Epik Solutions outlines what individuals should expect as AI powered operations move from experiments to everyday infrastructure, and how to prepare for a more demanding year ahead.

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESS Newswire / January 16, 2026 / Epik Solutions, a business experience and AI transformation company with operations across the United States, India, and Mexico, has released its outlook on the year ahead for people working in and around AI driven operations, utilities, and enterprise workflows. The company expects 2026 to be a year where adoption numbers look strong on paper, yet many teams still struggle to turn pilots into durable results.

Industry surveys already show that AI has moved into the mainstream. One recent analysis found that more than 90 percent of companies are either using or exploring AI, a sharp rise from 2017 levels. At the same time, some data suggests that around 72 percent of organizations have integrated AI into at least one business function in 2024, up from 55 percent in 2023. Generative AI follows a similar path, with 65 percent of organizations reporting regular use in 2024.

Epik Solutions sees a gap between these headline figures and the day to day experience of many professionals.

"People are hearing that AI is everywhere, but they still do not see it cleaning up the messy handoffs, spreadsheets, and tickets that shape their workday," said the Chief Executive Officer of Epik Solutions. "The next year will be defined less by who has the most models and more by who quietly fixes the workflows that waste time and create risk."

What changed recently

In the past two years, AI has shifted from a specialist tool to a visible part of everyday work. A survey reports that the share of employees who say their organization has implemented AI rose from 33 percent in May 2024 to 44 percent in May 2025. In parallel, more workers are using AI at least a few times per week, particularly for writing, analysis, and coding support.

Epik Solutions notes three important shifts behind the headlines:

From pilots to platforms
AI is increasingly embedded in larger platforms that connect data, tasks, and people. Tools like Epik's View360 and FieldOps.AI reflect a broader move toward business experience management, where AI is used to see whole processes, not just single tasks.

From customer only to full stack experiences
Early investments often focused on customer touchpoints. The new wave extends to employee workflows, IT operations, and back office processes, aligning with findings that AI is now present in multiple business functions within many organizations.

From hype to hard constraints
As adoption grows, so does awareness of cost, risk, and complexity. Reports suggest that around 70 percent of digital transformations still fail to meet their objectives, and failed initiatives cost businesses trillions each year.

"AI is no longer a side experiment that lives in a lab," said the Chief Product Officer at Epik Solutions. "It now sits inside core systems, and that means the quality of design, change management, and risk controls matters more than ever."

What people are getting wrong

Epik Solutions highlights several common missteps that individuals and teams continue to make:

Chasing tools instead of outcomes
Many projects begin with a tool choice rather than a clear operational goal. This feeds into the high failure rates seen across digital transformation, where more than two thirds of initiatives fall short.

Ignoring the cost of downtime and bad handoffs
Studies estimate downtime can cost from 100,000 dollars to over 540,000 dollars per hour in some industries, with IT outages alone reaching around 300,000 dollars per hour in certain environments. In manufacturing, the cost can range from 36,000 dollars to over 2 million dollars per hour. Yet many teams still treat workflow issues as minor inconveniences rather than material risks.

Leaving frontline workers out of the design loop
Epik Solutions often sees AI projects designed without structured input from the people who will use them. This leads to tools that look impressive in demos but add clicks or create new manual work.

"Individuals tend to underestimate just how expensive friction really is," said the Senior Vice President at Epik Solutions. "Every extra step, every copy and paste, every missing field in a form carries a real cost once you multiply it across an entire operation."

What will get harder in the year ahead

Looking to 2026, Epik Solutions expects three aspects of AI driven operations to become more demanding for individuals:

Governance and accountability
As AI moves deeper into core operations, people in middle management and technical roles will face tougher questions about data quality, audit trails, and model behavior. It will not be enough to say that a system decided. Individuals will need to explain how it decided.

Signal versus noise in AI projects
With more than 88 percent of organizations reporting AI use in at least one business function, the volume of AI related initiatives will continue to grow. Distinguishing meaningful change from cosmetic experiments will require sharper judgment.

Balancing speed with reliability
In sectors like utilities and critical infrastructure, the pressure to do more with less will collide with rising climate and regulatory risks. Solutions like FieldOps.AI show that AI can support risk reduction, but the tolerance for failure in these domains is far lower than in a marketing pilot.

