Consolidate before you automate. Otherwise you're just automating the mess.

Automate 26 different ways of doing the same thing and you get 26 automated messes.

I learned that leading global IT support for 30,000 end users in more than 60 countries. We had 26 regional service desks, each working its own way, and five legacy systems underneath them.

We consolidated the desks into one global operating model. Then we standardized workflows, escalation paths, the service catalog and knowledge, and moved the five legacy systems onto one platform.

The results: $3M in annual savings from the consolidation, another $500K a year from retiring legacy systems, SLA compliance up from 80% to 88% and customer satisfaction up 30%.

None of that was AI. All of it is what makes AI work.

The order matters:

1. One front door. One portal, one catalog, one way to ask for help.
2. One process. Incidents, requests and escalations work the same way in every region, with local exceptions documented, not improvised.
3. One platform. Every legacy system you keep is another data source your AI can't trust.
4. Then automate. Now the AI learns one clean pattern instead of 26 conflicting ones.

Consolidation isn't glamorous and it isn't fast. It may be the best AI investment you ever make.

Next in the series: SIAM meets AI, and managing MSPs and AI vendors under one accountability model.

How many different ways does your organization handle the same IT request today? I'd love to hear the real number.