Copyright Fast Company
The relentless acceleration of AI is fundamentally reshaping organizations. While headlines focus on adoption rates and deployment, the real revolution is unfolding in back offices. Here data management and document-processing workflows are being transformed by technological change. With disruption comes urgency and opportunity. Organizations must equip their teams to harness AI’s capabilities. In today’s landscape, AI literacy is the new norm in the skills economy, overtaking traditional proficiencies and reshaping organizational cultures from the inside out. Embracing AI is no longer optional. It’s a strategic imperative for employees and leaders who want to unlock value and shape the future of their organizations. THE SCALE OF BACK-OFFICE DISRUPTION Back-office functions, an essential pillar of operational stability, are undergoing radical transformation. In fact, recent research by HFS for Iron Mountain has shown that 77% think the traditional back office will vanish within three years. Tasks that historically rely on manual input, such as recordkeeping, document approvals, and compliance checks, can now be handled by intelligent agents and autonomous workflows. There is a real desire with businesses to make this change: 72% want to eliminate paper from back-office functions. Digital transformation truly begins at the point of data ingestion—shifting from paper-driven processes to electronic inputs. This is where agentic platforms can thrive. They read, analyze, and structure information—not just from current inputs but also by connecting past and historical data through knowledge graphs. This broader context improves decision-making, shortens cycle times, and minimizes human error. As AI-driven automation takes hold, new operational roles are also emerging to help manage and validate the output of automated systems, including AI ops managers, AI governance officers, prompt engineers, and AI trust and safety leads. Yet, complexity persists in managing vast repositories of legacy data, namely information accumulated over decades that must now be accessed, understood, and governed. Iron Mountain’s research shows that 93% of organizations already use generative AI in some capacity. The challenge therefore isn’t adoption. It’s preparing organizations to be AI-ready by restructuring how people interact with information systems that are rapidly reshaping how tasks are performed in the workplace. NAVIGATING THE HUMAN-AI DYNAMIC As AI redefines the world of work, many fear new technologies will displace jobs. Leaders now need to consider the wider socioeconomic impacts of AI, from shifting workforce demands to the challenges of growth and inclusion. However, amid these concerns, progressive C-suite leaders see a compelling case for augmentation by pairing human judgment with AI-enabled insights to drive productivity and smarter decision-making. Iron Mountain’s research with HFS has shown that 81% expect AI agents to handle over 75% of routine tasks. By investing in AI literacy, organizations enable employees to transition into new roles focused on reviewing and validating AI-driven decisions for accuracy, or to enhance their current roles by using automated technology to evolve workflows and harness the strengths of both human and machine intelligence. DATA MANAGEMENT: THE CORNERSTONE OF AI SUCCESS Organizations must harness data management to realize AI’s full potential, and as such, data management must be at the core of AI literacy. Every organization holds massive volumes of documents, archives, and digital assets, scattered across disparate systems, much of it unseen or underutilized. advertisement Without a robust strategy to organize, curate, and secure both structured and unstructured data, even the most advanced AI tools are limited in their effectiveness. Iron Mountain recognizes from our research and client partnerships that both cultural and technological readiness are essential. It’s why we have developed advanced, scalable information management platforms, such as our InSight Digital Experience Platform (DXP). Platforms like these can proactively govern information intelligently and compliantly, streamline information workflows, and unlock actionable insights from unstructured data. A FUTURE ENABLED BY AI LITERACY When organizations embed AI literacy across operations, they gain strategic advantage. Clean, accessible information enables confident decision-making, allowing teams to shift from reactively solving problems to proactively identifying opportunities. This transformation is within reach for any organization, but it demands comprehensive information management that turns scattered assets into strategic intelligence. The future belongs to those enterprises that treat AI literacy as a fundamental business capability, not a technical add-on. As the skills economy evolves, AI literacy is the new normal, an essential capability woven into the fabric of organizational culture and strategy. Success for enterprises in the future will hinge on an organization’s ability to seamlessly blend human expertise with intelligent automation. By investing in comprehensive data management and AI literacy today, organizations position themselves to lead tomorrow’s market, equipped to navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape with clarity and confidence.
