Artificial intelligence (AI) may be dominating boardroom agendas, but its true value lies not in experimentation—but in execution.

Speaking at the Digital Transformation Summit in Manila on Thursday, SN Aboitiz Power’s (SNAP) chief information officer, Maria Theresa “Mitch” Cabigon, shared a pragmatic framework for integrating AI into business operations.

She outlined three “key points”  for organizations aiming to embed AI into their workflows: data transformation, upskilling, and scaling.

During the summit’s “Power Hour Chat” session, Cabigon emphasized that AI implementation at SNAP begins long before the first algorithm is deployed. “We actually started rearchitecting the data and putting the data in the cloud,” she said.

SNAP, a power generation company operating hydroelectric facilities, began its AI journey with descriptive analytics, modernizing its data infrastructure to provide real-time insights. This groundwork enabled the company to respond swiftly to operational demands, including rainfall forecasting and managing hydroelectric dam operations.

Recognizing that technology is only as effective as the people behind it, SNAP launched an upskilling program in 2017 targeting not only technical teams but also senior executives. “Machine learning and AI were still buzzwords then,” Cabigon recalled.

“We believed our team just needed to be upskilled to understand what AI can do and how they could leverage the technology,” she said. “We even started with our executives. We had this ‘Data Science for Executives’ program so they could guide us effectively.”

With the right data and skills in place, Cabigon recommended starting small and scaling up. This iterative approach enabled SNAP to build trust in AI across departments, reduce risk, and generate measurable cost savings. After all, scaling isn’t just about technology—it’s about culture, timing, and readiness.