AI Strategy, Advisory & Governance
Turn AI ambition into governed, board-ready outcomes.
We help executive teams decide where AI creates real value, govern it to enterprise and regulatory standard, and move from strategy into delivery. One partner for the plan and the execution.
Trusted by leading Australian organisations
- NSW Government
- QLD Government
- Reserve Bank of Australia
- University of Technology Sydney
- City of Logan
- Central Coast Council
Top 1%
Microsoft partners globally
2 weeks
From decision to a working proof of value
Gov & FSI
Delivery across regulated sectors
Advanced
Specialisations in AI and Data
Built for the people who carry the decision
Two boardroom conversations, one accountable partner
Whether the mandate sits with technology or with the business, the destination is the same: AI that is safe, governed, and delivering measurable value your board can stand behind.
For CIOs, CTOs & CDAOs
"We are adopting AI. I am accountable for it being secure and governed."
You are already moving. The exposure is shadow AI, data leakage, and ungoverned agents outpacing your controls. You need a framework that lets the business move quickly without surrendering oversight.
- Unified governance across your AI estate with Microsoft Purview and Agent 365
- Zero Trust for AI covering identity, least privilege and continuous verification
- Threat protection against prompt injection and data exfiltration
- Audit ready alignment to ISO 42001, NIST, the EU AI Act and APRA
For CEOs, CFOs & Business Leaders
"The board is asking about AI. We need a credible answer and a first move."
The pressure is real and the noise is louder. You need clarity on where AI creates value for your organisation, what to prioritise, what it will cost, and a defensible first step that proves the case.
- A facilitated programme that ends in decisions, not slideware
- Prioritised, business led use cases with a clear return story
- A two day enablement workshop, often fully Microsoft funded
- A virtual CDAO that brings leadership without a full time hire
Sized to your organisation
Right weight for enterprise and mid-market
A global system integrator over-engineers it. A freelancer cannot govern it. We scale the same disciplined approach to the size, risk and maturity of your organisation.
Mid-Market
Momentum without the overhead
200 to 2,000 staff, lean technology teams
- A focused starting point you can fund this quarter
- Practical governance that fits your team, not a 200 page manual
- A first use case live in weeks, proving value early
- Fractional CDAO leadership without a senior hire
Enterprise & Government
Scale with control and assurance
Complex, regulated, multi business unit
- Central governance with decentralised, accountable delivery
- Sovereign and data residency aligned architecture
- Audit ready evidence for regulators and assurance teams
- An operating model and decision rights across business units
Why this is a board issue now
Move fast, but never blind
As organisations scale AI, the risk of ungoverned agents, data exposure and compliance gaps grows with it. Without unified governance, shadow AI spreads and accountability gaps appear at exactly the wrong moment.
29 percent of employees use unsanctioned AI tools. Without central observability you cannot see which agents exist, what data they touch, or what risk they carry.
99 percent of organisations have experienced sensitive data exposure through AI tools. Without controls, AI can surface personal, financial and confidential data.
Tighter AI regulation demands transparency, accountability and audit trails. You need frameworks aligned to ISO 42001, the EU AI Act and NIST.
How we engage
Start small, prove value, then scale
A low risk path from “where do we even start” to AI delivering in production, at the pace your governance and budget allow.
Mid-Market
ENGAGE
Free assessments
AI Risk Assessment
AI Readiness Assessment
Self serve and no commitment. A fast, honest read on exactly where you stand today.
Funded
ASSESS
Launchpad and Enablement workshops
Half day to two day formats
Often fully Microsoft funded for eligible organisations. Build shared understanding, explore use cases, and leave with a prioritised plan.
2 to 3 wks
DISCOVER
Discovery sprint
A focused diagnostic across your key capability areas.
You leave with a CDAO operating model and a clear view of where AI leadership adds the most leverage.
Ongoing
DELIVER
vCDAO and first deployment
Targeted output or fractional CDAO
Deliver a defined output across all areas, or coordinate the full practice. Then deploy your first governed use case into production.
