ZEMID – Zentrum für Mittelstand und Digitalisierung

    Services · AI Strategy

    Buying AI is easy. Using AI is a leadership task.

    Every vendor currently has an AI roadmap for you. Most don't fit your company — they fit the vendor's margin. We develop roadmaps that fit your organisation.

    "AI adoption rarely fails because of technology. It fails because nobody clarified which problem should be solved — and who is responsible for it."

    01

    Technology before process

    Tools are bought before it's clear which problem they should solve. The result: licence costs, no usage.

    02

    Vendor before strategy

    The AI roadmap comes from the software vendor. It's complete — and completely aligned with their products.

    03

    Pilots without decisions

    Many companies have ongoing AI pilots. Few end with a clear decision: scale or stop.

    Approach

    From baseline assessment to roadmap

    01
    Baseline assessment

    Where does your company really stand?

    • Assessment of digital maturity across five dimensions
    • Identification of concrete AI opportunities in operations
    • Evaluation of data quality and infrastructure prerequisites
    • Clarification of internal resistance and leadership readiness

    Get started with the TransformCheck — free self-assessment in 15 minutes, anonymous and non-binding.

    Go to TransformCheck →
    02
    Strategy development

    What is the right roadmap for your organisation?

    • Prioritisation of use cases by effort and impact
    • Make-or-buy decision: in-house, purchased or hybrid
    • Governance framework: internal usage policies, data protection, AI Act
    • Resource and skills planning — realistic, not optimistic
    03
    Implementation support

    How does AI enter the organisation?

    • Support in vendor selection and contract negotiation
    • Steering and evaluation of ongoing pilot projects
    • Decision basis: scale, adjust or stop
    • Sparring for executive leadership during the rollout phase

    Where we are deployed

    When we are brought in

    AI readiness assessment

    Before the first investment: structured baseline assessment of which prerequisites are missing and what is realistically achievable.

    Vendor selection & negotiation

    When an AI vendor needs to be selected — with independent evaluation and negotiation support without conflict of interest.

    Governance & AI Act

    Internal AI usage policies, risk classification under the AI Act, clarifying responsibilities at executive level.

    Evaluating & scaling pilots

    Ongoing AI projects without clear results — we deliver an independent assessment and a decision basis.

    Differentiation

    What ZEMID does differently

    We don't sell AI software.

    No vendor in the background, no commission, no conflict of interest. Our recommendations are independent — and have to be.

    For us, AI is a question of organisation and leadership.

    We don't just assess whether a tool works technically — but whether the organisation is ready to actually use it. That's a different question.

    Regulation without scaremongering.

    AI Act, data protection, internal governance — we clarify what really applies and what your organisation specifically has to do. Without exaggeration, without trivialisation.

    Where does your company stand on AI?

    Start with the free TransformCheck — or arrange an initial conversation directly. 30 minutes. No pitch. An honest assessment.