AI inference has transcended its role as a back-end function to become a crucial aspect of business operations, enhancing cost efficiency and competitive advantage. As the global AI infrastructure market approaches a significant valuation, enterprises are under pressure to demonstrate tangible returns on AI investments, with deployments expected to impact the bottom line and scale without additional security risks. However, many AI initiatives fall short due to underestimated costs, inefficient GPU use, and a lack of ROI tracking frameworks, among other issues. Deciding whether to build in-house or buy off-the-shelf solutions exacerbates these challenges, often resulting in hidden costs and operational delays. To maximize ROI, businesses should align AI projects with measurable outcomes, optimize models and infrastructure for specific use cases, automate MLOps processes, and ensure compliance-ready infrastructure. The Bento Inference Platform offers a solution by providing rapid deployments, performance optimizations, and dynamic scaling, enabling enterprises to achieve cost-effective and strategic AI deployments while maintaining governance and security.