The 15-Day AI Readiness Assessment
You are already running AI. You just have not seen the map.
Pearl finds every AI tool in use, including your shadow AI, scores each use case for risk, and hands leadership a prioritized roadmap with real numbers. Fixed scope, fixed timeline.
- Find every AI tool in use, including the shadow AI nobody approved
- Get a use-case risk matrix and AI governance your team can use Monday
- Leave with a prioritized roadmap, real baselines, and named owners
- CRN Tech Elite 250, 2026
- SOC 2 Type 2
- Pearl-owned Illinois data centers
Book Your Free 30-Minute Scoping Call
No pitch. You leave with a one-page written take on where your AI actually stands.
1Pick a time that works for you
2We talk through your AI use and risks
3You get a one-page AI readiness take
CRN Tech Elite 250 SOC 2 Type 2 Illinois data centers
The assessment itself starts at $15,000. Fixed scope, fixed timeline. Not six figures, not hourly.
CRN Tech Elite 250, 2026 | SOC 2 Type 2 | Pearl-Owned Illinois Data Centers | Runs on Microsoft 365 + Copilot | Built for Mid-Market
Most of Your AI Use Is Already Shadow AI
Most mid-market companies are already running AI, just not on terms leadership chose. Employees paste data into free tools, teams buy overlapping subscriptions, and nobody has written down the rules. Four questions tell you where you stand.
Which AI tools are in use, and by whom?
What data is going into them?
Who is accountable for each use case?
What measurable result is each one producing?
If any answer is a guess, leadership does not have control of its own AI use yet. The assessment gives you all four answers.
We Ran This on Our Own Business First
Before we sold the assessment, we ran it on Pearl. We interviewed every employee across People, Process, Technology, and Data, then built governed AI on the Microsoft 365 we already owned.
The agents are still rolling out, and the wins are already real.
A marketing one-pager, start to finish
An estimator’s project bid
Sales team LinkedIn reach in 7 weeks
Saved per vendor comparison, bias removed
Live Agents Running Inside Pearl Right Now
- A sales copilot that drafts outreach and surfaces warm local leads
- Invoice automation in Sage Intacct that catches what used to slip
- An AV field assistant that answers on-site questions from past projects
- An IT assistant that finds how a problem was solved before, across clients
- A Meeting Operating System on Microsoft 365 and Copilot
- We cut a redundant $700-a-year tool and run on what we already pay for
The same readiness baseline, governance, and roadmap we built for ourselves is the assessment we run for you.
What an AI Readiness Assessment Delivers
No 80-page report nobody reads. Six deliverables that cover usage, risk, AI governance, and a plan, every one of them usable.
AI Usage Map
Every tool in use, who uses it, and what data it touches. Including the shadow AI nobody approved.
Tool & Spend Audit
Your AI subscriptions, the overlaps, and what to consolidate. Often pays for the assessment by itself.
Use-Case Risk Matrix
Your candidate workflows scored low, medium, and high, with the controls each one needs.
Prioritized Roadmap
The top 3 to 5 use cases, each with a baseline number and a named owner. Not a wish list.
Governance Starting Point
An approved-tool list and a one-page AI policy your team can actually follow Monday.
Leadership Readout
A live briefing plus a written summary leadership can act on. Built for the people who sign off.
Fixed Timeline, No Mystery
A few hours of your team’s time across three weeks. One Pearl AI lead runs it end to end.
Find What's Really Happening
Leadership kickoff, stakeholder interviews, shadow AI and subscription inventory, and a data readiness check on candidate workflows.
Score It and Measure It
Use-case identification, risk scoring, baseline measurement on the top candidates, and the first draft of your approved-tool list.
Hand Leadership a Plan
Prioritized roadmap, governance starting point, a live leadership briefing, and a written summary you can act on.
You Leave Knowing Exactly Where You Stand
Use-Case Risk Matrix
A Clear Read, Not a 90-Slide Deck
Every candidate workflow is scored by risk and value, so leadership knows what to green-light now, what needs controls first, and what to keep out of public tools.
We place you on a 5-level maturity model across People, Process, Technology, and Data, and the roadmap is the path to the next level.
See Exactly Where AI Stands in Your Business.
What Governed AI Is Worth for a Client
We model ROI on real work categories, not AI enthusiasm. These are conservative, modeled at a fraction of the eligible time.
From Ad Hoc AI Use to Governed Workflows
First-year ROI
Annual benefit
Payback
Hours returned
Approved use cases, clear review rules, and ROI tracking, with regulated workflows kept out of public tools. Modeled at only 20% of eligible work time.
A Two-Lane Model for Sensitive Data
First-year ROI
Annual benefit
Payback
Hours returned
Approved productivity tools for low-risk work, and a Private AI environment for financial, compliance, and client-data use cases.
