The AI Reckoning

What the Aptean 2026 Artificial Intelligence Research Reveals

Webinar | August 5 at 11 AM ET

AI Adoption Is Universal. AI Impact Isn't.


Nearly every industrial and operational business is using AI in some form. Far fewer have gotten it working inside their core operations. Why the disconnect? Off-the-shelf, general-purpose AI wasn't built for the complexity of industrial and operational work — and the organizations that get this wrong risk falling behind the ones that don't.

The Aptean 2026 Artificial Intelligence Research is a first-of-its-kind study into the real state of AI adoption in industrial and operational environments. Commissioned by Aptean and conducted by Vanson Bourne, the study surveyed more than 1,500 leaders across industrial and operational businesses. The findings don't just describe a gap — they trace it back to a root cause: most organizations choose the most available AI, not the most appropriate one.

Join us for an exclusive first look at the research, featuring Aptean's findings presented by Jason Balma, AI Solutions Architect, alongside independent insights from Kathleen Walch, AI Governance & Execution Advisor. We'll cover what the data shows about tool choice, infrastructure readiness, governance, and what the organizations actually winning with AI have in common.

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Meet the Speakers

Kathleen Walch

AI Governance & Execution Advisor

Kathleen helps leaders move past the hype and turn AI adoption into real business results. For over a decade, she's helped organizations find the right problems to solve, apply AI responsibly, build trust in AI systems, and put it to work in practical, measurable ways. A trusted voice on AI adoption, governance, responsible AI, and AI-first leadership, she co-created a widely adopted, vendor-neutral methodology for managing AI projects, hosts the AI Today podcast, and contributes regularly to CIO and TechTarget.

Jason Balma

AI Solutions Architect

Jason has spent over a decade at the intersection of enterprise systems, professional services, and go-to-market strategy. Seven years in professional services — leading ERP implementations, guiding customers through transformation, and managing consulting teams — gave him the foundation to move into presales, where he translated business challenges into practical, value-driven solutions. In 2025, he founded Aptean Intelligence as a Service, where he now leads a team designing and delivering AI solutions built to solve real business problems — not experiments, not hype. His focus: applied AI, embedded intelligence, and operational use cases that drive efficiency, insight, and competitive advantage.