Catalant Launches Forward Deployed Experts to Close the Gap Between AI Strategy and Business Impact

Analysis of 6,600+ data points reveals the biggest barriers to realizing AI value; new consulting approach has proven to address them all

BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Catalant, creator of Consulting 2.0, a novel consulting model delivering flexible, fit-to-purpose solutions to leading private equity firms and enterprises, today launched Catalant Forward Deployed Experts (FDX). FDX is a proven approach that pairs experienced business operators with AI engineers to help organizations turn AI investments into measurable business results.

FDX was developed by analyzing and responding to what Catalant considers one of the most revealing datasets on enterprise AI adoption: data from its own client interactions across over 900 Fortune 500 and private equity-backed companies, with over 6,600 data inputs in the past 12 months. Catalant’s analysis spans all traditional industries and demonstrates just how quickly AI has moved to the center of the enterprise agenda. Across Catalant’s client base, AI has rapidly become a major business priority. The number of companies citing AI as a priority has grown 8X, and more than 52% of all client topics now involve AI.

However, the analysis shows that as AI adoption accelerates, companies are struggling to translate investment into business value. Catalant’s data reveals that the biggest challenges aren’t due to the technology itself, but because of the approach on the business side. FDX was designed around what Catalant has proven works in practice to close gaps and deliver results

Most barriers to realizing AI’s value are operational, not technical

The same barriers to AI value realization surface consistently across Catalant data, and companies often report facing several of them at once.

Top barriers cited by companies include:

• 53%: No clear AI roadmap aligned to the company or functional strategy and organizational capabilities. This includes issues when there isn’t a defined transformation roadmap or strategic plan connected to execution to drive the change in a realistic way.
• 52%: Complex integration with existing systems, including limited legacy system compatibility or data ecosystem fragmentation.
• 39%: Ineffective change management, leading to limited adoption, organizational resistance, and a lack of clear adjustment to how people go about their day-to-day jobs.
• 34%: Lack of in-house AI expertise, not necessarily technical expertise, but a strong enough understanding of what’s possible, level of effort required, and confidence in potential impact.

The data challenges the assumption that the biggest barriers to AI value are technical. Poor data readiness was cited by 24% of companies, while just 7% cited immature AI governance and 7% cited difficulty scaling pilots to production. The findings suggest that companies often discover too late that without the right strategy, operational plan, connected systems, and changes to how people work, AI investment alone won’t deliver value. Even measuring that value remains a challenge, with 11% citing unclear goals and success metrics as a barrier.

Companies working with major consulting firms are coming up short on AI value

Almost half of Catalant’s dataset, 43.7%, includes companies using at least one major consulting firm before coming to Catalant for support on AI initiatives. Yet the most common barrier companies report is the lack of an AI roadmap aligned with business strategy and grounded in the organization’s ability to execute.

“Companies have spent two years and millions of dollars on AI consulting decks with little to show for it. We’re consistently brought in after a company has been handed an AI strategy or pilot but can’t turn it into meaningful business impact,” said Pat Petitti, CEO of Catalant. “Technology isn’t the hard part. The hard part is changing the business to make it work. That’s where the traditional consulting model falls short: AI strategies developed by people who have never actually done the job can only take you so far. You need experienced operators working alongside AI engineers to redesign how work gets done. That’s why we built Forward Deployed Experts. We’ve repeatedly proven it works.”

How Forward Deployed Experts works

Rather than starting with the technology, FDX starts with a company’s business strategy and KPIs, identifies where AI can create value, and redesigns workflows around these opportunities. Every engagement is led by operators with firsthand experience running the business functions they’re helping to transform, working alongside AI engineers as one integrated team. The team can start at any point in the process, and they stay through implementation, adoption, and change management to ensure sustained, measurable business outcomes and to avoid pilots that go nowhere.

The FDX launch comes as technology companies, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and WPP, make significant investments in forward deployed engineering. Catalant FDX complements those investments by supplying what the data shows is missing: experienced operators with deep subject matter expertise who can drive the organizational changes that determine whether AI delivers.

The expertise needed for enterprise AI execution

Catalant's ability to deliver this model is powered by its curated network of vetted independent experts. Today, more than 30% of Fortune 500 companies and 72% of top private equity firms (by AUM) rely on Catalant to accelerate strategic initiatives and growth. Additionally, Catalant was recently named an OpenAI Select Partner, recognizing its work helping organizations build, deploy, and scale AI solutions responsibly and effectively.

To learn more about Catalant's Forward Deployed Experts, visit catalant.com/forward-deployed-experts.

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ABOUT THE DATA

Findings are based on Catalant’s analysis of more than 6,600 anonymized client conversations conducted between August 2025 and September 2026 across its private equity and enterprise client base, classified by topic, industry, and client segment. Because the findings come from working conversations with executives pursuing AI initiatives, rather than surveys, they offer a direct view of how companies are actually approaching AI.

ABOUT CATALANT
Catalant is the next-generation consulting solution that takes a unique approach toward solving our clients’ business challenges. We call it Consulting 2.0: it’s purpose-fit, fast, flexible, and a fair value. Partnering with the world’s top private equity firms and industry-leading Fortune 500 companies, Catalant delivers innovative solutions powered by AI and rooted in the kind of deep expertise and hands-on experience that drives real results. www.catalant.com

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