Beyond Functionality: Why UK ISVs Must Rethink Their AI Strategy

By Clive Rumsey, InterSystems UK & Ireland

AI adoption is accelerating – and the stakes are rising. Across industries, clients are no longer content with applications that simply ‘work’. They want applications that simplify complexity, unlock value and drive measurable outcomes. For independent software vendors (ISVs), this shift presents both a huge opportunity and a challenge.

The question is no longer “should we embed AI?” but “How do we do it in a way that delivers real, scalable value”.

Despite the hype, most organisations are still struggling to realise the full potential of AI. A global survey last year by Boston Consulting Group found 74% of companies fail to scale value from AI initiatives. Yet those that succeeded report significant gains in revenue, shareholder returns, and ROI.

For ISV’s, this is a wake up call. The ability to help clients across that value gap is fast becoming a competitive differentiator. But doing so requires more than technical integration – it demands a strategic rethink of how applications are designed, delivered and supported.

AI adoption is accelerating – and the stakes are rising. Across industries, clients are no longer content with applications that simply ‘work’. They want applications that simplify complexity, unlock value and drive measurable outcomes. For independent software vendors (ISVs), this shift presents both a huge opportunity and a challenge.

AI is only as powerful as the data that fuels it.Clients expect applications to be cost-effective, secure, and capable of supporting sustained growth. That means ISVs must go beyond surface level functionality and ensure their solutions are built on solid data foundations.

Take Agentic AI, for example. It promises automation, efficiency and cost reduction - but only if it’s fed clean, trusted, and timely data. Fragmented systems and legacy infrastructure are still common across UK enterprises, making it difficult for AI to deliver on its promise without a robust data strategy baked into the application itself.

AI applications often rely on diverse, unstructured data - from documents and transactions to images, video, and sensor data.

Managing these varied data types is challenging enough. Add in the need for compliance, privacy, and governance and the challenge becomes even greater. requirements aren’t addressed within the application itself, clients risk delays, rising costs, and exposure to compliance breaches.

Clients expect real-time insights they can trust. They want traceability, auditability, and transparency—especially when AI is guiding strategic decisions or automating critical processes. Traditional, manual data management methods simply can’t keep up. They slow down delivery, inflate costs, and limit time-to-value.

Layering AI tools onto legacy applications won’t solve the problem. ISVs need to rethink their software architectures from the ground up – designing for adaptability, scalability and strategic impact.

The goal? Simplify complexity. Deliver measurable ROI. Removing barriers created by siloed data and outdated systems – without adding new layers of expense or complication.

This requires more than technical skill. It demands partnerships that enable ISVs to embed advanced data management, integration, and governance directly into their software—turning applications into strategic assets.

Success in AI depends on the platforms ISVs build on. To deliver trusted, scalable AI applications, ISVs need access to centralised, real-time data, built-in compliance, and the ability to scale performance as workloads grow—without escalating costs.

Platforms that support innovation – such as prompt engineering and agentic AI – give ISVs the flexibility to meet evolving client expectations and differentiate in a crowded market. By embedding these capabilities, ISVs can reduce development complexity, accelerate adoption, and deliver long term value.

Every enterprise AI initiative needs a clear data strategy. Increasingly, clients expect the applications they adopt to reflect that strategy. They want solutions that avoid fragmentation, reduce efficiency and enable innovation.

For UK ISVs, the message is clear: AI success isn’t just about algorithms—it’s about architecture, data, and trust. Those who invest in the right foundations today will be the ones shaping the future of enterprise software tomorrow.

Are your applications ready to deliver strategic value—or just functionality?