AI consulting: first the question, then the technology
Most companies do not need an AI strategy — they need an honest answer to a simple question: is it worth it for us at all, and if so, where first? That is exactly what Escalt's AI consulting is about.
Why most AI projects start in the wrong place
The usual sequence: a tool looks impressive, it gets introduced, and six months later hardly anyone uses it. The mistake is rarely in the technology. It is that nobody checked beforehand which task was actually supposed to be solved.
AI consulting at Escalt reverses the order. It does not start with a tool but with your daily work: which activities repeat themselves? Where do employees wait for information? Which task regularly consumes an entire afternoon without anyone making a real decision? Those places are the candidates. Everything else is a pastime, for now.
What the consulting concretely delivers
- Process assessment: a sober inventory of your workflows — where the work actually happens, not in the org chart.
- Use cases with evaluation: which tasks are suited for AI, which are not, and why. The rejections are justified too.
- Effort and benefit per use case: roughly what an implementation costs and what it saves — as an order of magnitude, not as false precision.
- Prioritized recommendation: what to start with, what can wait, what is better left alone.
- Risks and constraints: data protection, vendor dependency, quality assurance, maintenance effort.
The result is a document you could continue working with even without Escalt. That is intentional: consulting whose result is only worth something together with the consultant was not consulting.
Where, in our experience, AI is not the answer
Saying this openly is part of the job. If a process occurs rarely, if a genuine professional judgement is needed every time, or if the underlying data is incomplete and contradictory, then an AI system mostly creates new work. In such cases a clean process digitalization or a modernization of the existing systems is the far more effective step — and often the cheaper one.
Data protection belongs in the evaluation, not in the fine print
As soon as personal data is involved, the choice of provider co-determines whether a use case is possible at all. Escalt evaluates this as part of the work: where data is processed, which legal basis carries the use, what has to be regulated contractually. Our own processing takes place within the EU as a matter of principle; details are in the privacy policy (German).
Funding: where many get it wrong
A note that causes disappointment more often than it should: consulting and training services on their own are not eligible for the Digitalbonus Bayern. They are only funded when they belong to a solution that is actually implemented — and even then with at most 50% of the eligible total costs. If you are planning an implementation anyway, include consulting and training in the application from the start instead of ordering them separately later. And as with every Digitalbonus project: the application must be submitted before anything is ordered.
Frequently asked questions about AI consulting
What does AI consulting cost?
It depends on the scope — the decisive factor is how many processes are assessed. For a business with a clearly defined area, the assessment is done in a few days. We name a reliable figure after the initial consultation, not before.
How long does it take?
From process assessment to recommendation usually takes two to four weeks. Most of that is coordination with your people — without them the analysis is worthless.
Do we have to implement with Escalt afterwards?
No. The result is structured so that you can hand it to another provider or implement it internally. If Escalt takes over the implementation, that is a separate decision.
Is pure AI consulting eligible for the Digitalbonus Bayern?
No. Consulting and training services without the implementation of a solution are explicitly excluded. They only become eligible as part of a concrete implementation project, and even then only up to 50% of the eligible total costs. If you are planning an implementation anyway, apply for the consulting together with it.
We have not prepared any data yet — is it too early?
On the contrary, that is the right moment. It is exactly then that you can still decide which data is needed at all. Retrofitting structure into grown data sets is the more expensive path.
Often combined
A recommendation is only worth as much as its implementation — which is why consulting and development interlock at Escalt.
Autonomous agents for data analysis, inquiries and reporting
Is AI worth it in your company?
Twenty minutes on the phone are enough for a first honest assessment.