Event round-up: Putting AI into Action webinar on making data work for businesses
Chair:
- Usman Ikhlaq - Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence, techUK
Panellists:
- Emma Erskine-Fox – Managing Associate, TLT
- Bharat Bhushan - Chief Technology Officer, KPMG Consulting
- Simon de Timary – Head of Data & AI, BJSS
- Sam Lloyd – Head of Data, Ocado Technology
Recording:
Summary:
1. What does successful data look like for businesses?
- Balance: Harnessing data for maximum impact while adhering to legal and regulatory requirements, which should act as enablers, not barriers, to innovation.
- Scalability: Data systems must support large-scale operations without compromising performance. Proof-of-concept solutions often work on a small scale, but successful data means scaling up effectively while maintaining access and functionality.
- Organisational excellence: Data should drive better decision-making, enhance operations, and integrate AI as a priority at the executive level for business success.
2. Why is data (including quality and governance) important for AI?
- Data quality: The principle of "garbage in, garbage out" underscores the importance of input data quality. Even accurate data can lead to biased outputs if not carefully selected. For example, algorithms for predicting criminal recidivism have inadvertently introduced bias via proxies like postcodes.
- Governance: Beyond data governance, a wider governance framework is critical. For example, general AI and voice recognition tools require monitoring for potential sentiment analysis biases.
- Trust and accuracy: In industries like finance or healthcare, inaccurate data can lead to severe consequences. Building systems that ensure the trustworthiness, accuracy, and scalability of data is essential.
- Efficiency: Currently, 80% of analysts' time is spent sourcing, cleaning, and understanding data lineage, leaving only 10% for value-added work. Improving data processes and democratizing access can boost effectiveness.
3. What are the key data challenges businesses face, and how do they stop AI adoption?
- Operational data management: Data lakes and operational data stores can lead to performance issues and scalability limitations. Managing global datasets while adhering to compliance rules adds complexity.
- Legal and compliance barriers: Legal teams often lack clear frameworks to evaluate AI tools, creating bottlenecks. Streamlining processes and frameworks can help organisations meet their AI objectives.
- Silos: Mergers and fragmented data storage create impenetrable silos. This makes it difficult to consolidate data from different sources (e.g., sales, stock, marketing) to power AI models.
- Cultural resistance: A lack of integration between business strategy and technical implementation creates hurdles. Cultural shifts are needed to foster AI adoption and bridge commercial and technical understanding.
- Regulatory certainty: The evolving AI landscape requires clear, consistent rules. Engaging with regulators, such as the ICO or EU bodies, can help businesses address concerns and ensure compliance.
4. What can organisations and the UK Government do to resolve these issues?
To address data quality and governance challenges:
- Enable data sharing: The government can establish standards for data presentation and create secure marketplaces to facilitate inter-agency and public-private data sharing.
- Leverage funding: The apprenticeship levy can upskill staff, combining domain expertise with AI and data analytics knowledge. This can unlock the potential of existing workforces.
- Collaborate across sectors: Bringing together industries, consumer groups, and academics can foster innovation, build energy-efficient models, and improve governance. The UK’s leadership in open banking standards serves as a model for other sectors.
- Streamline governance: Clear guidelines and streamlined frameworks for data governance and compliance can reduce roadblocks, enabling quicker AI adoption while maintaining security and trust.
Key takeaways for businesses:
- Invest strategically: Treat data quality and governance as strategic investments rather than overheads.
- Adopt simplicity: Begin with simple AI solutions, iterating and scaling as needed.
- Be collaborative: Emphasise collaboration across internal teams, sectors, and regulators to drive innovation.
- Set clear goals: Ensure AI solutions address specific business needs, focusing on use cases rather than technology for its own sake.
techUK - Seizing the AI Opportunity
The UK is a global leader in AI innovation, development and adoption.
The economic growth and productivity gain that AI can unlock is vast, but to fully harness this transformative opportunity, immediate action is required. Our aim is to ensure the UK seizes the opportunities presented by AI technology and continues to be a world leader in AI development.
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
Navigating AI Adoption: Cloud, Data, and Security Fundamentals
The Gherkin, London Partner event
Latest news and insights
Subscribe to our AI newsletter
AI 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
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.