Launchpad Workshops
From boardroom interest to a prioritised plan
A structured, facilitated programme that ends with decisions, not just ideas. Built to align your leadership team and surface the use cases worth funding.
AI Focused
Collaborative
Outcome Led
Your leadership team leaves with a shared, grounded understanding of where AI fits, what it is not, and what it means for your organisation specifically.
A curated, co-created set of AI use cases, informed by your goals, your constraints, and real examples from organisations like yours.
A prioritised action plan with clear next steps, effort estimates, and a path from the workshop room to real delivery.
01
Workshop One
Shared Understanding
2 to 3 hours
All stakeholders
The common foundation every AI initiative needs, closing the gap between technical and business stakeholders.
What we cover
-
What is generative AI
Plain language on how these systems work and where they are heading. -
Real world applications
Concrete examples across sectors, not theory. -
Risks, governance and responsible AI
Accuracy, bias, data privacy and oversight. -
Your AI landscape
The tools, data and capability you can build on.
02
Workshop Two
Use Case Exploration
2 to 3 hours
Leadership and domain leads
From broad possibility to a shortlist of real opportunities specific to your organisation.
How the session works
-
We share
Proven AI use cases from real client engagements. -
You input
Your goals, pain points and early ideas, shaped into opportunities. -
We build
Together we generate a longlist grounded in your reality.
03
Workshop Three
Use Case Deep Dive
2 to 3 hours
Cross-functional team
From a longlist of possibilities to a prioritised plan, stress tested for feasibility, value and risk.
What happens
-
Stress test the longlist
Examine feasibility, value and risk together. -
Apply the prioritisation framework
Value against effort, scored on six criteria. -
Land the right use cases
In the right order, with the right expectations.
The Journey
How the engagement runs
A structured sequence from first conversation to final report. Clear, contained, and built to move at pace.
30 to 60 min
Champion or lead
- Introductions
- Who we are speaking to
- Early ideas and input
- Scene setting
2 to 3 hrs
All stakeholders
- What is generative AI
- Real world applications
- Risks and governance
- Your AI landscape
30 to 60 min
Leadership
- Proven use cases
- Goals and ideas
- Longlist built
2 to 3 hrs
Cross-functional
- Deep dive on top cases
- Prioritisation applied
- Value, effort, risk scored
1 hr or less
Exec sponsor
- Handover session
- Prioritised roadmap
- Recommendations
- Delivered by Agile
Our approach
How we decide what to build first
In the deep dive, every candidate use case is mapped on value against effort, then scored on six criteria so you pursue the right ones, in the right order, with a defensible rationale.
Low Effort
High Effort
Do first
Plan and build
If capacity
Deprioritise
Low Value
High Value
Each use case is scored on
The output
You leave with a board-ready report
Every engagement ends with a structured, professionally prepared document, delivered in a focused handover of no more than one hour. Not a recap of the room, but a forward looking artefact your leadership can act on and share.
- Executive summary of findings
- Shared understanding baseline
- Full use case longlist with initial assessment
- Prioritised shortlist with scoring rationale
- Value, effort and risk assessment per use case
- Recommended next steps and sequencing
- Our delivery perspective and approach
Handover Session
- No more than one hour
- Delivered to champion and exec sponsor
- Report circulated in advance
- Walk through of findings and recommendations
- Questions and next steps
The report is yours. No IP retained and no lock in. A clear, honest assessment you can take anywhere.
Strategy into execution
We do the plan and the build
Most firms hand you a strategy and walk away. We stay through delivery. The same team that shapes the roadmap stands up the platforms, the agents and the governance that make it real.
You are here
Strategy and Governance
Decide where AI creates value, set the governance, and build the prioritised roadmap your board can back.
See how we engage
Next
Strategy and Governance
Decide where AI creates value, set the governance, and build the prioritised roadmap your board can back.
See how we engage
At scale
Strategy and Governance
Decide where AI creates value, set the governance, and build the prioritised roadmap your board can back.
