Breathe: AI readiness and TCO analysis for a costed strategy
Most businesses know AI matters, and the question is where it genuinely fits and how to build it in a way that lasts. Breathe is our discovery and strategy sprint: a structured AI readiness assessment that maps your capabilities and gives your leadership team clarity on where AI creates real value in your business.
What we do
01We work with your leadership team to build a structured capability map of your organisation, overlaying your current technology, data and integration estate. We then score each capability against five dimensions (strategic importance, maturity, data readiness, AI opportunity and effort) to identify where AI creates genuine value, and the result is a prioritised roadmap with quick wins, transformation initiatives and strategic bets, each with a clear business case.
What you get
02You get a capability-led AI strategy document and a scored opportunity matrix showing where AI fits across your business, a three-year total cost of ownership view covering data, integration, governance, change and run costs, alongside a prioritised roadmap with sequenced initiatives, effort estimates and expected outcomes. It comes with a governance framework for responsible AI adoption and a clear recommendation on what to do first.
Who it is for
03Leadership teams in businesses with 100 to 2,000 people who know AI matters but are not sure where to start, or who have started but lack a coherent strategy. Particularly suited to regulated sectors (financial services, insurance, legal, professional services) where getting it wrong has real consequences.
How it works
04Breathe is designed to move fast. Two weeks from first conversation to a roadmap your leadership team can stand behind, working around the diaries you already have rather than asking for a cleared week. Get in touch and we will scope it properly for your business.
The other two ways to engage
-
Flow
Build something real Typically 4 to 8 weeksWe take the highest-priority opportunity and build a working AI capability, with governance, measurement and an operating model designed from day one: a real, deployable tool (not a proof of concept).
-
Grow
Senior AI leadership, on your terms Ongoing, flexibleOngoing fractional Chief AI Officer support, embedded in your business 1-3 days a week and covering strategy, governance, vendor oversight, team mentoring and board-level reporting, without a full-time hire.
Thinking behind Breathe
-
The Real Cost of AI: A Total Cost of Ownership Guide for the COO
The licence fee is just 8-15% of what AI really costs over three years. How a COO builds a true total cost of ownership picture before signing off.
-
AI Readiness Assessment: What It Actually Involves and Why Most Get It Wrong
AI readiness assessments come in two versions: generic maturity models, and actual strategic assessment. Here's the difference and why it matters.
-
The AI Cost Line You Cannot Forecast, and What to Do About It
The same agentic task run twice can cost 30 times more, and spending more does not buy accuracy. Only 11% of organisations forecast AI spend within 10%.
Questions buyers ask us
-
How long does an AI readiness assessment take?
Breathe typically runs 5 to 10 working days, working around the diaries you already have rather than asking for a cleared week.
-
What do we get at the end?
A capability-led AI strategy document, a scored opportunity matrix, a prioritised roadmap with sequenced initiatives and effort estimates, a governance framework and a clear recommendation on what to do first.
-
Who is Breathe for?
Leadership teams at businesses with 100 to 2,000 people that know AI matters and want clarity on where it fits, particularly in regulated sectors where getting it wrong has real consequences.
-
What is included in an AI TCO analysis?
A three-year total cost of ownership view across the layers a licence quote leaves out: data readiness, integration, governance and assurance, people and change, and the recurring run cost, with assumptions and a sensitivity check so the number survives contact with reality.
-
How can consulting reduce AI adoption costs?
By sequencing the spend against value rather than buying everything at once, by scoping data work as a line on each use case rather than an open-ended gate, and by choosing use cases where the economics hold at production volume, not just at pilot scale.
-
How is it priced?
Breathe is a fixed-scope engagement, and we give you a straight number in the first conversation once we understand your size and sector. There are no day-rate surprises after the fact.
Every engagement is led by Dan Simms, our founder, a technology leader with 30 years in regulated sectors including CTO and CIO roles, and the person you meet is the person who does the work.
Ready to find your starting point?
There's no pitch deck, just a conversation about where AI fits in your business and what it will cost, so tell us where you are and we'll reply within one working day.
Get in touch
Or reach us another way
Oxi is our AI assistant. It answers questions about our services straight away, and anything it cannot answer comes to us.
-
Chat with Oxi
Text our AI assistant about our services, approach, or anything else.
-
Talk to Oxi
A voice conversation in your browser, powered by AI.
-
Call us
Our Leeds number is answered by Oxi, 24/7. Calls are transcribed and passed to us.
0113 532 1010 -
Email us
Prefer email? Write to us directly and a person will reply.
hello@oxygenbubbles.com