A client wanted one number for getting “AI-ready” before our call ended. Three vendors had already given him one — and that’s exactly the problem. The number you’re quoted is almost always the model, the cheapest part. The real budget lives in data readiness, integration, security, and adoption — the work that has to be true before any model does anything useful. Here’s what each category actually costs, why two companies the same size can land 3x apart, and how to get a real number before you commit a dollar.

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