He leads techUK’s AI Adoption programme, supporting members of all sizes and sectors in adopting AI at scale. His work involves identifying barriers to adoption, exploring solutions, and helping to unlock AI’s transformative potential, particularly its benefits for people, the economy, society, and the planet. He is also committed to advancing the UK’s AI sector and ensuring the UK remains a global leader in AI by working closely with techUK members, the UK Government, regulators, and devolved and local authorities.
Since joining techUK, Usman has delivered a regular drumbeat of activity to engage members and advance techUK's AI programme. This has included two campaign weeks, the creation of the AI Adoption Hub (now the AI Hub), the AI Leader's Event Series, the Putting AI into Action webinar series and the Industrial AI sprint campaign.
Before joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, regulatory and government/public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales, marketing, and FinTech.
Usman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a GDL and LLB from BPP Law School, and a BA from Queen Mary University of London.
When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling.
Sue Daley OBE
Sue Daley OBE
Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work.
This includes work programmes on cloud, data protection, data analytics, AI, digital ethics, Digital Identity and Internet of Things as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy.
In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List.
She has been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and in 2021 was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the data agenda in the UK, Sue was co-chair of the UK government's National Data Strategy Forum until July 2024. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries for 2020 Sue has also been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and was a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI. In addition to being a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security, Sue was recently a judge for the UK Tech 50 and is a regular judge of the annual UK Cloud Awards.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015 Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. She has spoken at events including the UK-China Internet Forum in Beijing, UN IGF and European RSA on issues ranging from data usage and privacy, cloud computing and online child safety. Before joining Symantec, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Masters Degree on International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 020 7331 2055
- Twitter:
- @ChannelSwimSue,@ChannelSwimSue
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/
Laura Foster
Laura Foster
Laura is techUK’s Associate Director for Technology and Innovation.
She supports the application and expansion of emerging technologies, including Quantum Computing, High-Performance Computing, AR/VR/XR and Edge technologies, across the UK. As part of this, she works alongside techUK members and UK Government to champion long-term and sustainable innovation policy that will ensure the UK is a pioneer in science and technology
Before joining techUK, Laura worked internationally as a conference researcher and producer covering enterprise adoption of emerging technologies. This included being part of the strategic team at London Tech Week.
Laura has a degree in History (BA Hons) from Durham University, focussing on regional social history. Outside of work she loves reading, travelling and supporting rugby team St. Helens, where she is from.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- www.linkedin.com/in/lauraalicefoster
Nimmi Patel
Nimmi Patel
Nimmi Patel is the Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at techUK. She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers and governments.
Prior to joining the techUK team, she worked for the UK Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party, and holds an MA in Strategic Communications at King’s College London and BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Manchester. She is currently taking part in the 2024-25 University of Bath Institute for Policy Research Policy Fellowship Programme.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 07805744520
- Twitter:
- @nimmiptl
- Website:
- www.techuk.org
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimmi-patel1/
Audre Verseckaite
Audre Verseckaite
Audre joined techUK in July 2023 as a Policy Manager for Data. Previously, she was a Policy Advisor in the Civil Service, where she worked on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and at HM Treasury on designing COVID-19 support schemes and delivering the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Before that, Audre worked at a public relations consultancy, advising public and private sector clients on their communications, public relations, and government affairs strategy.
Prior to this, Audre completed an MSc in Public Policy at the Korea Development Institute and a Bachelor's in International Relations and History from SOAS, University of London. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors, learning about new cultures through travel and food, and going on adventures.
Edward Emerson
Edward Emerson
Edward leads the Digital Economy programme at techUK, which includes our work on online safety, fraud, and regulation for growth initiatives.
He has prior experience working for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and has previously worked for a number of public affairs consultancies specialising in research and strategy, working with leading clients in the technology and financial services sectors.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-emerson-009189183
Heather Cover-Kus
Heather Cover-Kus
Heather is Head of Central Government Programme at techUK, working to represent the supplier community of tech products and services to Central Government.
Prior to joining techUK in April 2022, Heather worked in the Economic Policy and Small States Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She led the organisation’s FinTech programme and worked to create an enabling environment for developing countries to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits of FinTech.
Before moving to the UK, Heather worked at the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
Heather holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from LSE, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Macalester College.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-cover-kus-ba636538
Visit our AI Hub - the home of all our AI content:
Authors
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.