Insights

Written by The EU AI Act is two years old – here’s your three-step enterprise playbook .

Last week, DBT published their Smart Data Strategy, ‘Smart Data 2035’, outlining their long-term vision to embed Smart Data schemes across the UK economy.

This year’s Commission focused on ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including addressing discriminatory laws, unequal legal systems and the structural barriers that continue to limit women’s rights.

The Government Commercial Agency (formerly CCS) are excited to share an opportunity for Suppliers and Contracting Authorities to provide feedback on their upcoming procurement, "Network Services 4". This agreement will be a replacement to the existing "Network Services 3" agreement due to expire in July 2027.

Guest blog by Lee Hargadon, Director, Enterprise & Public Sector, UK & Ireland at Nokia.

Sign-up to drive policy change and feed into the government’s Women in Tech Taskforce.

Guest blog by Nick Roberts, Director of Sovereign Cloud at Rackspace Technology.

Guest blog by Eoghan Kelly, Senior Sustainability Specialist at Fastly.

The government announced its LGR decisions in four of the devolution fast track areas, opting for between three and five councils in each area.

Guest blog by Duncan Booth, Head of Health & Social Care at Esri UK

The 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé has concluded without agreement on one of the most critical pillars of the global digital economy, underlining the challenges facing the multilateral trading system. 

On 26 March, techUK hosted NHS London Procurement Partnership (LPP) for an exclusive member briefing on the procurement landscape for health technology suppliers.

Innovate UK will become more deliberate about what technologies, sectors and businesses they support under a new strategy that is designed to address the challenge of transforming world-class research and early-stage innovation in the UK into globally competitive businesses. 

By Verity Greig, Solution Lead at Tata Consultancy Services, specialising in AI‑driven transformation and next‑generation IT operations.

Written by Charlotte White, a partner in law firm RPC's Employment, Engagement & Equality team.

Written by Antonia Walt, Chief for Client Experience, AND Digital.

Over £7.4 billion a year is to be spent on small businesses by 2028.

techUK insight on Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s speech at University of East London (26 March 2026)

At techUK’s 2026 Tech Policy Conference, we were delighted to welcome Scotland’s Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, Kate Forbes MSP.

techUK has published a new paper, Next steps for UK-Ukraine Cooperation in Tech, Trade and Defence, which sets out a practical agenda for deepening collaboration between the UK and Ukraine across defence-tech, innovation and digital trade.

techUK will be launching a new report - Digital Infrastructure 2030 – The backbone of Britain’s future economy – in July 2026, highlighting the key role of digital infrastructure as the foundation for all future economic activity.  

Nathan Hopkins, CRO at The Escrow Company, examines how the Bank of England’s 2026 letter raises the bar on cloud and AI resilience in the UK.

House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Inquiry: What you need to know

techUK recently brought together the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Innovate UK, and EPSRC to launch the UK’s Advanced Connectivity Technology (ACT) R&D programme, a four-year initiative backed by £270 million in funding.

Guest blog by Dia Nag, Director of Digital at BetterGov #LocalGovernmentReorganisation

Diana Kenny, Senior Mechanical Engineer and Global STEM Lead at RED Engineering Design, explores how STEM outreach is shaping the future talent pipeline for the Data Centre industry.

Written by Jon Healy, Managing Director - EMEA, Salute.

Written by Daniel Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Astralis Technology.

Warren Tucker, Partner and Technology Leader at PwC UK, shares his key takeaways from Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona. After a packed few days at MWC 2026 in Barcelona - full of meetings, demos and conversations with technology leaders - five talking points kept coming up again and again. These are trends I think everyone in the tech ecosystem should be watching closely.

Jon Barkworth, SVP Marketing at Sitehop, explores how shrinking the attack surface is key to evolving online safety and building trust in digital services.

Written by Sawan Joshi, FDM Chief Information Security Officer

Catch up on the UK SPF's Plenary from March 2026

By Kim Vigilia, Head of Strategy, UK at Netcompany and AI Council member at techUK

By Emma Raftery-Kenworthy, Director of PR and Marketing, Aire Logic

See upcoming events, opportunities, news, and updates from techUK's International Trade Programme…

Welcome to this week’s update on the fast-moving world of global trade, digital policy, and transatlantic relations. Here’s what’s shaping the global agenda right now.

The government has launched an independent review into police force structures following the Policing Reform white paper, examining how forces can operate more efficiently through structural change. Led by Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe, the review will explore governance, accountability and the potential move towards fewer, larger police forces.

Guest blog by Alexander Hamilton, Director of Science, Tech & Standardization at Nokia Defense, and Chair of NATO Wireless Communications Standards Project

Public sector procurement is changing fast. New legislation, rising expectations around sustainability and social value, and the growing influence of AI are reshaping how government buys and how suppliers need to show up. This year, we brought together some of the sharpest minds working at the heart of these shifts for a week of conversation about what's happening and what to do about it.

By Claire Denton, Chief General Counsel and Company Secretary, Capita.

