tech2035: How digital and tech are already transforming the UK’s professional business services sector

The UK is the world’s foremost ‘services superpower’. We are the world’s second-largest services exporter behind only the United States, and one of few nations globally for which services make up over half of our exports. It makes sense therefore that innovation that happens in the services sector finds a natural home here.

The professional business services sector is connected but distinct to purely financial services. It encompasses legal, accounting, consulting, and other advisory firms, and is in the midst of a profound transformation driven by digital technologies.

From AI and automation to cloud computing and cybersecurity, these innovations are reshaping how these firms serve their clients, as well as driving efficiency and creativity internally as well.

This is most evident in the legal tech sector, where LLMs and other AI-powered tools are already transforming how lawyers read and process documents. A case study from Deloitte and BT found that by employing AI solutions to analyse and standardise contracts from across BT’s 14 EU entities, the task was able to be completed in just two weeks.

In this case, AI was used to map the 4,500 contracts and other documents that required review, signposting clearly for the legal teams where they should be focusing the majority of their efforts, and acting accordingly. The result was an estimated 50% time saving for the project.

Elsewhere, EY has developed AI-powered fraud detection tools capable of analysing whole datasets, enhancing accuracy and reducing audit times, demonstrating potential cost savings of up to 25%.

The UK has also seen a strong and growing 'reg tech’ sector of AI and data-driven solutions designed to help companies meet their obligations for regulatory compliance. Law firms, accountancies, consultancies, and many others are adopting reg tech solutions to reduce administrative burdens, improve accuracy, and ensure adherence to a changing regulatory landscape with new and expanded reporting requirements.

Examples include techUK member Onteigo, which seeks to help startups, scaleups and SMEs with their global data protection compliance and turning it into a powerful trust-building asset. By combining embedded support from a dedicated data protection team with automated compliance management, the firm specialises in high-risk data processing, and compliance with global regulations, including GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA.

Looking Ahead

Given this strong benchmark, we were pleased to see the business services sector included as one of the eight priority sectors in the Industrial Strategy, but it is vital that the dedicated plan for the sector is fit for the future. The integration of digital technologies into the work of the UK's professional business services sector is not merely a trend but, given the prominence of services to our wider economy, a vital tool for our future competitiveness. For many firms, the journey is still just getting underway.

Those that embrace AI, automation, and cloud-based solutions are better positioned to enhance efficiency, deliver superior client services, and navigate the evolving business landscape, and so it is vital that Government continues to engage with the services sector and tech providers to ensure that the right support is there for further digitisation.

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