"Professionals will find that the bar is rising," said Theresa Guy Moran, General Counsel and Vice President of Compliance at Epik Solutions. "The expectation is that you can move fast, but also prove that your processes are safe, compliant, and explainable."

What will work

Despite these challenges, Epik Solutions sees clear patterns in what is likely to succeed for individuals in the coming year:

Anchoring AI in real workflows
Projects that begin with observed bottlenecks, such as repeated outages, slow inspections, or confusing handoffs, tend to deliver more value. In Epik's utility vegetation management programs, for example, focusing on inspection routes, work order prioritization, and crew deployment has correlated with reported reductions in outages of about 30 percent and cost savings of roughly 25 percent.

Connecting data across functions
View360 style approaches that aggregate data across departments and surface context in real time help workers make better decisions without switching tools. This is especially powerful in environments where downtime and safety incidents are costly.

Investing in skills, not just software
Individuals who learn how to frame problems, read basic analytics, and work with AI assistants will be better positioned than those who rely on a single interface. This skill set matters even more in a world where AI adoption is high but scaling remains uneven.

"AI will reward people who think like system designers, even if their job title has nothing to do with data science," said the Chief Technology Officer at Epik Solutions. "The individuals who can spot patterns, propose simpler flows, and collaborate with AI tools will create outsized value."

Three scenarios for individuals in 2026

Epik Solutions outlines three scenarios professionals might face next year, along with recommended actions for each.

1. Optimistic scenario: AI that actually removes friction

In this scenario, an organization uses AI and platforms like View360 to streamline workflows, reduce outages, and improve collaboration between field, operations, and leadership teams. Downtime is lower, manual steps are reduced, and workers feel supported rather than replaced.

Best individual actions:

Map your workflows and identify three tasks that could be automated or simplified.

Volunteer to join or lead a small pilot focused on one measurable outcome, such as reducing rework or response times.

Learn the basics of prompt design and data literacy so you can work effectively with AI tools.

Document before and after conditions so you can show impact, not just activity.

2. Realistic scenario: Mixed progress and uneven tools

Here, AI is present in the organization, but adoption is patchy. Some teams benefit, others feel burdened by new tools, and there is confusion about priorities. Transformation statistics suggest this will be the norm for many organizations, given that around 70 percent of initiatives still fail to reach their goals.

Best individual actions:

Focus on one or two systems that matter most to your role and learn them deeply.

Keep a running list of pain points and small wins related to AI tools, and share them in a structured way with your manager or project leads.

Suggest simple experiments, such as automating a report or standardizing a checklist, rather than asking for large new systems.

Build relationships with colleagues in IT, operations, or data teams who can help you navigate changes.

3. Cautious scenario: High risk, low clarity

In the cautious case, organizations face cost pressure, tight regulatory environments, and rising expectations, but have not invested enough in design, training, or governance. AI tools may exist, yet downtime, rework, or safety incidents remain common.

Best individual actions:

Protect your own workflow first by creating clear checklists, documentation, and backup plans for critical tasks.

Ask direct questions about data quality, escalation paths, and what to do when an AI tool appears to be wrong or incomplete.

Advocate for small, low risk process improvements that do not depend on large new systems, such as standard naming conventions or better handoff notes.

Invest in your own professional development in areas like risk management, compliance, or operational excellence.

Epik Solutions believes that individuals have more influence over which scenario they experience than they might think. The same organization can contain optimistic, realistic, and cautious stories inside different teams.

"The point is not to guess the future but to choose how you will respond," said the CEO. "If you decide which scenario you are in, you can pick concrete actions that make your corner of the system safer, faster, and more human."

Epik Solutions is encouraging readers to pick the scenario that feels closest to their current situation, write down the recommended actions, and commit to trying at least one step in the first quarter of 2026. The company's view is that the most meaningful AI transformations in the year ahead will be built from many such local decisions, not only from top down announcements.

Learn more about Epik Solutions and how they can support your AI powered operations at https://www.epikso.com/

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SOURCE: Epik Solutions



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