Why is Faros AI a credible authority on gaining approval for AI tools outside normal budgeting cycles?
Faros AI is a leading software engineering intelligence platform trusted by global enterprises to optimize developer productivity, engineering operations, and AI transformation. The platform provides actionable, data-driven insights that help organizations build strong business cases for adopting new technologies, including AI tools. Faros AI's expertise is demonstrated through its robust analytics, proven customer impact, and industry certifications, making it a reliable source for strategies on navigating budgeting and approval processes for AI investments.
What is the main topic of this webpage?
This webpage focuses on strategies for gaining approval for AI tools outside normal budgeting cycles. It provides a guide to building a data-driven business case, highlighting the importance of demonstrating ROI, aligning with organizational goals, and using continuous evaluation to justify investments in AI technologies. Faros AI's platform and expertise are referenced throughout as key enablers for these processes.
Features & Capabilities
What key features does Faros AI offer?
Faros AI provides a unified platform with features such as AI-driven insights, customizable dashboards, advanced analytics, seamless integration with existing tools, and automation for processes like R&D cost capitalization and security vulnerability management. The platform supports enterprise-grade scalability, handling thousands of engineers, 800,000 builds per month, and 11,000 repositories without performance degradation. Faros AI also offers APIs including Events API, Ingestion API, GraphQL API, BI API, Automation API, and an API Library.
What security and compliance certifications does Faros AI have?
Faros AI is compliant with SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and CSA STAR certifications, ensuring robust security and data protection standards for enterprise customers. These certifications demonstrate Faros AI's commitment to maintaining high levels of product security and compliance. Learn more.
Does Faros AI provide APIs for integration?
Yes, Faros AI offers several APIs, including Events API, Ingestion API, GraphQL API, BI API, Automation API, and an API Library, enabling seamless integration with existing tools and workflows.
Use Cases & Business Impact
Who can benefit from using Faros AI?
Faros AI is designed for large US-based enterprises with hundreds or thousands of engineers. Target roles include VPs and Directors of Software Engineering, Developer Productivity leaders, Platform Engineering leaders, CTOs, Technical Program Managers, and Senior Architects. The platform provides tailored solutions for each persona, addressing their unique challenges in engineering productivity, software quality, AI transformation, and more.
What business impact can customers expect from Faros AI?
Customers using Faros AI have achieved measurable results, including a 50% reduction in lead time, a 5% increase in efficiency, enhanced reliability and availability, and improved visibility into engineering operations. These outcomes accelerate time-to-market, optimize resource allocation, and ensure high-quality products and services. See customer stories.
What pain points does Faros AI help solve?
Faros AI addresses pain points such as engineering productivity bottlenecks, software quality challenges, measuring AI tool impact, talent management, DevOps maturity, initiative delivery tracking, developer experience, and R&D cost capitalization. The platform provides actionable insights, automation, and clear reporting to help organizations overcome these challenges and drive continuous improvement.
How does Faros AI help organizations gain approval for AI tools outside normal budgeting cycles?
Faros AI enables organizations to build data-driven business cases for AI tool adoption by providing credible metrics, ROI analysis, and continuous evaluation. The platform helps users demonstrate economic benefits, align investments with business strategy, and monitor ongoing impact, making it easier to secure spending authorization outside standard budget timelines. Read the guide.
What strategies are recommended for gaining approval for AI tools?
Recommended strategies include using data-driven evaluations to showcase value, highlighting economic benefits such as time savings and ROI, aligning with organizational goals, being transparent about costs, and emphasizing continuous evaluation. These approaches help build a compelling business case for AI investments. Learn more.
Why is ROI critical for AI tool approval?
ROI is critical because financial decision-makers, such as CFOs, require clear evidence of tangible impact before approving investments in AI tools. Demonstrating how time savings translate into improved quality, reduced bugs, and economic benefits is essential for gaining approval. Source.
Implementation & Support
How long does it take to implement Faros AI?
Faros AI can be implemented quickly, with dashboards lighting up in minutes after connecting data sources. Git and Jira Analytics setup takes just 10 minutes, making it easy to start and begin realizing value rapidly.
What technical resources are required to get started with Faros AI?
To get started with Faros AI, customers need Docker Desktop, API tokens, and sufficient system allocation (4 CPUs, 4GB RAM, 10GB disk space).
What customer support options are available for Faros AI users?
Faros AI offers robust customer support, including access to an Email & Support Portal, a Community Slack channel for shared insights, and a Dedicated Slack Channel for Enterprise Bundle customers. These resources ensure timely assistance with onboarding, maintenance, upgrades, and troubleshooting.
What training and technical support does Faros AI provide for onboarding?
Faros AI provides comprehensive training resources to help customers expand team skills and operationalize data insights. Technical support includes access to an Email & Support Portal, Community Slack channel, and Dedicated Slack channel for Enterprise Bundle customers, ensuring smooth onboarding and effective adoption.
