Collaboration is a start. Maturity is the advantage
The UK is ahead in AI innovation - but to truly scale, organisations must know where they stand today
UK firms are out in front when it comes to AI collaboration. Our recent research confirms it: UK businesses are leading their European peers in adopting open innovation models and collaborating across sectors to apply AI to real-world challenges.
It’s an encouraging sign. But collaboration alone isn’t enough to unlock AI’s full value.
If we want to move from experimentation to scale - from isolated pilots to enterprise-wide impact - then organisations need to take a clear-eyed look at their maturity for AI implementation that has real business impact.
Why AI maturity matters
AI isn’t plug-and-play. Successful adoption requires more than clever algorithms or strong partnerships. It demands a clear business focus and readiness across six critical areas:
- Strategy
- Governance
- Data
- Technology & Infrastructure
- Culture
- Expertise
These are the pillars of our AI Maturity Framework - and in our experience, they’re what savvy organisations strengthen to separate stalled pilots from scalable success.
Understanding where you’re strong, where you’re vulnerable, and where the opportunities to act next are, is the difference between throwing pound after pound on continuous experiments that fail and building real momentum.
From collaboration to capability
The UK’s leadership in AI collaboration is a strong foundation. But to stay ahead, organisations need to go beyond partnerships and build internal capability: aligning stakeholders, strengthening data infrastructure, investing in skills, and embedding governance.
That’s where our AI Maturity Framework comes in. It’s a practical way to benchmark your current state - and get tailored insight on how to improve it.
Scale requires structure
The organisations that are winning with AI aren’t just experimenting - they’re embedding it. They’ve built the conditions for AI to thrive.
Knowing your maturity level is the first step. Find out how to do this in our webinar series.
About the event
The AI Maturity Series: Six Pillars for Smarter Business is a 4-part webinar journey designed to help you pinpoint where you are on the AI maturity scale - and what it takes to accelerate. Drawing from our proven AI Maturity Assessment framework, we’ll explore the six foundational pillars required to progress from AI experimentation to real enterprise-wide business impact.
In each session, we’ll dive deep into the practical realities of implementing AI across your business - from strategy and governance to infrastructure and culture. You’ll gain insights, benchmark your progress, and learn actionable next steps to accelerate your AI journey.
- Week 1 - Vision & Foundations First: Strategy, governance & responsible AI | Wednesday 25 June, 2pm - 3pm
- Week 2 - Powering Possibility: Technology & infrastructure for scalable AI | Wednesday 2 July, 2pm - 3pm
- Week 3 - Fuelling Intelligence: Turning data into AI-driven value | Wednesday 9 July, 2pm - 3pm
- Week 4 - People at the Core: Culture, skills & human-centred AI | Wednesday 6 July, 2pm - 3pm
Whether you're just getting started or refining your AI roadmap, this series is your guide to making smarter, more strategic decisions that lead to measurable value.
Register once for access to all events in the series.
Take the assessment, get the insight, and move forward with confidence.
techUK - Seizing the AI Opportunity
For the UK to fully seize the AI opportunity, citizens and businesses must have trust and confidence in AI. techUK and our members champion the development of reliable and safe AI systems that align with the UK’s ethical principles.
AI assurance is central to this mission. Our members engage directly with policy makers, regulators, and industry leaders to influence policy and standards on AI safety and ethics, contributing to a responsible innovation environment. Through these efforts, we help build public trust in AI adoption whilst ensuring our members stay ahead of regulatory developments.
Get involved: techUK runs a busy calendar of activities including events, reports, and insights to demonstrate some of the most significant AI opportunities for the UK. Our AI Hub is where you will find details of all upcoming activity. We also send a monthly AI newsletter which you can subscribe to here.
Upcoming AI events
Latest news and insights
Subscribe to our AI newsletter
AI and Data Analytics updates
Sign-up to our monthly newsletter to get the latest updates and opportunities from our AI and Data Analytics Programme straight to your inbox.
Contact the team
Tess Buckley
Tess Buckley
A digital ethicist and musician, Tess holds a MA in AI and Philosophy, specialising in ableism in biotechnologies. Their professional journey includes working as an AI Ethics Analyst with a dataset on corporate digital responsibility, followed by supporting the development of a specialised model for sustainability disclosure requests. Currently at techUK as programme manager in digital ethics and AI safety, Tess focuses on demystifying and operationalising ethics through assurance mechanisms and standards. Their primary research interests encompass AI music systems, AI fluency, and technology created by and for differently abled individuals. Their overarching goal is to apply philosophical principles to make emerging technologies both explainable and ethical.
Outside of work Tess enjoys kickboxing, ballet, crochet and jazz music.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Website:
- tessbuckley.me
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tesssbuckley/
Visit our AI Hub - the home of all our AI content:
Authors
Gary Craven
Gary is a Chartered Management Consultant for Sopra Steria Next, currently leading the UK Data Consulting Practice. He has 16+ years as a technology and data professional working for global leading IT consultancies, strategically shaping and driving change for clients across sectors such as Government, Transport, Aerospace, Financial Services and Telecoms. As a client partner, he seeks to understand the business problems to be solved and outcomes to be achieved, in order to advise on best approaches and next-gen technologies to unlock exceptional value, defining and delivering digital and data transformation.