See how we engage
Microsoft AI Services
Custom models, agentic orchestration and enterprise AI on Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry. A proof of value in as little as two weeks.
Agile Agents
A packaged, governed agentic AI platform with Entra ID, role based access and secure deployment, in production in around six weeks.
Copilot Adoption
Drive real adoption and measurable productivity from Microsoft 365 Copilot, with a structured programme and change support.
The output
A two day workshop that produces an executable roadmap
A hands on session that turns AI ambition into a co-created plan, with governance and security built in from the first hour.
What you walk away with
- A practical GenAI architecture and security strategy
- A tailored AI governance framework
- Intelligent agent demonstrations in real workflows
- A co-created roadmap to scale AI across the organisation
What we cover
- Enterprise grade AI connectivity
- Data privacy, encryption and responsible model use
- Governance, risk and responsible AI frameworks
- Task driven AI agent demonstrations
- Task driven AI agent demonstrations
- AI opportunities across service, HR, legal and operations
- Visioning, road mapping and capability uplift
Who should attend
CIOs and CTOs, enterprise architects, data and AI leads, security, risk and governance stakeholders, operational leaders and transformation programme owners. Business and technical leaders attend together, because that is where alignment actually happens.
Strategy into execution
Eligible organisations pay nothing
For qualifying organisations the workshop is delivered under Microsoft funding. We assess eligibility and handle the paperwork.
How we deliver it
- On site or remote, scheduled around your team
- Facilitated by certified Microsoft AI specialists
- Outputs documented and ready to action
- Flows straight into a discovery sprint or first build
*Microsoft funding is subject to eligibility criteria and approval. Contact us to determine if your organisation qualifies.
Strategy into execution
We do the plan and the build
Most firms hand you a strategy and walk away. We stay through delivery. The same team that shapes the roadmap stands up the platforms, the agents and the governance that make it real.
Microsoft Advanced Specialisation in AI
Advanced Specialisation in AI with certified architects across Microsoft Purview, Agent 365, Azure AI, and Microsoft Entra. Deep technical expertise in governance platforms and Zero Trust for AI.
Government & Enterprise Experience
Proven track record delivering AI governance frameworks for Australian government agencies and regulated industries. Deep understanding of sovereign cloud requirements and local compliance obligations.
Responsible AI Framework Expertise
Guidance on Microsoft's Responsible AI Standard and industry best practices. We help organisations build AI systems with transparency, fairness, reliability, privacy, and accountability built in from day one.
End-to-End Implementation
Not just strategy consulting. We deliver hands-on implementation of governance platforms, security controls, and monitoring systems. From architecture design to production deployment and ongoing optimisation.
Regulatory Compliance Leadership
Stay ahead of evolving AI regulations. We help organisations prepare for EU AI Act, NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and industry-specific requirements with audit-ready documentation and controls.
Change Management & Training
Governance is as much about people as technology. We provide executive workshops, technical training, and change management support to build a governance-aware culture across your organisation.
Meet some of our AI Strategy, Advisory and Governance Team
Head of AI Strategy, Security and Governance
Gethryn Ghavalas
Gethryn is Head of AI Strategy, Advisory & Governance and Chief Operating Officer at Agile Insights. With more than 25 years of operational leadership experience, including 15 years at Westpac, he combines business, technical, and data science expertise to help organisations realise value from data and AI while maintaining strong governance. Holding a Master of Science in Statistics, Gethryn specialises in translating complex challenges into practical, measurable outcomes and is passionate about enabling better decision-making through data, analytics, and AI.
Principal Consultant,
Strategy & Governance
Michelle
2Michelle O'Sullivan has joined Agile Insights as Principal Consultant, Strategy & Governance, bringing more than 25 years of experience turning organisational complexity into practical outcomes. Her blend of operational rigour and people-first execution helps organisations move from strategy to action with confidence and clarity.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What leaders ask us most
What is Agent 365 and why do we need it?
