Episode #11 - The Due Diligence Playbook — Evaluating AI ISVs Like a Pro

Episode 11: The Due Diligence Playbook — Evaluating AI ISVs Like a Pro

Your IT team is already stretched to the limit. Your compliance requirements are non-negotiable. And somewhere in a boardroom, a vendor is about to show you a very slick PowerPoint. So how do you separate the real players from the pretenders?

In this episode of The AI Strategy Blueprint, host Lara Wilson goes deep into Chapter 4 of John Hanby's blueprint — the five technology criteria every C-suite leader must evaluate before signing a single AI vendor contract: deployment models, security certifications, scale performance, integration capabilities, and time to value.

The case study alone is worth the listen. When a Nuclear Energy Company — classified as Critical Infrastructure by the federal government — began evaluating AirgapAI, they warned that a standard security audit takes four months to clear. Four months. AirgapAI passed in less than one week. No follow-up questions. That is what the right architecture looks like, and that is the standard Lara challenges you to demand from every vendor you evaluate.

But here is where it gets really interesting. John Hanby lays out a masterclass prompt framework for using Grok Deep Research to compress hundreds of hours of manual due diligence into minutes — covering six dimensions from corporate stability and financial health to red flag detection and competitive positioning. The result? A fully cited, 10-page dossier that makes your next vendor meeting feel less like a sales pitch and more like a deposition.

The economics of thorough evaluation are broken — unless you fight fire with fire. Are you ready to walk into that boardroom armed? Learn more at https://iternal.ai/ai-strategy-blueprint