This year, David Savage, Tech Evangelist at Nash Squared/Harvey Nash, returned to London Tech Week, an event that unites global innovators, investors, and enterprise leaders shaping the technologies of tomorrow.
Between moderating main-stage conversations and connecting with leaders across the City, David found this year’s agenda striking a more urgent tone, one focused not just on innovation, but on responsibility.
Read on for David’s reflections on the moments that mattered, the voices that stood out, and the powerful reminder that tech done right means putting deeds before dogma.
A week that hit differently
There are conference weeks, and then there are weeks. My London Tech Week 2025 (and its wider supporting events) definitely fell into the latter category.
Between moderating on-stage at Olympia alongside NetApp’s wonderfully engaging Director Paul van der Lingen, and screening our latest Tech Flix documentary inside Parliament, the week sparked some urgent conversations around leadership, sustainability, and the environmental cost of our digital future - conversations I felt were echoed around the City the whole week!
Deed over dogma
The phrase that kept ringing in my ears all week was “Deed over dogma.” It came from Ali Zaidi, a climate policy advisor in President Biden’s administration, a speaker I was lucky to meet after his talk on the Sustainability Stage.
It perfectly captured the tone of the discussions we were having and hearing. In a space increasingly filled with hype and half-truths, there’s a growing appetite from technologists and business leaders alike to cut through the noise and focus on meaningful, measurable action.
The hidden footprint of digital innovation
That sentiment was front and centre in our Tech Flix film, which shines a light on the environmental impact of unused data and AI workloads. 68% of enterprise data sits idle, consuming power, water, and resources, often stored “just in case”. It’s a silent crisis, one that’s growing in scale, yet rarely discussed in mainstream AI conversations. NetApp labelled it the “digital landfill”.
Screening Tech Flix 5 at Parliament, with support from MP Victoria Collins (the LibDem Science, Innovation and Technology spokesperson), brought the message into the heart of policy conversations. If we want AI to scale responsibly, we can’t ignore the physical footprint it leaves behind.
From problem-spotting to problem-solving
But London Tech Week didn’t just expose the problems, it also brought forward real momentum for solutions. Across stages, we heard calls for better questions, clearer measurement, and more inclusive innovation. This isn’t just about moving faster, it’s about moving smarter - and that’s the real challenge for digital leaders.
The answer isn’t to slow down innovation (there is zero appetite from the board or customers for that), but to lead it with intent. To rethink what progress looks like, to measure not only how much data we collect, but what value we actually derive from it. To interrogate our architectures, our platforms, and our policies and ask if they’re fit for the future we say we want.
A new kind of digital transformation
If London Tech Week was a reminder of anything, it’s that digital transformation can’t afford to be a buzzword anymore. It must be grounded in responsibility, sustainability, and a sense of urgency that extends beyond quarterly metrics.
Because we’re not just building tech ecosystems. We’re shaping the infrastructure of society itself.
The question is: are we building something worth sustaining?
About David Savage, Group Technology Evangelist
David is Nash Squared's Group Technology Evangelist. He crafts podcasts, hosts video debates, speaks, moderates conferences, and chairs keynote stages. A passionate advocate for technology, David focuses on exploring both its challenges and opportunities.
Since 2015, he has been the editor and host of Tech Talks, a podcast about leadership and technology that’s ranked among the most popular podcasts in the world.
David has spoken at leading global events including Web Summit, Collision, IFA Berlin, Web Summit Rio, Unleash World, Unleash Paris, Unbound, Big Data World, and Viva Tech
