How Enterprise Leaders Should Measure the ROI of AI - with Darko Todorovic of HTEC
Enterprise AI initiatives frequently fail to scale not due to technology limitations, but because organizations lack a clear business problem, proper measurement frameworks, and the cultural readiness to treat AI agents as co-workers rather than tools. Darko Todorovic, CTO at EdgeTech Group, reveals that most projects start with fear of missing out—driving rushed adoption without defined KPIs or cost baselines—leading to inflated expectations and failed ROI. The real issue? Pilot success relies on expert humans correcting AI errors, but production rollouts expose the gap when thousands of non-experts use the same tools. To prove ROI, leaders must first assess organizational maturity, establish cost-per-unit metrics, and build measurement systems that track token usage, efficiency gains, and long-term cost trends. The most successful AI transformations aren’t about the latest model—they’re about evolving how people work, with AI as a junior assistant that requires guardrails, training, and continuous learning. The key takeaway: start with people, not technology.
Establish clear business problems and KPIs before starting any AI project—fear of missing out leads to failed ROI.
Measure ROI by defining cost per unit and tracking token consumption, efficiency gains, and long-term operational costs.
Treat AI agents as co-workers, not tools—train all employees to work alongside them with human judgment as the final decision factor.
Pilot success is misleading because it relies on expert users; scaling requires organizational change, not just better tech.
Assess organizational maturity in both technology (data, knowledge management) and change readiness before investing in AI.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Introduction to the AI ROI Challenge
The episode opens with a welcome to the Emerge AI and Business Podcast, introducing Darko Todorovic, CTO at EdgeTech Group, and setting the stage for a discussion on why enterprise AI pilots succeed but fail at scale.
The Real Reason AI Fails to Scale
“The real issue is not the technology. It's the changes that need to happen inside of the organization, but more importantly within the people that are using, that are on the receiving end of these AI agents.”
The Pilot-Production Gap
“The POC can work really good. Why? You choose the right process. You choose the most senior people in the organization... But then if you go out of the POC and you go to the production, on the production level, if you have to release these agents to thousands of people in your organization, it's completely uncontrollable.”
Measuring ROI in Defined Processes
“If you have thousands of those, then you know how much money you're spending per each. If you can automate parts of the processes or the whole process of the RFP as an organization, you can easily see what are the benefits, what are the efficiencies that you're getting.”
Where to Start: Assessing Organizational Maturity
“Don't start with the technology. Don't start with the CIO office in most of the cases. Start from the people that deeply understand the processes in the organization and then teach them where AI can help them.”
“So don't start with the technology. Don't start with the CIO office in most of the cases. Start from the people that deeply understand the processes in the organization and then teach them where AI can help them.”
“process that was selected. is the function of the changes that need to happen inside of the organization, but more importantly within the people that are using, that are on the receiving end of these AI agents”
“And if you have thousands of those, then you know how much money you're spending per each. If you can automate parts of the processes or the whole process of the RFP as an organization, you can easily see what are the benefits, what are the efficiencies that you're getting.”
Host
Guest
Darko Todorovic
person
RFP documentation
other
token consumption
other
EdgeTech Group
organization
Emerge AI and Business Podcast
media
HTEC
organization
knowledge management
other
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