Your IT operating model wasn’t built for AI
Join a small group of CIOs to explore how leading organisations are evolving their digital foundations, service models, and operating structures for the AI era, including how Microsoft technologies are shaping this shift in practice. CIO Roundtable | London | 16 Jun
Please note that the registrations for this event has now closed.
Event details
CIO Roundtable: The IT Operating Model for the AI Era
- Date: Tuesday 16 June 2026
- Time: 8:30-11:00am
- Location: The Ivy Tower Bridge, One Tower Bridge, Tower Bridge Rd, London SE1 2AA
AI is exposing the limits of traditional IT
Most organisations are already experimenting with AI. The reality is, very few have an operating model that can support it at scale.
Infrastructure struggles under new demand. Service desks stay reactive. Costs rise without clear control.
Meanwhile, the productivity gains everyone expects fail to materialise. That’s because AI doesn’t just introduce new capability- it exposes the weaknesses already built into your environment.
In many cases, organisations have already invested in Microsoft platforms such as Azure and Microsoft 365. However, without the right operating model around them, that investment doesn’t translate into performance.
So the question isn’t whether to adopt AI. It’s whether your organisation is ready to operate in an AI‑driven environment.
The shift is already happening
Microsoft continues to embed AI, automation, and security across its platforms. However, without the right foundations and service model, organisations struggle to translate that capability into performance.
AI is not a future initiative. It is already reshaping how work gets done. However, it is also exposing gaps in:
- digital foundations and scalability
- service delivery models
- cost control and governance
- operational efficiency
In practice, organisations aren’t constrained by AI capability. They are constrained by how their IT model is structured.
The question every CIO is now facing:
Your organisation can adopt AI. But can it support it?
What this roundtable is
A focused, peer-led discussion
This is not a presentation or sales session. It is a closed roundtable for senior IT leaders, designed to share:
- How operating models are evolving
- Where organisations are struggling
- What is actually working in practice
At the same time, the discussion will connect real-world challenges to how organisations:
- Strengthen digital foundations
- Reduce operational friction
- Move from AI pilots to measurable outcomes
What we'll discuss
Key themes for the session:
Adapting your IT operating model for AI
How CIOs are shifting from traditional support models to outcome-led operating structures.
Strengthening digital foundations
Where infrastructure, connectivity, and cloud platforms fail under pressure, and how to fix it.
Reducing cost-to-serve and operational drag
How leading teams improve efficiency without increasing complexity.
Turning AI into measurable impact
What separates experimentation from real, sustained business value.
How this connects to your organisation
Across organisations, we see the same pattern emerging. Teams are investing in modern platforms, often centred on Microsoft technologies such as Azure, Microsoft 365, and Copilot.
However, the operating model around them doesn’t evolve at the same pace. As a result:
- Infrastructure struggles to scale under new demand
- Service models remain reactive
- Performance and cost lack clear visibility
- AI capabilities are introduced, but not fully realised
In practice, the technology is not the constraint. The way IT is structured around it is.
This is where the gap appears – between what the platform enables and what the organisation actually delivers.
This roundtable focuses on closing that gap and on how leading organisations turn Microsoft platforms into measurable performance, not just capability.
What you'll leave with
You won’t leave with slides. You’ll leave with clarity.
Specifically:
- A clear view of where your operating model is under strain – and why
- A shortlist of automation moves that genuinely change how work gets done
- A practical view of how experience, AI and security intersect at operating‑model level
- A peer‑validated set of priorities for the next 90 days
- Language you can use with your board
The morning’s structure
Designed for open, practical conversation. Peer-led insights and shared challenges. Facilitated by Wanstor leadership.
08:30: Arrival + Networking: Enjoy a relaxed breakfast and connect with peers while taking in a breath-taking view of Tower Bridge.
09:00 – Framing: IT leadership in the AI era: Experience as an outcome, AI changing how work gets done, and security/governance built‑in by default.
09:10 – What’s breaking in traditional IT operating models: Decision rights, operating rhythms, service models, governance patterns that fail first as speed increases. Output: a shared “breakage heatmap” in board‑ready language.
09:45 – Where automation is replacing manual work, and what it changes: Service operations & digital experience, governance at AI speed, and the shift from Copilot to agents. Output: an automation shortlist + non‑negotiable guardrails + how leaders measure success.
10:15 – Short break
10:30 – What leaders are changing first (Stop / Start / Continue): A practical exercise focused on the first 90 days of operating‑model change. Output: peer‑validated 90‑day moves that become the foundation of a prioritised roadmap.
10:55 – Close: from insight to action: A clear wrap‑up across experience, foundations, secure‑by‑default operations and scalable, governed AI.
About Wanstor
Wanstor helps organisations run Microsoft‑led IT with confidence in moments that actually matter. When the board asks whether IT is enabling the business – you can answer, clearly. When Microsoft Copilot and AI accelerate change – control doesn’t slip. When security, experience and productivity collide – decisions don’t stall.
We work with organisations that rely on Microsoft 365, Azure and the Microsoft security stack as the backbone of how work gets done – and need an operating model that keeps pace without creating chaos.
Wanstor has deep Microsoft expertise – service operations, security, cloud and digital foundations – but those are the evidence, not the pitch. The value is the operating model leaders can actually run.
This roundtable reflects how we work with CIOs today: peer‑level, outcome‑led, and focused on redesigning how Microsoft‑centric IT operates in the AI era – starting with the after picture, not the feature list.
We’re trusted by leaders in Not‑for‑Profit, Housing Associations, Legal Services, Consultancies, Professional Services, and Hospitality because we make things happen – fast, securely, and with zero drama. If you want a partner who’s proactive, practical, and always focused on your outcomes, you’ll feel right at home with Wanstor.