By Andrea Marshall Webb, Managing Director, Credera

Collaboration, Innovation, and Trust: techUK at the UN Global Fraud Summit

Highlights from techUK’s flagship policy event of the year Shape

In a member webinar hosted by techUK, experts from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) provided a comprehensive introduction to the UK’s regulatory framework for software as a medical device (SaMD). The session aimed to demystify core regulatory requirements for developers, manufacturers, and NHS adopters – particularly as software and AI-driven tools continue to advance rapidly and generate questions around compliance, clinical evidence and post market expectations.

By Joanne Crean, Head of Product, Patients Know Best

By Katie Lester, Digital Connectivity Forum.

By Tanya Kennedy, Chief Human Resources Officer, System C

By Claire Davies, People and Culture Director, ITS Technology Group

The European Commission published its legislative proposal for EU Inc. on 18 March 2026. The proposal is a response to the Draghi and Letta Reports' diagnosis that legal fragmentation across 27 national corporate systems in the EU acts as an "invisible tariff" on cross-border growth. It seeks to establish a new, harmonised corporate legal regime across the European Union.

Once again, the UK has failed to find a definitive way forward on AI and copyright that meets the needs of a world-leading digital economy.  The government has effectively parked the discussion on text and data mining. It is instead seeking to reset the debate by focusing on more specific issues where the government hopes there is potential to make progress in the near term.  

The severity of the cyber risk facing the UK has grown significantly. Specifically, 1 in 2 UK small businesses suffered a cyber attack last year - yet research shows small businesses believe they won’t be targeted due to their size and scale.

Guest blog by Matthew Izatt-Lowry, Head of Economics at FarrPoint

This review sets the course for the regulator’s approach to the fixed market and help promote competition and investment.

techUK's Self Driving Vehicles Working Group has submitted detailed views and proposals for the upcoming automated vehicles rules.

As the world fixates on “humans versus machines,” the UK is quietly charting a far more powerful path—one where AI expands, rather than replaces, human agency. With bold national ambition, deep talent, and major investment, the UK is emerging as a global leader in the Agentic Era: a future where AI agents supercharge productivity, unlock stretched capacity, and let people focus on what they do best. From police forces deploying digital colleagues to businesses transforming everyday workflows, the question isn’t whether AI will take over—but how quickly we can harness it to help everyone do more with less.

Find out what the RAG will do and how to get involved.

By Phil Bearpark, Solutions Manager for defence, technology, telco & media at Reed Talent Solutions

Salesforce Business Analysts at Digital Modus, Tash JesuLoba and Karen Humphr​​eys​​​ ​share their journeys into tech, the realities of consultancy, and why user-centred design and accessibility must sit at the heart of the industry’s future.

On 17 March, the Chancellor gave her second Mais Lecture. The lecture was heavily trailed in the Spring Forecast as when the Chancellor would outline the government’s economic thinking.

This webinar with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England outlined updates to the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC), aimed at simplifying and standardising digital health assurance. The session explored reduced duplication, clearer guidance and longer-term reform plans to improve consistency, streamline procurement and support supplier adoption across the NHS.

On 5 March, techUK hosted an event focusing on Future Careers in Emerging Tech, held as part of National Careers Week and the TechTogether campaign.

The Government has announced up to £2 billion to support the development and commercialisation of quantum technologies. This includes more than £1 billion over the next four years, as announced by UKRI in December 2025, and a first of its kind procurement programme, ProQure to support scaling quantum computing in the UK.

By Kellie Mote, Programme Lead (accessibility), Jisc

By Geraint Williams, Director of Mission Control, Fujitsu

Guest blog by Mahesh Vara, Shoosmiths

FLock.io has demonstrated federated learning as a sovereign AI technique for governmental organisations with Sarawak, Malaysia as a case study.

In this insight, techUK responds to government plans to expand the Youth Guarantee, create a Youth Jobs Grant, and offer incentives for youth apprenticeships.

Hear from Nelli Shevchenko from Sherrards on the benefits of a Skilled Worker sponsor license for scale-ups.

Guest blog by Pointer on the importance of ensuring secure and resilient data centres.

By Jane Bailey, Security Managing Consultant, Fujitsu 

Dr Laura Bishop, Digital Sector Lead – AI and cybersecurity, BSI

In 2025, techUK’s annual research pointed toward a sector defined by optimism. Despite global shocks, the UK has been seen as a premier destination to start and scale a business, with the new Government’s commitment to a growth agenda seen as a step in the right direction. One year on, the view has shifted. While the ambition of the UK’s business remains undimmed, a significant "confidence gap" has emerged between the Government's rhetoric and the reality of the UK’s operating environment. 

Guest blog by Deann Evans, Managing Director, EMEA at Shopify

On Monday 2nd March, techUK hosted a roundtable bringing together regulators, policymakers, and industry leaders from digital identity and financial services. The discussion focused on identifying barriers to adoption, aligning priorities, and defining practical steps to build a secure, efficient, and trusted financial ecosystem.

The Digital Health Rewired 2026 conference programme has been published, featuring 10 stages packed with sessions from national digital leaders, NHS CEOs, CIOs, CCIOs and CNIOs, pioneering clinicians and innovators.