Latest posts
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The CPTO as AI translator: turning model capability into business decision-making
By the end of 2025, most mid sized organisations are already using AI in some form. Customer support teams are trialling copilots, finance teams are extracting data from documents, and product teams are embedding classification or recommendation into workflows. What has changed is not the presence of AI, but the number of business decisions it
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From awareness to control: governing AI in practice in 2026
In our previous article, 2026: Technology and AI – what’s next for UK SME boards?, we argued that AI has now crossed a threshold. It is no longer an emerging technology that boards can safely delegate downward, nor is it a future concern that can be deferred until “things settle down”. AI is already influencing
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AI Risk in Due Diligence: Data, Ethics, and the Black Box Problem
Iincreasingly, we start a Technical Due Diligence to be told that the target company’s edge lies in its “AI-driven technology”. This is almost always said with confidence and with a slide or two showing impressive-looking performance metrics. But the moment we begin to examine that claim in detail, the tone changes. The conversation becomes more
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You Can’t Govern What You Don’t Understand: AI and the Need for Modern Tech Governance
In boardrooms across the world there is a growing realisation that artificial intelligence is no longer a peripheral technology. It is embedded in strategy, operations and even customer interactions. The speed at which AI capabilities are evolving is breathtaking, yet many governance structures remain rooted in a pre-AI world. This gap between technological reality and
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What Does AI Readiness Look Like in Technical Due Diligence?
In the current climate of digital transformation, few technologies command as much attention as Artificial Intelligence. Whether it is enhancing operational efficiency, enabling new forms of automation, or underpinning entire product offerings, AI is no longer optional for innovative companies. As such, investors and acquirers are increasingly scrutinising a company’s AI maturity during technical due
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The Platform Dilemma: When small services businesses outgrow their own systems
After more than three decades advising and leading technology and product teams across sectors from Telecoms to Healthcare, I’ve seen a familiar story unfold time and again—particularly in smaller services-based businesses. It starts with a team building their own bespoke system, perhaps as a natural extension of their service model or out of necessity. What
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Bridging the Gap: The Strategic Value of a Technical Product Manager in a Sales-Focused Organisation
In many sales-led product organisations, particularly those that have evolved organically or have prioritised growth through customer acquisition and commercial opportunity, the role of the Technical Product Manager (TPM) can often be underappreciated, if not entirely absent. However, as product portfolios mature, architectures grow more complex, and customer expectations trend ever upward, the need for
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Lifting the lid on technolgy in a board setting is important, an advisor might be your missing ingredient.
The modern corporate environment is increasingly influenced by technology. From digital transformation initiatives to the adoption of cutting-edge solutions such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, technology forms a cornerstone of strategic growth. A Board Advisor who possesses technical acumen can bridge the gap between complex technical concepts and strategic business decisions. During critical decision-making sessions,
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The ultimate in poorly defined requirements?
Many software engineers reach a point in their career where they are faced with a choice; continue cutting code or move into management. In many cases, engineers feel pressured by remuneration or peer pressure to move into management but transitioning from a software engineer role to being a successful software engineering manager presents significant challenges,
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Who Said My Business Was Immature?
Sometimes businesses are surprised, shocked or outraged if they score low in terms of business maturity. This might be a misunderstanding of what business maturity means, and what it might mean for them. Every great company starts with a simple idea — a spark of insight that ignites the entrepreneurial spirit. However, an idea alone