Agent 365 is Microsoft’s centralized control plane for AI agents, providing unified observability, governance, and security across your entire AI estate. It addresses the critical challenge of “shadow AI” by giving IT, security, and business teams visibility into which agents exist, what they’re doing, who has access, and what security risks exist. Without Agent 365, organisations face visibility gaps that can turn agents into security vulnerabilities. The platform integrates with Microsoft Entra for identity management, Defender for threat protection, and Purview for data governance, creating a comprehensive governance layer for agentic AI at enterprise scale.
How does Zero Trust apply to AI systems?
Zero Trust for AI extends traditional Zero Trust principles to autonomous agents and AI applications. This means treating AI agents like human users with explicit verification, least privilege access, and continuous monitoring. We assign unique Agent IDs through Microsoft Entra, enforce Conditional Access policies that include risk-based decisions, implement network segmentation with private endpoints, and apply scoped service accounts for tool execution. Zero Trust for AI also includes continuous security monitoring through Microsoft Sentinel, real-time threat detection via Defender for AI, and DLP policies that prevent agents from accessing or outputting sensitive data. The goal is to ensure that even if an agent is compromised, the blast radius is limited by strong identity controls and least privilege enforcement.
What is Microsoft Purview's role in AI governance?
Microsoft Purview provides unified data security and governance for AI systems across your entire data estate. Key capabilities include Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) for AI, which identifies risks like sensitive information in prompts and responses; Information Protection with sensitivity labels that follow data into AI workflows; Data Loss Prevention (DLP) that blocks AI systems from returning PII, credit cards, or confidential data; Insider Risk Management that flags risky agent data access patterns; and Data Lifecycle Management with retention policies and eDiscovery for AI interactions. Purview consolidates security, governance, and compliance into a single platform that works across Azure, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Fabric, ensuring your AI systems operate within defined data boundaries and regulatory requirements.
How do you secure AI agents against prompt injection attacks?
Defending against prompt injection and jailbreak attacks requires multiple layers of protection. We implement Azure AI Content Safety with input/output filtering that detects malicious prompts in real-time, deploy Microsoft Defender for AI with threat intelligence on emerging attack vectors, use system message hardening with clear instruction boundaries that resist manipulation, implement function calling restrictions that limit what tools agents can execute, apply DLP policies that prevent exfiltration attempts even if a prompt succeeds, and conduct regular AI Red Teaming exercises to identify vulnerabilities. Additionally, we implement logging and monitoring through Azure Monitor and Sentinel to detect anomalous behaviour patterns that might indicate an ongoing attack, and establish incident response procedures specifically for AI security events.
What regulatory frameworks does your governance approach align with?
Our AI governance frameworks align with multiple regulatory standards and industry best practices. This includes the EU AI Act with risk classification and documentation requirements, NIST AI Risk Management Framework for systematic risk assessment and mitigation, Microsoft’s own Responsible AI Standard covering fairness, reliability, safety, privacy, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability, ISO/IEC standards for AI management systems, Australian Privacy Principles for data handling and consent, and industry-specific requirements such as APRA standards for financial services or healthcare privacy regulations. We help organisations build audit trails, maintain transparency notes, implement fairness assessments, and create governance documentation that demonstrates compliance readiness to regulators and auditors.
How do you handle data residency and sovereign cloud requirements?
For organisations with data sovereignty requirements, we leverage Microsoft’s Sovereign Cloud capabilities including Azure Local for disconnected operations, Foundry Local for running large AI models on-premises with complete data residency, Microsoft 365 Local for productivity workloads inside sovereign boundaries, and Azure governance policies that enforce data residency controls. We design architectures where sensitive data never leaves Australian data centres, implement network isolation with private endpoints and VNet integration, use customer-managed encryption keys for data at rest, and establish clear data flow diagrams showing where AI processing occurs. For highly regulated environments, we can deploy fully air-gapped AI systems that run entirely within your sovereign operational boundary while maintaining Azure-consistent management and governance.
What's the difference between AI governance and AI security?
