style decision artifact. MAIDF compliance is a gate — tier-skipping blocks a GO. Generates a 3-page Executive Brief with financial projections, committee summary, and governance appendix.
THREE-LAYER CONTEXT STACK
Layer 1
Enterprise Profile
IT landscape · Microsoft licensing · compliance frameworks · AI budget · Gartner maturity level
Layer 2
LOB Profile
Department headcount · pain points · existing tools · AI maturity · KPIs — pre-seeded from enterprise stack
Layer 3
Use Case Intake
The specific AI idea — scored with full org context flowing through every gate and framework calculation
FRAMEWORKS

Built on four industry-recognised frameworks

Every score, recommendation, and governance item traces back to a published standard. All four frameworks are computed deterministically from your enterprise profile — no additional AI calls.

MAIDF v2

Microsoft AI Decision Framework

BXT Gate — Business × Experience × Technology pre-filter
Sequential gates: M365 Sufficiency → Low-Code → Build Necessity
Adopt → Extend → Build platform ladder with Start Simple Mandate
MAIDF compliance gating in Investment Committee verdict
CAF for AI

Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework

Strategy / Ready / Govern / Adopt pillars scored 1–5
Overall CAF readiness score 0–100 with gap analysis
Azure OpenAI, M365 E5, Power Platform CoE signals applied
Enterprise profile drives org-specific pillar boosts
Strategic Value

McKinsey AI × MIT Sloan

McKinsey 2×2: Strategic Value × Technical Feasibility quadrant
Quick Win / Strategic Bet / Foundation Investment / Defer placement
MIT Sloan: Data / Talent / Strategy readiness (0–100 each)
MIT Sloan overall score with dimension-level gaps
Gartner + ROI

Gartner AI Maturity + ROI Benchmarks

Gartner Level 1–5 org maturity vs use case complexity gap
Accelerate / Incubate / Quick Win / Deprioritize quadrants
Monte Carlo ROI simulation — conservative / expected / optimistic
McKinsey / Forrester / IDC 24-month ROI benchmark ranges by category
GET STARTED

Start evaluating your first AI use case

Set up your enterprise workspace first — it takes 5 minutes and powers every score, ROI projection, and platform recommendation with your organisation's specific context.

START BY ROLE
AI STRATEGY LEAD

Manage portfolio, review investment decisions, and track ROI across your enterprise AI initiatives.

BUSINESS ANALYST

Submit a new AI use case for evaluation. The platform scores it against frameworks and builds your business case.

ENTERPRISE ADMIN

Set up your enterprise workspace, configure LOB profiles, and manage model settings for your organisation.

FINOPS LEAD

Measure, control, and optimise enterprise AI costs with a 13-tool token economics framework — from visibility to governance.

IBMAI Catalystv2.0
MAIDF v2 · CAF for AI · McKinsey · MIT Sloan · Gartner · Token Economics