Centre of Excellence Best Practices for AI Success

The journey to AI adoption is exciting, and we see real enthusiasm from our customers who are ready to dive in and embrace the opportunities it provides to increase productivity and transform the customer experience. We recently commissioned a YouGov study that surveyed over 480 ANZ C-suite executives, and what we found reinforces what we’re seeing in the market: 69% of those prioritising AI are focused on agentic AI in the coming year. Plus, 38% are already putting it into action!

Of course, turning enthusiasm for AI into tangible value requires careful planning and alignment with business goals. There are specific governance, security, and ethical considerations to be addressed when it comes to AI. There are also all the usual activities required for the success of any digital transformation, including technical governance and change management. 

So how can you satisfy these criteria to deliver immediate and sustained value from your AI investments? That’s where a Centre of Excellence (CoE) comes into play. 

What is a Centre of Excellence?

A Center of Excellence (CoE) is a centralised team within an organisation that manages all aspects of a specific technology platform, including leadership, best practices, research, and support and training. A CoE also helps guide decision-making and ensures the use of a technology or platform aligns with an organisation’s strategy and specific goals. 

A CoE also helps organisations overcome the challenges of implementing technologies like AI, enabling them to realise rapid value and long-term success. We’ve seen this first-hand with our customers, and our own experience is underpinned by research showing that 91% of companies with a very high Salesforce ROI have a Salesforce CoE.

When I think about the specific value that a CoE provides, I think about how it aligns the use of technology and resources to the vision and strategic direction of the organisation. A best practice CoE will continually have this strategic direction or “North Star” in mind as they make decisions about how to prioritise and focus funding and resources. These include decisions on whether to focus on quick wins or ones that may take a little longer to deliver but will provide the most value.

In speaking with our customers, I know they also value the speed of innovation and delivery that a CoE can provide. For example, one of our customers was able to apply best practice frameworks and mature DevSecOps to move from a quarterly release cycle to a weekly release cycle. This means they can now deliver new features and capabilities into the hands of business users much faster.

Why a CoE is key for AI success

Advances in generative and agentic AI will fundamentally shift how organisations operate. We see this happening already as our customers use Agentforce to unlock trapped value by orchestrating workflows and augmenting human capacity.

A CoE can help you navigate this quickly evolving landscape. Think of it as a strategic partner or dream team, bringing together all the leadership, best practices, governance, and innovative ideas you need to make your AI initiatives thrive. 

A CoE delivers significant value through:

• Focus and prioritisation: A CoE helps you focus on AI applications that truly align with your business goals, ensuring you’re not just chasing trends.
• Security and compliance: With the increasing importance of data privacy and ethical considerations, a CoE ensures your AI initiatives adhere to regulations as well as your corporate values
• Expertise and upskilling: Having on-demand specialists within a CoE helps build internal knowledge and reduces reliance on external resources.

Maximised ROI: By aligning AI with strategic objectives, a CoE helps you achieve the best possible return on your investments.

CoE best practices

Building an effective CoE starts with having the right people in place, ensuring everyone knows their roles and responsibilities, and empowering them to make decisions. 

Key success factors include:

• 1. Clear vision and measurable success metrics: The vision and metrics might focus on creating value and return on investment from AI or be centred around innovation and experimentation. 
• 2. Authority to make decisions: A CoE should be backed by executive sponsorship and a well-defined governance structure that ensures decisions are based on established principles. 
• 3. Culture of testing and learning: A CoE with a fail-fast and learn-fast mindset allows teams to test new ideas, gather feedback, and iterate quickly. 
• 4. Long-term approach: A CoE should be designed for sustained success with a focus on evolving processes and continuously enhancing capabilities. 
• Whether you have an existing CoE or are starting from scratch, Salesforce Professional Services can partner with you to embed these and other best practices. The potential of AI is vast, and by taking the next step in building or evolving your CoE, you can set your organisation up for success.

Whether you have an existing CoE or are starting from scratch, Salesforce Professional Services can partner with you to embed these and other best practices. The potential of AI is vast, and by taking the next step in building or evolving your CoE, you can set your organisation up for success.