AI governance and AI security are complementary but distinct disciplines. AI governance focuses on policies, processes, and controls that ensure AI systems are developed and operated responsibly, ethically, and in compliance with regulations. This includes establishing governance councils, defining approval workflows, setting standards for AI agent creation, maintaining agent registries, and ensuring transparency and accountability. AI security focuses on protecting AI systems from cyber threats, preventing data breaches, and defending against adversarial attacks like prompt injection. This includes threat detection, vulnerability management, access controls, and incident response. In practice, they work together: governance defines what should happen, security enforces it technically. Our approach integrates both, using platforms like Agent 365 for governance visibility and Defender for security enforcement, creating a unified framework for safe, responsible, and compliant AI adoption.
How long does it take to implement enterprise AI governance?
Implementation timelines vary based on organisational size, maturity, and scope. A typical enterprise deployment follows this pattern: Foundation & Assessment (2-4 weeks) to inventory AI use cases, conduct gap analysis, and define governance frameworks; Pilot Deployment (4-6 weeks) to implement controls for a subset of agents and validate the approach; Enterprise Rollout (6-8 weeks) to scale policies across all business units and integrate security controls; followed by Continuous Improvement as an ongoing operational practice. Most organisations see meaningful governance controls operational within 12-16 weeks, with full maturity achieved over 6-12 months as policies are refined and organizational capabilities develop. We prioritize quick wins in the pilot phase, addressing high-risk scenarios first while building momentum for broader adoption. The phased approach allows organisations to demonstrate value early while managing change effectively.
Can you govern AI agents built outside the Microsoft ecosystem?
Yes. While our primary expertise is in Microsoft platforms, Agent 365 and the broader governance framework support interoperability with third-party agents and open-source frameworks. Agent 365 can register and monitor agents built with non-Microsoft tools, applying consistent governance policies regardless of the underlying technology. We leverage emerging standards like the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A) to enable cross-platform governance. For agents built on frameworks like LangChain, CrewAI, or AutoGen, we can implement centralized logging, identity integration via Entra, and security monitoring through Sentinel. The governance policies, DLP controls, and observability practices apply uniformly whether an agent was built in Copilot Studio, Azure AI Foundry, or an external platform. This ensures consistent risk management across your heterogeneous AI landscape.
What ongoing support do you provide after governance implementation?
AI governance is not a one-time project but an ongoing operational practice. We provide several support models including Managed Governance Services where we operate your governance council, monitor compliance metrics, and manage policy updates; Advisory Retainers for strategic guidance on emerging AI regulations and governance best practices; Training Programmes for upskilling internal teams on Agent 365, Purview, and governance processes; AI Red Teaming as a Service with regular security assessments and penetration testing; Compliance Audit Support to help prepare for regulatory reviews with audit-ready documentation; and Platform Updates to ensure your governance infrastructure evolves with new Microsoft capabilities like enhanced Agent 365 features or Purview innovations. We also offer 24/7 security monitoring integration where our SOC team works alongside yours to detect and respond to AI security incidents in real-time.
- Microsoft Frontier Firm, in production
Become a Frontier Firm.
Microsoft’s Frontier Firm playbook gives you the method. We give you the people who have already built the platform, the agents and the guardrails for Australian organisations. Start with a half-day Readiness Workshop and leave with a plan your board can fund.
Level 1, human with assistant. Our Copilot Adoption Program gets personas, managers and measurement right so licences turn into value. Copilot Adoption Program
Levels 2 and 3, human-agent teams then agent-operated processes. Agile Agents redesigns the process first, then runs it on Azure AI Foundry with controls an auditor can test. Agile Agents
A shared, governed source of truth with observability built in. Fabric Foundation turns a blank tenant into a governed platform your team runs from day one. Fabric Foundation
Employee experience, customer engagement, reshaped processes, faster innovation. The Readiness Workshop picks which one you move first and attaches a number to it. Book a Readiness Workshop
Ready when you are
Govern AI with confidence, and actually ship it
Start small, prove value quickly, and scale AI your board can stand behind. Whether the mandate sits with technology or the business, the first conversation is short.