Why does a small business need an AI readiness assessment?

Because your staff is already using AI — 89% of small businesses report AI use in 2026 — usually with no policy, no vendor review, and client data in the prompts. An assessment establishes what's in use, where data goes, what compliance requires (HIPAA now expects AI-tool risk assessment; legal confidentiality rules apply to prompts), and which AI investments will actually pay off.

What do you deliver at the end?

The Full assessment produces a written plan of recommended next steps and priorities: AI tool inventory with risk ratings, data-flow map, vendor confidentiality/BAA findings, security baseline scorecard, compliance gap list, a prioritized roadmap with rough budget, a staff AI-use policy, and a staff training session.

AI Readiness Assessment for Small Business

Why now

89% of small businesses report using AI in 2026 (U.S. Chamber of Commerce) — and usage hits 68% among firms with 10–100 employees. Meanwhile HIPAA's proposed Security Rule update explicitly expects AI-tool risk assessment, and legal confidentiality duties extend to what your staff types into a chatbot. The gap between "we use AI" and "we govern AI" is where breaches, ethics complaints, and wasted spend live.

What we examine

AI inventory

Every AI tool in actual use — sanctioned or not — across your staff.

Data-flow map

Where client and patient data travels, including into AI vendors.

Vendor posture

Per-tool review — does your data train their models? Will they sign a BAA? What do their terms actually say?

Security baseline

Microsoft 365 / Entra configuration, MFA coverage, backup integrity, identity hygiene — the foundation any AI adoption sits on.

Compliance gaps

Against HIPAA, FTC Safeguards/WISP, or professional-responsibility rules, as applicable to you.

Opportunity scan

Where AI would genuinely save your firm hours — and which vendor pitches to ignore.

Two tiers, both fixed-fee

	Snapshot — $2,500	Full — from $7,500
Duration	~1 week	~2–3 weeks
AI inventory & data-flow snapshot	✓	✓ (full mapping)
M365 security baseline check	✓	✓ (full audit)
Vendor BAA / confidentiality review	—	✓
Compliance gap analysis	summary	✓ written
Prioritized roadmap with rough budget	top-5 actions	✓ full roadmap
Staff AI-use policy	—	✓ ready to adopt
Staff training session	—	✓
Delivery	Owner debrief call	A written plan of next steps, walked through with you

Who's doing the assessing

Not a sales engineer with a checklist. ATCOS designs, deploys, and operates AI systems in production — agentic automation, document pipelines, and private, self-hosted LLM infrastructure for environments where data can't leave the building. When we tell you a tool is safe, risky, or pointless, it's from operating experience. Happy to walk through real examples on a call.

AI & IT Readiness Assessment

Why now

What we examine

Two tiers, both fixed-fee

Who's doing the assessing

Start with a free 30-minute AI readiness consult