MOBIA Grounds AI Ambitions in Data Reality with New Enablement Practice

DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia – January 05, 2026 – As organizations across Canada race to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence, many are discovering that the path from pilot project to tangible business value is fraught with challenges. Addressing this critical gap, MOBIA Technology Innovations and MOBIA Health Innovations today announced the launch of a unified Data & AI Enablement Practice, a strategic initiative aimed at building the trusted data foundations necessary to operationalize AI successfully.

Leading this new center of excellence is Jeff MacDonald, a seasoned technology executive with over 27 years of experience, who has been appointed as the Practice Lead. The move signals a market shift away from the pure hype of AI tools and towards the foundational, and often difficult, work required to make them effective.

Beyond the Hype: The Data Foundation Crisis

For many enterprises, the promise of AI remains just over the horizon. Industry analysis reflects a growing sense of disillusionment as companies struggle to scale their AI initiatives. According to market research firm Gartner, many generative AI technologies are entering the “Trough of Disillusionment,” a phase where initial excitement wanes as the practical challenges of implementation become clear. Forrester has similarly predicted that the focus in AI is shifting from “hype to hard hat work,” emphasizing the need for governance, discipline, and a clear return on investment.

The core of the problem is rarely the AI model itself, but the data it relies on. Recent studies indicate that over half of organizations believe their data is not “AI-ready,” meaning it lacks the quality, structure, and governance required for reliable AI outcomes. Without a solid data foundation, AI projects often stall, fail to scale, or produce untrustworthy results, wasting significant investment and eroding confidence.

“AI has become a strategic priority for our clients, but success depends on far more than selecting the right tools,” said Rob Lane, CEO of MOBIA Technology Innovations. Recognizing this widespread challenge, the new practice is designed to provide a clear path forward. “By launching our Data & AI Enablement Practice and welcoming Jeff to lead it, we’re strengthening MOBIA’s ability to help organizations move AI from experimentation to real business value.”

An Architect for the Data-Value Gap

To lead this crucial effort, MOBIA has brought in Jeff MacDonald, a leader whose career has been defined by navigating complex data landscapes. Before joining MOBIA, MacDonald held senior roles at a major national service provider, where he led enterprise-scale business intelligence and data transformation initiatives, successfully modernizing vast and intricate data platforms. His expertise is not just in technology but in the strategy, governance, and change management required for successful adoption.

MacDonald’s appointment underscores MOBIA’s philosophy that successful AI implementation is an infrastructure and governance challenge before it is an algorithm challenge. He is positioned not as a futurist, but as a practical architect focused on building the essential, yet often overlooked, underpinnings of AI success.

“The biggest barrier to successful AI isn’t ambition or technology — it’s data,” MacDonald stated. “Without well-governed, high-quality, contextualized data, AI initiatives stall. Our focus is on the enablement layer — the strategy, engineering, and governance required to ensure AI delivers trusted insights and lasting value.”

His vision prioritizes the unglamorous but vital work of data engineering, management, and governance, ensuring that the information fueling AI systems is secure, compliant, and fit for purpose.

Tackling Canada's Healthcare Data Challenge

The new practice’s dual mandate, serving both enterprise clients and the highly specialized healthcare sector, is a key differentiator. While commercial enterprises grapple with ROI and scalability, healthcare organizations face an even more complex set of hurdles, where data integrity is directly linked to patient outcomes and public trust. The Canadian healthcare system, in particular, operates within a stringent regulatory environment governed by laws like the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and provincial statutes such as Ontario's PHIPA.

MOBIA Health Innovations has already established deep credibility in this sensitive domain. The firm has developed practical solutions that address core healthcare data challenges head-on. One notable example is EscrowAI®, a secure, privacy-preserving platform that allows AI models to be run on clinical data without exposing or moving the sensitive information itself. This technology directly mitigates risks related to patient confidentiality and data sovereignty, which are major barriers to AI-driven research and innovation in healthcare.

“In healthcare, data trust is foundational,” said Nevin Pick, President of MOBIA Health Innovations. “This practice strengthens our ability to help healthcare organizations responsibly leverage data and AI to improve outcomes, streamline operations, and make better decisions — starting in Atlantic Canada and extending across the country.”

By focusing on building these trusted data frameworks, MOBIA aims to unlock the potential of AI to address systemic issues like optimizing patient journeys, reducing wait times, and improving access to equitable care, all while navigating the sector's complex ethical and regulatory landscape.

The Data & AI Enablement Practice offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to elevate an organization's data maturity. These include strategic consulting to define outcomes and governance models, foundational data engineering to build robust pipelines, comprehensive data management to ensure quality and compliance, and enablement services to prepare data for advanced analytics and build internal data literacy. This holistic approach signals a clear commitment to providing organizations with the tools and expertise needed to build a future where AI delivers on its promise of transformative and trustworthy results.