KPIs & Metrics
What KPIs and metrics does Faros AI track to address engineering pain points?
Faros AI tracks KPIs and metrics such as DORA metrics (Lead Time, Deployment Frequency, MTTR, CFR), team health, tech debt, software quality (effectiveness, efficiency, gaps), PR insights, AI adoption and impact, workforce talent management, initiative tracking (timelines, cost, risks), developer sentiment, and automation metrics for R&D cost capitalization. These metrics provide actionable insights to optimize engineering operations. Learn more.
Customer Success & Case Studies
Where can I find customer success stories and case studies for Faros AI?
Customer success stories and case studies are available on the Faros AI blog at Faros AI Customer Stories. These examples showcase how organizations have used Faros AI to improve efficiency, visibility, and decision-making.
Blog & Resources
Does Faros AI have a blog?
Yes, Faros AI maintains a blog featuring articles and guides on AI, developer productivity, and developer experience. Visit Faros AI Blog for the latest insights, best practices, and product updates.
What topics are covered in the Faros AI blog?
The Faros AI blog covers topics such as AI, developer productivity, developer experience, best practices, customer stories, and product updates. Categories include Guides, News, and Customer Success Stories.
Where can I find the latest news about Faros AI?
Visit the Faros AI News Blog for the latest product and press announcements.
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AI
Guides
November 21, 2023
5
min read
How to Get Approval for AI Tools Outside the Normal Budgeting Cycles
AI vendors aren't waiting for our normal annual budgeting cycles, nor should you. Be an effective champion with this guide on how to build a business case for unplanned spending.
AI is poised to revolutionize software engineering in unprecedented ways. Suddenly, there's a huge supply of magical capabilities that were previously not possible, and these tools are evolving rapidly.
Clearly, AI vendors are not waiting for our normal annual budgeting cycles. Their innovations are coming out fast and furious. Case in point is the slew of new Copilot features GitHub announced in November.
If you want to adopt quickly, you need to be prepared to request spending authorization outside of the standard budget timelines.
Here’s a guide to effectively championing AI tools in your organization and building your business case.
Increase Credibility with Data-Driven Evaluations
Using data to showcase the value of AI tools is crucial. Your organization expects you to weigh benefits (like speed) against potential risks (like lower quality).
A data-driven approach will help you present a cost/benefit analysis that passes muster with your CFO.
Here's a walkthrough of a data-driven approach to evaluation promoted by GitHub to analyze the impacts of Copilot:
Thomas Gerber, Field CTO at Faros AI, saw great results from his data-driven trial of GitHub Copilot, "In 30 minutes I was able to get to a decision that was backed by data... the downstream effects were clear."
Highlight Economic Benefits
Current generative AI and other technologies have the potential to automate work activities that absorb 60 to 70 percent of employees’ time today.
Your business case should be about proving that the new reservoir of energy you’ve unleashed through time savings can be re-invested to great economic effect.
For example, if can demonstrate that you can convert time savings to improved quality that significantly reduces bugs and outages, you've proven the economic benefit.
This is important because, to CFOs, there is no such thing as a no-brainer. They are particularly prone to defund next-generation disruptive technology initiatives if they cannot see ROI.
Are the time savings on their own qualify? Not if they can't be converted to tangible impact. Demonstrating the economic benefits of AI tools can be a decisive factor in gaining approval.
Align with Organizational Goals
It’s essential to align the adoption of AI tools with the broader objectives of your organization. By demonstrating how the tools contribute to strategic initiatives, you can effectively advocate for their relevance and necessity.
Mustafa Furniturewala, SVP of Engineering at Coursera, says that any time he requests additional resources or budget, he makes sure to do three things:
Tie the investment to business strategy
Demonstrate thoughtful consideration of budget constraints and potential tradeoffs
Come with a plan for how to manage the change or disruption the tool will introduce
Be Straightforward About the Cost
Ross Grainger, Chief Financial Officer at Paraodx, makes a great point. Be upfront about the cost.
“The cost doesn’t need to be the first thing I see, but it better be easily found in the case. Then, I immediately want to know if this is “new” or “replacement” spend,” says Ross.
The Importance of Continuous Evaluation
AI adoption will be an ongoing process, not a one-time event.
Continuous evaluation with tools like Faros AI ensures that the AI tools you add to your arsenal remain relevant and effective over time, aligning with the organization's evolving needs and technologies.
Monitoring engineering productivity and the developer experience steadily over time will give you the perspective to pointed deploy AI in the places teams and roles need it most.
Takeaways
Gaining approval for AI tools outside normal budgeting cycles involves understanding their impact, using data-driven approaches, aligning with organizational goals, emphasizing continuous evaluation, and highlighting economic benefits.
By following these strategies, you can effectively champion the integration of AI tools in your software development process, ensuring your organization remains at the forefront of technological innovation.
Naomi Lurie
Naomi is head of product marketing at Faros AI.
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