Composite, website-safe examples. ROI is modeled using disclosed assumptions and is not guaranteed.
You Work With the Leads, Not a Call Center
Simeon Rinkenberger
Leads Pearl’s AI implementation practice. Runs the assessment end to end and translates AI for business leaders, not engineers.
Anthony Mini
Sets the governance and security bar for every engagement, drawing on Pearl’s SOC and owned data centers.
Backed by Pearl’s IT, cybersecurity, and data center teams when the work touches infrastructure, so the bench is deeper than the two people in the room.
Built for Mid-Market, Not the Enterprise
The assessment is built for mid-market organizations, roughly 50 to 500 people, where AI is spreading faster than anyone is tracking it.
A Good Fit If
- Leadership wants control of AI without a six-figure consulting engagement
- IT is stretched and shadow AI keeps growing
- You handle sensitive or regulated data and need real governance
- You want measurable ROI, not an AI science project
Who Runs It
- A leadership sponsor, your CEO or COO
- Whoever runs IT
- Two or three people close to the workflows under review
- One Pearl AI lead, backed by our IT, cybersecurity, and data center teams
How Pearl Compares to Other AI Consulting Firms
Three ways to deal with AI. One gives you control on a fixed price.
| Comparison point | Pearl 15-Day Assessment | Wait and See / DIY | Big Consulting Firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to a clear plan | 15 days | Stalls out | 2 to 3 months |
| Fixed price | Starts at $15K | n/a | Six figures, hourly |
| Shadow AI inventory | ~ Sometimes | ||
| Built for mid-market | n/a | Enterprise focus | |
| AI governance you use Monday | ~ Slideware | ||
| We implement, not just advise | Running live in our own shop | ~ Hands off after the deck | |
| Private AI for sensitive data | Pearl-owned IL data centers | ~ Outsourced |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an AI readiness assessment?
An AI readiness assessment is a structured review of how an organization uses AI today and how prepared it is to use it well, across tools, data, risk, and governance. Pearl’s version is a fixed-scope, 15-day engagement that maps every AI tool in use, scores each use case for risk, and hands leadership a prioritized roadmap with baseline numbers and named owners.
What is shadow AI?
Shadow AI is any AI tool employees use without approval or oversight, such as pasting company data into a free chatbot. It creates data-handling and compliance risk that leadership cannot see or control. The assessment inventories your shadow AI so you know exactly what is in use and what data it touches.
How much does AI consulting cost?
AI consulting ranges widely. Hourly rates typically run $200 to $350, and project work for mid-market companies runs from a few thousand dollars for a basic readiness assessment to $150,000 or more for full implementation. Pearl’s 15-Day AI Assessment is fixed at $15,000 to start, so you know the price up front. The tool and spend audit often surfaces enough overlapping subscriptions to offset the cost.
What do you get at the end of the assessment?
Six deliverables: an AI usage map including shadow AI, a tool and spend audit, a use-case risk matrix, a prioritized roadmap with owners and baselines, a governance starting point (an approved-tool list and a one-page AI policy), and a live leadership readout with a written summary.
Who from our team needs to be involved?
A leadership sponsor (CEO or COO), whoever runs IT, and two or three people close to the workflows under review. A few hours each across the 15 days. From Pearl, one AI lead runs the engagement end to end, backed by our IT, cybersecurity, and data center teams.
How is this different from a big AI consulting firm?
Fixed price instead of an open-ended hourly engagement, 15 days instead of months, and deliverables your team can use Monday instead of a slide deck. We also run this AI program inside our own business, so we implement, not just advise. And Pearl owns data centers in Illinois, so sensitive workflows can move into a Private AI environment rather than a public tool.
Is our data safe during the assessment?
Yes. The assessment is a mapping and planning engagement. For regulated or sensitive workflows, we keep that work out of public tools and, where needed, scope a Private AI environment run on Pearl’s owned, SOC 2 Type 2 data centers in Illinois.
What happens after the 15 days?
You own the roadmap and can run it yourself. If you want help, Pearl can operate the plan as a fractional AI lead, build specific workflows, or stand up Private AI. There is no obligation to continue, and the deliverables are yours either way.
See Exactly Where AI Stands in Your Business.
Book a free 30-minute scoping call. No pitch. You leave with a one-page written take on where you sit and what to do next.
1Pick a time that works for you
2We talk through your AI use and risks
3You get a one-page AI readiness take
Book Your Scoping Call
Pick a time. It lands with Simeon or Anthony, whoever is free.
Real availability, straight from our calendar
The scheduler opens right here on this page. No forms to chase, no back and forth over email.
CRN Tech Elite 250 SOC 2 Type 2 Illinois data centers
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Peoria Heights, IL 61616
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Case study figures are composite, website-safe examples modeled on disclosed assumptions and are not guaranteed.