#131: The AI Reality Gap: What You Need to Know Before Building at Scale

Build, Buy or Wait, Navigating the AI Implementation Stack Is your company ready to build its own AI solution? In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering, hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott welcome back Dr. Diego Tamburini — executive consultant and AI practice lead at CIMdata — for a deep dive into what it actually takes to move from AI experimentation to production-ready deployment in manufacturing and engineering organizations.Diego brings 25+ years of experience across PLM, CAD/CAM, digital manufacturing, and AI strategy, with past roles at Microsoft, Autodesk, and Siemens Digital Industry Software. In this episode, he cuts through the noise to give you a practical, honest look at the AI build-vs-buy landscape.What You'll Learn:The difference between AI workflows and true agentic AI — and why conflating the two leads to bad decisionsThe full spectrum of AI implementation options: from fully embedded vendor tools to building from scratch in PythonWhen it makes sense to use low-code/no-code platforms (like Microsoft Copilot Studio or Amazon Bedrock) vs. full custom developmentWhy subject matter experts — not just developers — are becoming the key builders of AI agentsHow the digital thread concept is getting new life in the AI era and why it matters for cross-system reasoningThe "make, buy, or wait" framework for prioritizing AI initiatives wiselyThe traceability and privilege elevation challenges that regulated industries must address in agentic AIWhat skill sets organizations actually need at each level of AI implementationGuest: Dr. Diego Tamburini Executive Consultant, AI Practice Lead at CIMdata, Former Director of Engineering Agility at Microsoft, Former Design & Manufacturing Strategist at Autodesk Connect with Diego for AI strategy consulting through CIMdataRelated Episode - Give it a Listen!#125 : Strategic Patterns for Implementing AI in ManufacturingConnect & Subscribe Have a question, topic idea, or guest suggestion? Reach out anytime at [email protected].🎧 Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode — and if this was valuable, leave us a review or share it with a colleague navigating the AI landscape in their organization.Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Story Blocks.Technical Podcast Support by Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.© 2026 Razorleaf Corp. All Rights Reserved.