of AI projects expected to fail by 2027 due to poor governance
Gartnerof organizations use AI, yet most organizations invest most of their resources in technology
McKinseycite data governance as the biggest barrier to AI progress
KPMGfaster AI deployment for organizations that solve governance first
Integrate.ioOverview
A governance failure,
not a technology failure
Most organizations don't struggle to build their first use case in Palantir Foundry, they struggle to build their tenth, and rarely make it to their hundredth.
Early success generates demand. That demand overwhelms the central team, development slows, and the platform stalls. It's a consistent pattern, and it's entirely predictable.
Ethicrithm addresses this by designing governance as an operating system for scale, embedding guardrails directly into Foundry so organizations can expand development confidently without losing control of the platform.
The Challenge
As adoption grows, the same questions emerge
Palantir Foundry connects data, logic, and decisions directly into operational workflows, unlocking significant value, but fundamentally changing how organizations need to operate.
Traditional governance models break down in this environment. Too much control creates bottlenecks. Too little leads to chaos. Most organizations get stuck in between, unable to move fast enough to scale, but unable to control what is being built.
- Who is allowed to build and deploy solutions?
- How do teams avoid duplication and fragmentation?
- How do you scale without running up large compute costs?
- How do you maintain standards without slowing delivery?
Our Approach
Structured Agility
We combine clear standards and guardrails with the flexibility for teams to build and iterate quickly inside the platform. Governance is embedded directly into Foundry, not layered on top of it as policy.
Enable Distributed Development
Governance structures that allow teams across the business to build independently within clear, consistent guardrails, without requiring central approval at every step.
Maintain Platform Integrity
Security, cost discipline, and quality standards maintained continuously, embedded in how the platform operates, not enforced through after-the-fact review cycles.
Scale with the Organization
A governance model that grows with your platform adoption, adapting as complexity increases, not becoming the ceiling that limits it.
Four Pillars of Foundry Governance
One system. Four interconnected components.
Our approach operates as a single integrated governance system, not four separate initiatives running in parallel.
Platform Governance & Operations
Controls how the platform is operated at scale, access, structure, compute usage, and data quality. Ensures security, consistency, and cost discipline while enabling efficient growth.
FoundationUse Case Intake & Prioritization
A structured pathway for ideas to become use cases, intake, scoping, and prioritization by value, complexity, and effort. Routes work to the right delivery model while maintaining alignment.
EnablementEnterprise Ontology
A shared data model connecting teams, functions, and applications across the enterprise. The unified foundation for scaling data-driven operations, with controlled extension at every level.
ArchitectureValue Delivery & Scaling
Coordinates delivery across teams, tracks business impact, and scales successful patterns enterprise-wide. Ensures every effort translates into measurable, sustained business outcomes.
ScaleHow It Works in Practice
Embedded, not bolted on
We embed governance directly into the Foundry environment through purpose-built controls that operate continuously as part of how the platform runs, not as a separate review layer.
- Role-based access and group-driven permission models
- Branch protection and proposal workflows for controlled changes
- Standardized project structures and naming conventions
- Data quality checks embedded within pipelines
- Intake workflows tied to prioritization and value tracking
- Layered ontology design — enterprise, domain, and use case levels
Intelligence at Scale
As platforms scale, the challenge shifts from major failures to the long tail. No central team has the bandwidth to review every pipeline, every dataset, or every use case. This is where inefficiency and cost accumulate quietly.
We leverage Palantir AIP to surface patterns across the platform, identify inefficiencies, and highlight optimization opportunities that would otherwise go unnoticed, allowing organizations to continuously improve at scale without increasing central overhead.
Our Model
Guardrails, Not Gates
Traditional governance relies on approvals and centralized control, slowing teams down and limiting scale. Structured agility changes the model entirely.
Traditional Governance
- ✕Centralized approval creates bottlenecks
- ✕Governance is a review process after the fact
- ✕Compliance-first culture slows every team
- ✕Developers blocked at every decision point
- ✕Scale produces chaos or complete stagnation
Structured Agility
- ✓Small central team defines standards and direction
- ✓Governance embedded directly in the platform
- ✓Business users build freely within clear guardrails
- ✓Distributed development moves at pace
- ✓Controlled, enterprise-wide scale
Outcomes
From stalled adoption
to controlled scale
Organizations we work with move from isolated use cases to enterprise-wide deployment, with the governance infrastructure to sustain and grow it.
Enterprise-Wide Deployment
Expansion from 1–3 use cases to adoption across the full organization.
Distributed Delivery
The majority of use cases delivered by business teams, not the central platform team.
with proper governance
Faster Time to Value
Reusable patterns and standards accelerate every subsequent deployment.
Cost Control
Operational discipline and visibility reduce compute waste and platform sprawl.
Consistent Quality
High standards maintained across all teams without centralized bottlenecks.
Governance is built into how the platform operates, not just a policy, and not just a review process.
Christopher Simpson
VP, Governance & Advisory
Christopher Simpson is Vice President of Governance and Advisory at Ethicrithm, where he helps enterprise organizations scale modern data and AI platforms into durable operational capabilities. In this role, Chris works with Palantir teams and joint customers across North America to accelerate the adoption of platforms such as Palantir Foundry, establish strong governance frameworks, and implement operating models that enable organizations to move from pilot use cases to enterprise-scale transformation.
Prior to joining Ethicrithm, Chris served as Director of Data Strategy & Analytics at Lear Corporation, where he built and led one of the most successful enterprise Palantir Foundry programs globally. The platform scaled to more than 300 production use cases and over 17,000 active users across manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, and operations. Chris brings more than a decade of experience in digital transformation, manufacturing analytics, enterprise data platforms, and AI-enabled operational improvement.
Chris is passionate about helping organizations translate powerful technology into sustainable business outcomes. He frequently contributes to industry discussions on enterprise data platform governance, operating models for AI and analytics programs, and strategies for safely scaling citizen development and advanced analytics across large organizations.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an EMBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology. He lives in Michigan with his wife and two children.
Build a governance system that enables speed, adoption, and long-term value.
Explore how Ethicrithm helps organizations scale Palantir Foundry from a handful of use cases to enterprise-wide transformation.
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Ethicrithm is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.