Learn how to move beyond AI experimentation. The CxO’s Playbook from Rackspace Technology offers 12 practical plays to help you scale AI across the enterprise.
In boardrooms everywhere, the AI conversation is the same: Bold visions collide with operational reality. While CEOs talk transformation and CFOs want ROI, technology leaders are left with the real challenge: making it all work across complex enterprise environments.
If you’re tired of the gap between AI hype and actual results, you’re not alone. Most organizations are stuck in pilot purgatory, unable to scale beyond experiments. The problem? They’re treating AI like just another software rollout instead of a long-term capability that requires new governance, infrastructure and talent strategies.
Enter the coach’s mindset
What if we treated enterprise AI adoption the way a great coach builds a championship team, starting with the right strategy, the right players and a system built to win? This mindset inspired The CxO’s Playbook for Industrializing Enterprise AI from Foundry for AI by Rackspace (FAIR™). Based on 75+ real-world implementations, it transforms AI complexity into 12 executable plays that any technology leader can run.
The 12-play system
Just as great coaches build dynasties through proven systems, successful AI transformation requires method over madness. The playbook outlines 12 essential plays to help you build your AI strategy. Here are three of them:
- Build on a strong foundation first: Anchor your AI strategy in three core principles: symbiotic, secure and sustainable.
Make it symbiotic by designing AI to augment human intelligence rather than replace it. Make it secure, with safeguards that protect data, uphold privacy and prevent misuse. And make it sustainable, by creating long-term, scalable value that’s accessible and inclusive across your organization. - Assemble your AI roster: Stop collecting tools like trading cards. Instead, draft AI teammates with defined roles that solve real problems across your organization, from analysis to collaboration to decision-making:
- The agent (autonomous problem-solver)
- The assistant (reliable sidekick)
- The analyst (data whisperer)
- The coach (performance enhancer)
- The collaborator (creative partner)
- Execute with precision: Move from ideation to industrialization (operationalizing AI at scale) with a framework designed to drive business outcomes. Track progress by both technical performance and real impact, like measurable ROI, user adoption and operational value.
Why this playbook works
This isn’t a theoretical framework or a vendor pitch. Every play has been tested and refined through real enterprise implementations, starting with FAIR itself as the first customer.
One key insight: hybrid cloud gives AI leaders an edge. By combining the flexibility of public cloud with the control of private infrastructure, organizations can optimize workload placement and performance.
Transform your team
This hybrid virtual team includes roles like AI product manager, platform SRE, model engineer and quality steward. These are the key players responsible for turning AI into a repeatable, high-impact capability across the business.
From theory to reality
This isn’t another AI strategy document. It’s a hands-on guide for operationalizing AI at scale — built for leaders who need more than vision statements. Inside, you’ll find practical guidance for:
- Establishing agile AI governance
- Building scalable AI assets
- Creating metrics that prove value
- Developing an AI-ready workforce
The complete playbook includes the AI Target Operating Model (ATOM) framework, maturity assessments, implementation blueprints and real-world accelerators — giving you a practical starting point to move from experimentation to execution.
Your move
The AI game is accelerating. Organizations that master enterprise AI today will set the pace for tomorrow. Those who don’t may struggle to keep up. Because in the AI era, you’re not just running IT. You’re coaching a revolution.
