From “e-” to “AI”. Have We Seen This Before?

I’ve been here before.

Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, everything suddenly became “e-”.
E-commerce. E-business. E-everything.

If you didn’t have it in your pitch, you were behind. If you did, you were suddenly interesting.

I remember adding it to presentations, because that’s what the market expected. And then, a couple of years later, I spent the next 24 months removing it again.

Not because digital didn’t matter, it absolutely did. But because the signal got lost in the noise.

And then the bubble burst.

The Pattern Feels Familiar

Today, we are seeing something very similar.

Replace “e-” with “AI”, and the pattern is almost identical:

• Everything is AI-powered 
• Every pitch includes AI 
• Capital is flowing fast 
• Expectations are moving even faster 

And just like back then, there’s a mix of:

• Real innovation 
• Real value 
• And a lot of positioning 

But This Time Is Not the Same

There is one important difference.

Back then, the internet was still being built. The infrastructure was early, and many use cases were unclear.

Today, AI is already usable.
It is already creating value.
It is already embedded in how companies operate.

So this is not a fake wave. It is a real shift, with a layer of hype on top.

The Risk Is Not AI, It’s How We Talk About It

The real risk is not that AI is overhyped.

The risk is that:

• Companies position themselves as AI companies without clear value 
• Messaging becomes generic 
• And differentiation disappears 

We’ve seen this before.

When everything becomes the same, trust goes down, and eventually, the market corrects.

What We’ve Chosen to Do at Norriva

Because of this experience, we’ve been careful.

We have intentionally not positioned Norriva as “just another AI platform”.

Not because AI isn’t important, it is.

But because AI is not the problem we solve.

The Problem Is Still the Same

Companies don’t fail because they lack tools. They fail because they lack alignment and control.

• Strategy is disconnected from execution 
• Budgets don’t match reality 
• Forecasts are unreliable 
• Teams are not aligned 
• Decisions are reactive instead of proactive 
• Execution is slow and still lives in silo GTM tactics and tools. 

That’s where growth breaks.

Where AI Actually Matters

This is where AI becomes powerful, not as a headline, but as an enabler.

In Norriva, AI is used to:

• Support better decision-making 
• Improve forecasting and scenario modeling 
• Highlight risks and deviations early 
• Recommend actions based on real data 
• Help teams adapt faster 

It’s not there to replace people. It’s there to help people make better decisions.

Human + AI, Not One or the Other

We believe the future is not AI alone.

It’s human + AI.

• Humans bring context, judgment, and experience 
• AI brings speed, pattern recognition, and continuous analysis 

Together, it creates something stronger:
Better decisions, made faster, with more confidence.

What This Means Going Forward

We will likely see the same cycle again:

• Over-positioning 
• Over-funding 
• Market correction 

But the companies that will last are not the ones shouting “AI” the loudest.

They are the ones:

• Solving real problems 
• Creating real value 
• Using AI where it actually makes a difference, and in context.

Closing Thought

We’ve learned this once already.

Technology matters. But clarity matters more.

At Norriva, we focus on helping companies adapt, align, and execute.
AI is simply one of the ways we make that possible.