The foundational elements of AI architecture that IT leaders need to scale

With the rapid progress of AI capabilities and the move to agentic systems, organizations are expanding their use cases as the technology continues to grow. That constant evolution also introduces risk, leaving IT leaders to wonder which investments will prove valuable even six months into the future. Returning to the foundational elements of AI architecture—the structural framework required for deploying and managing reliable, integrated AI systems at scale—allows technology leaders to make astute decisions today while supporting a future of AI agents that can retrieve information, make decisions, and execute complex workflows across systems. Four elements of AI architecture you can count on The following capabilities provide a stable compass on the path to production-ready deployment, regardless of how the underlying technology evolves. 1. Prepare data for AI at scale Models are only as reliable as the data they can access, and poor data quality leads to AI hallucinations, bias, and unreliable outputs. Most enterprises rely on legacy systems, inconsistent data structures, fragmented ownership, and incomplete datasets, making it difficult to scale AI effectively. Powerful as it is, AI itself cannot solve these underlying data problems. As Adnan Adil, CIO of Elastic, explains: “The data is a durable part of AI architecture because without it, these models won’t run, won’t provide the right context, or won’t give the right level of services that we’re looking to implement.” Industry surveys consistently cite data quality as one of the greatest barriers to AI success. “The data quality has to be good; otherwise, the user loses confidence in the system,” says Adil. An effective AI strategy begins with connecting data across the organization and ensuring it is organized, accurate, governed, and accessible in real time. These considerations are most effective when built into models and architecture from the start. Scalable data architecture allows AI systems to evolve alongside the business and connect reliably to the internal information needed to deliver meaningful value. Gartner predicts that companies will abandon 60% of all AI projects through 2026 if they are not supported by AI-ready data. Avoiding that outcome includes clear data standards and ownership, clean and labeled data, and pipelines that support real-time retrieval. 2. Use context engineering to deliver the right data to every AI query Context engineering ensures that the model draws on the most pertinent information for each query, selecting and organizing the data needed to produce accurate answers efficiently. Effective context engineering shapes the inputs that guide AI reasoning and action. While prompt engineering focuses on how a request is worded, context engineering designs the entire information environment around the model: retrieving the right data and presenting it in a structured, machine-readable way. Many organizations are discovering that reliable AI depends as much on context quality as on the strength of the model. Context engineering relies on a modernized, unified data foundation as well as retrieval and memory systems such as retrieval augmented generation (RAG) and vector databases. It also requires careful prioritization to determine what information matters most, what should be excluded, and when different types of information should be used. Feeding models too much context can dilute relevant details, increase costs, and slow response times. “Minimum context, correct and current data, and machine-readable information are critical to effective context engineering,” Adil says. 3. Build AI governance and LLM observability in from the start Strong governance and LLM observability help organizations maintain control over how AI systems use data, monitor system performance, and identify problems before they affect operations. In the absence of clear controls around retrieval, workflows, and model usage, AI systems often process far more information than necessary. This inefficiency also drives up operating costs by requiring additional computing resources, often reflected in higher token consumption and API charges. Governance also works in tandem with robust security. AI expands the attack surface, introducing risks such as prompt-based data leakage, model vulnerabilities, and adversarial inputs. Protecting sensitive information requires strong access controls, monitoring, and oversight. Adil notes that essential controls — including those related to security, granular cost management, project controls, data security, and architecture—are frequently insufficient. For governance systems to support transparent, compliant, trustworthy, and cost-effective AI, organizations cannot leave them as a layer to add later. Governance structures need to be embedded into architecture, workflows, and decision-making processes from the outset. When governance is established from the start, it enables robust observability. Observability helps organizations understand how AI applications are performing in practice. Mechanisms for LLM observability and benchmarking allow teams to assess accuracy and utility over time, monitor adoption patterns, and adjust systems as conditions change. Observability also helps organizations gain trust by increasing visibility of model performance, behavior, and failure points. Furthermore, observability is essential to get ROI of AI initiatives , as the benefits of it are often indirect and business value depends heavily on how systems are adopted and used. Real-time visibility into AI behavior allows organizations to measure performance against expectations, identify gaps between intent and reality, and continuously refine systems as requirements evolve. In a 2026 report from Elastic , 85% of IT decision makers expect to enable LLM observability for their internal generative AI apps. “Observability is actually huge. We can use observability data for cost control, decision-making, and engineering efficiency,” Adil says. 4. Keep humans in the loop The thoughtful design, integration, and governance that maximize AI value demand specialized in-house expertise. Nearly 70% of respondents in Deloitte’s 2025 Tech Executive Survey report plan to grow teams in direct response to generative AI, a clear contrast to widely reported AI-related cuts. Adil agrees: “We think the people aspect is largely what’s going to make AI impactful going forward.” As AI systems become more embedded in operations, organizations need people who can govern workflows, evaluate outputs, redesign processes, and adapt systems as conditions change. Evolution toward increasingly autonomous tools requires teams skilled in prompt engineering, orchestration, and change management. Talent adept at critical thinking and prepared to adapt with technology’s rapid advances will be in high demand. Although turnover brings in fresh thinking, it also presents high costs in system continuity, institutional understanding, and innovation. Human-centered strategy needs to be built into AI execution stages to ensure smooth implementation. As Adil says, “Many aspects of the stack are moving very, very fast, but institutional knowledge and the ability to adapt remain durable. Thoughtful AI investment for future growth As AI systems evolve from single-task assistants to increasingly autonomous agents, the organizations best positioned to benefit will be those that invest in the underlying systems, governance, and expertise that make AI reliable at scale. Tech leaders who focus on these fundamentals can move effectively from experimentation to reliable, production-level deployment in the medium term, confident that these elements will remain relevant and adaptable amid constant advancements. “We fundamentally believe that with these tools, velocity of work will get much faster,” Adil says. “We are really focused on how we can do work with these tools in ways we had not thought of before.” Learn more about how Elastic is building an AI-first enterprise with these core foundational components . This content was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by MIT Technology Review’s editorial staff. It was researched, designed, and written by human writers, editors, analysts, and illustrators. This includes the writing of surveys and collection of data for surveys. AI tools that may have been used were limited to secondary production processes that passed thorough human review.