YIT
Data and AI strategy helps YIT boost productivity
YIT, a leading Finnish construction and development company, is at the forefront of leveraging data and AI to achieve a major productivity leap.
Together with Solita, YIT developed a forward-thinking data and AI strategy that provides a clear vision, outlines future initiatives, and presents concrete development actions aligned with business objectives.
The new data and AI strategy helps us enhance productivity and efficiency.
Olli Järvi Head of Data and Insights, YIT
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A clear and inspiring data and AI vision
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Prioritised business value creation opportunities across all business segments
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An actionable roadmap for data and AI development
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Concrete development actions integrated with business objectives (OKRs) and annual plans
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Strengthened organisational commitment to AI adoption, driven by widespread employee engagement
A forward-looking approach to industry challenges
The construction industry has traditionally lagged behind other sectors in productivity growth. In recent years, challenging market conditions have further increased the pressure for transformation. Despite the downturn in the Finnish housing market, YIT is taking a proactive stance, ensuring the company is well-positioned for future growth as markets recover.
YIT’s new business strategy for 2025–2029 focuses on achieving top industry productivity, targeted growth, and elevated customer and employee experiences. The company is determined to improve productivity by harnessing the power of data and AI.
“Over the years, we’ve built a strong foundation in data and digitalisation. Now it was time to take the next step and explore AI’s potential for us. What trends, opportunities, and technologies should we consider? Where can AI create the most value for our people and business? We needed a data and AI strategy to take us to the next level”, says Olli Järvi from YIT.
We needed a data and AI strategy to take us to the next level.
Olli Järvi Head of Data and Insights, YIT
By working on their data and AI strategy simultaneously with their business strategy, YIT ensured alignment and maximised synergies between the two.
Engaging the organisation: The key to AI success
A major productivity driver for YIT is equipping employees with better tools and data-driven insights that help them work smarter and make better business decisions. Therefore, a key objective for the data and AI strategy process was wide engagement across the organisation to increase data and AI literacy, foster a data-driven culture and build momentum for AI adoption.
We began the strategy work with a comprehensive employee survey, which revealed a strong enthusiasm for AI: most respondents saw AI as an opportunity to work smarter and were eager to learn more. Business users expressed interest in developing their own reports and analytics solutions, given access to the right tools and data.
“The breakthrough of GenAI makes AI more tangible in everyday work, so this was the perfect time to engage employees in the strategy process. Many were already thinking about how AI could support their work and were genuinely excited about new possibilities”, says Olli Järvi.
Throughout the process, over 150 YIT employees participated in workshops and interviews. The collaboration spanned leadership, business units, and support functions, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all critical areas. Strong top management support further strengthened the impact of the project.
It’s been inspiring to see how YIT has developed its data and AI maturity over the past year. That, combined with their openness and company-wide commitment, was an excellent basis for this strategy project.
Tero Kallioinen Principal Consultant, Value out of Data and AI, Solita
A structured data and AI strategy framework with proven results
When selecting a partner for this initiative, YIT prioritised a clear and actionable strategy with measurable business outcomes.
“What we valued most was Solita’s data experience in the business of the built environment. Also, their well-structured framework, proven across multiple data and AI strategy projects in various industries, was a key differentiator”, says Olli Järvi.
Solita’s data and AI strategy framework helped YIT for example in:
- Creating multiple scenarios of how AI will shape the future of the construction industry
- Defining YIT’s target position in the data and AI ecosystem
- Identifying and prioritising business value creation opportunities
- Formulating a clear and inspiring data and AI vision that supports communication
- Identifying critical data and AI capability development areas from both technological and organisational perspectives
- Defining concrete next-step actions that are integrated with business OKRs and annual planning
“ Solita led the strategy work effectively and brought expertise we lacked. Their well-designed framework helped us to achieve the desired outcomes. We appreciated their deep understanding of our business and their ability to help us prioritise.
Olli Järvi Head of Data and Insights, YIT
“The whole Solita team was also very nice and easy-going to work with”, says Olli Järvi.
“We were delighted to see exceptionally strong business involvement right from the start. YIT’s business leaders participated actively in the process, helping us align data and AI development with business priorities. This helped us home in on the most valuable concrete use-cases that also the business units can commit to”, says Tero Kallioinen from Solita.
From strategy to action: AI driving real business impact
YIT has already begun realising value from AI and data, expecting more benefits from future initiatives. Examples of potential focus areas could be:
- AI-assisted project forecasting: AI-driven insights improve visibility into project status, helping teams make more informed decisions and enhancing overall business performance. Since the construction business is very project-focused, this can generate a huge impact on the bottom line.
- Dynamic pricing: Data and AI solutions enable more precise pricing adjustments based on market conditions.
- Data and AI Academy for employees: A company-wide initiative to enhance data and AI literacy, foster data-driven culture, and capture new ideas across the business.
YIT’s new data and AI strategy provides a clear vision and roadmap to help the company harness data and AI for the productivity leap they’re aiming for. By integrating AI into their daily operations and business processes, YIT is not just preparing for the future of the construction industry — they are actively shaping it.
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Tero Kallioinen Principal Consultant, Value out of Data and AI, Solita
[email protected] +358 407 537 874