AI on Legacy Systems - What the Integration Layer Actually Looks Like

Practical post for engineers who've hit the wall where an AI proof-of-concept works on clean data but can't connect to the legacy systems that hold actual production data. Disclosure: I work at Ailoitte , which builds AI integration layers connecting legacy infrastructure to production AI. Sharing what the engineering actually looks like. Why does AI work in the demo but break on production data? AI models expect structured, consistently formatted data. Legacy systems — ERPs, mainframes, proprie