How to Empower Your People With AI
AI evolution is a revolution for human-centered innovation. Here’s how to put people first in the age of intelligent technology.
Building human-centric AI
Organizations are discovering that when workers are empowered with AI tools, everyone wins. “We’re starting to see specifically in coding where AI is turning ‘10x’ engineers into ‘100x’ engineers,” says Pete Johnson, lead field CTO in CDW’s Digital Velocity group.1
The rapid evolution of AI tools means organizations must act now to stay ahead — but with a focus on empowering their workers by bridging skills and talent gaps, improving decision-making and achieving measurable results.
Improve the employee experience
Productivity is fueled by employee engagement, and employee engagement is fueled by EX. AI has supercharged EX by quickly and cost-effectively relieving employees of repetitive and disengaging tasks so they can focus on more meaningful work.
Only 19% of employees say they are engaged at work2
Over 80% of IT leaders expect AI to have a positive impact on employee collaboration, creativity, productivity and engagement3
89% of IT leaders say digital workplace transformation will be required to enable workers to use AI effectively4
Fill the talent and training gaps
Implementing AI at scale requires the expertise to build, deploy and maintain, as well as enablement tailored to the needs and roles of your users. However, many organizations struggle to seize AI’s full potential. Limited access to skilled experts and insufficient training often stand in the way.
26% of organizations cite a lack of internal expertise as a barrier to AI adoption1
Workers are 3.3x more likely to say they are highly productive when training is provided2
Only 17% of workers strongly agree that their employers are investing in the skills they need to advance2
Ensure data readiness
Organizations realize that their AI applications are only as good as the data they are built upon. AI systems rely on well-governed, high-quality data to function effectively. That’s why the most significant investments in AI are now being made in data science, governance and compliance. However, less than half of organizations have comprehensive policies for data usage, so there’s much work to be done.
The #1 AI investment across all industries for the next 12 months is data science/intelligence5
IT leaders say the #1 factor for successful AI implementation is ensuring data sovereignty and compliance5
46% of organizations say they have developed comprehensive data usage policies1
Deliver measurable results
Realizing the full ROI of your AI investments starts with knowing what you’re trying to accomplish and how to measure progress toward that goal. Even then, determining the return and making adjustments isn’t easy. In fact, 10% of organizations say they don’t know what ROI they have achieved or have seen no return at all.1
64% of organizations across industries have observed less than a 50% ROI from their AI initiatives1
Organizations with comparative ROI of 1.5x or more on AI succeed by assessing infrastructure and processes to balance AI experimentation with scalability6
Discover tailored AI empowerment solutions
CDW helps teams with the strategic planning, skill development, data management and implementation support necessary for turning AI from concept into business-driving reality. CDW enables your AI adoption to align with your organization’s values and empowers people to do their best, most innovative work.
Strategic AI planning and readiness. Develop customized roadmaps to AI adoption and identify high-impact use cases with discovery workshops.
Skill development and change enablement. Provide AI training programs with continuous learning, coaching and user support.
Data foundation and governance. Structure and refine data for AI readiness while ensuring responsible data usage and compliance.
AI implementation and optimization. Launch scalable AI pilot projects and optimize models, workflows and analytics.
Sources:
1 CDW, “The Pace of AI Evolution Demands a Sense of Urgency,” 2025
2 ADP, “People at Work Survey 2025,” January 2025
3 Microsoft, “AI at Work is Here,” May 2024
4 Lenovo, “Reinventing workplace productivity,” February 2025
5 IDC, “CIO Playbook 2025 Survey,” February 2025
6 IBM, “The ingenuity of generative AI: Unlock productivity and innovation at scale,” June 2024