AI insights, articles and news

Most SMEs don't adopt AI deliberately, they drift into it. This article explores what the AI readiness and foundations stage looks like in practice, why unmanaged adoption creates real GDPR and data sovereignty risks, and how to introduce governance simply and proportionately.

Most SMEs are exploring AI informally, yet lack a clear starting point due to enterprise-focused messaging and uncertainty around cost, governance and ROI. This article outlines a practical framework for moving from AI curiosity to structured adoption, focusing on operational friction, assisted AI and early governance. The real risk is not starting too late, but allowing AI adoption to develop without direction, structure or measurable intent.

AI is widely discussed, but rarely explained in a way that reflects how SMEs actually operate. This article breaks AI into practical categories and argues that the real challenge is not access, but applying the right approach to real operational problems.

AI is often framed as a technical capability, with discussions about skills centred on data scientists and machine learning engineers. This article explores why successful AI adoption depends on a much broader set of organisational capabilities, from data foundations and governance to domain expertise and change management.

In the UK, over 99% of businesses are SMEs, yet AI is still framed as an enterprise transformation agenda. This article challenges that narrative, arguing that for smaller organisations AI is not a board-level spectacle but a practical lever for productivity, margin protection and operational scale. The real risk is not lack of access, but unstructured adoption without commercial intent.

Jake and I recently had the opportunity to attend the Cloud & AI Infrastructure London 2025. This event brought together top industry leaders, innovators, and professionals from across the cloud and AI sectors to explore the latest advancements in technology and infrastructure.

DeepSeek’s latest announcement is making waves, but while it’s a big splash today, the future of AI will look very different.We’re moving towards an era where AI capabilities won’t just be dominated by a few tech giants—smaller, specialised players will emerge, with powerful models rivaling today’s frontrunners. This shift brings both opportunity and risk.