NOVA Day: Data first – always

Yesterday I attended 𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗔 𝗿𝗿 at Hotel Bristol - a very relevant and insightful full-day seminar with the theme "𝐗𝐮𝐮 first - 𝑅 all time", with a focus on AI, data and the business models of the future.

The day was led by Morten Blomfeldt, and brought together strong speakers.

My most important takeaways:
1. Data first – not AI first
The overall message was that without the right data base, the gains will not materialise. AI is business-critical, but data is the foundation for scaling and value creation.

2. The future is being shaped now – but not by technology alone
Gerd Leonhard highlighted the importance of human judgement, ethics and responsibility. Technology provides opportunities, but it is management that determines direction and consequences.

3. Data quality, risk and governance are critical
Iselin Paulsen showed how geopolitics, security and regulation affect technology choices. Data quality, control and clear ownership in management are essential.

4. From hype to craftsmanship – where most fail
Ørjan Segtnan Clausen was clear: Most AI initiatives stop at the pilot stage. The reason is a lack of understanding of the problem, a weak data base and the absence of a clear value definition. Among other things, he pointed to the ADDDD framework (Align, Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver) as a structure to ensure that AI initiatives go from idea to business value.

5. AI goes from tool to actor
The most exciting thing for me was the insight from Lars Alexander Jakobsen about MCP (Model Context Protocol) and the development towards A2A (Agent-to-Agent). When AI is connected directly to systems and agents interact, we are moving towards operational "digital colleagues". This will fundamentally change how we organize work and create value.

In the middle of the day, there was also a panel debate that linked the perspectives together. The discussion was about geopolitics, dependence on global technology suppliers, digital sovereignty and the need for clearer strategic choices. This is no longer an IT issue, but a managerial responsibility.

My reflection:
"Data first - always" is not a technology choice. It is a strategic choice - and a clear managerial responsibility.

What struck me the most is that many people still work with AI as a tool, while the gains only come when processes and responsibilities are redesigned.
For me, this is also a commercial shift, where AI will affect sales, customer experience and value creation in practice.

As we see the rise of MCP and A2A, we are moving towards a new operational model where AI agents not only support but perform work across systems. We are talking new architecture for how work is done!

👉 I am also actively working on this now as I consider it important to understand how this is implemented in practice, not just at the level of theoretical frameworks.

Thank you to NOVA Consulting Group for a very well-executed event - and not least nice to meet many new acquaintances and have good professional discussions throughout the day!