Stop Pasting AI on Top of Old Habits

Executive Insight | Maarten Kanters, Strategy Director

Nordic companies have embraced artificial intelligence at remarkable speed. According to a recent report from Boston Consulting Group, almost every company in the region now uses AI in some form. Yet despite this rapid adoption, only a small minority report substantial financial returns from their investments.

This raises an obvious question. If nearly everyone is using AI, why are so few seeing meaningful business impact?

The explanation is surprisingly simple. Many organizations are adding AI to existing workflows instead of redesigning how work gets done. And as a rule of thumb, if you paste AI on top of old habits, you will only get slightly better old habits.

The word "sovereignty" is everywhere in European tech policy right now. It appears in Commission proposals, in procurement frameworks, in the names of cloud products that may or may not deserve the label. It has become, like many words that matter, a word that is starting to lose its meaning. That tension sat at the heart of this week's European Internet Forum lunch debate at the European Parliament in Brussels, where policymakers and industry gathered to discuss what the Commission's CAIDA proposal needs to succeed.

Advania was invited to contribute. Henric Skalberg, Head of Cyber Security and Compliance, took the floor as First Respondent alongside speakers from the European Commission, Thales, CISPE and the ITI Council. His argument was grounded in something most of the policy debate lacks: a decade of actually doing it.

Executive Insight | Ægir Thorisson, CPO

There is a number I think every leader should remember.

Research consistently shows that most variation in team engagement is attributable to the manager, not compensation, not office design, not even the strategy deck. The manager.

I remember exactly when that statistic truly landed for me. I was already a CEO at the time, and I realised that if seventy percent of engagement sits with the manager, then it had also been sitting with me.

That insight is both empowering and slightly uncomfortable. Empowering because it confirms that leadership truly matters. Uncomfortable because it removes most of the easy explanations.

Executive Insight | Ægir Thorisson, CPO

Trust is often described as a value. Something cultural. Something aspirational.
I have come to believe that this framing is too narrow.

Trust is not just how people feel inside an organization. It is how the organization actually runs. It shapes how decisions are made, how authority is distributed, how quickly problems surface, and how fast teams learn.

In practice, trust determines execution speed.

Executive Insight | Ægir Thorisson, CPO

Every leadership team I meet wants the same things.

Better decisions.
Faster execution.
More innovation.
Stronger ownership.

The assumption is straightforward. Put smart people together, give them clear goals, and performance will follow.

I used to think that too.

Executive Insight | Ægir Thorisson, CPO

For years, we have talked about burnout as if it were the defining workplace crisis of our time.
And to be clear, burnout is real. I have seen it. Most leaders have.
But when I look at the data, I see something else as well.

According to global engagement research from Gallup, employee engagement worldwide has declined. Europe sits at the bottom of the ranking. Just thirteen percent of European employees report being engaged at work.

Thirteen percent!

When the Norwegian police recently selected Advania to supply PCs, Macs, mobile phones and tablets with associated equipment, they cited one reason: the best quality offer. For a force responsible for public safety across an entire nation, "good enough" isn't an option. But this single procurement decision points to something larger. Across Northern Europe, Advania supports essential public services in environments where downtime isn't just inconvenient, it's impossible.

Advania has earned over 130 awards and recognitions in four years across the Nordics and the UK. From Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, HP, HPE, Lenovo, Fortinet, VMware by Broadcom, Salesforce, Oracle and several others.

But the real story isn't the number. It's where they come from.

Across Europe, the new EU cybersecurity directive (NIS2) is being implemented into national law, but not everywhere at the same pace. Denmark and Finland have already completed the process, while Sweden and Ireland are in the final phase of preparing their legislation. Iceland and Norway, though not EU member states, will also implement the directive through the EEA. The UK is likewise updating its national cybersecurity framework to align with the core purpose of NIS2.

Why shadow AI use is the corporate risk no one wants to talk about.

You probably have employees using ChatGPT at work right now. They might be summarizing a contract, rewriting emails, or analyzing client data. Maybe they even paid for the subscription themselves.
It feels efficient. Productive. Smart.
It might also be illegal ...

The allure of artificial intelligence can be overwhelming. With headlines promising revolutionary transformation and vendors showcasing impressive capabilities, many organizations find themselves rushing to adopt the latest AI tools without a clear roadmap. This approach, while understandable given competitive pressure, often leads to disappointing results and wasted investment. The most successful AI implementations follow a different path: strategy first, tools second.

Four fundamental shifts are reshaping how organisations operate, compete, and create value. Drawing from insights in our 2024 Annual Report, we explore how these forces are creating new opportunities and challenges – and why we're already building the solutions our customers need to thrive in this new landscape.