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<div>We&rsquo;re Harvey Nash, and we build amazing technology and digital teams.&nbsp;There are very few recruitment companies that offer the in-depth knowledge, network and enviable track record that comes from being totally dedicated to working in technology for over three decades. Our relationships with individuals and organisations span years and it is this intimacy with the technology sector that enables us to be so effective.</div>

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"I’m excited to welcome new team members with a wide range of skills, experiences and backgrounds who will be able to lead, support and guide the next phase of our transformational development.With such a wide-ranging programme we have lots of opportunities available. We are a collaborative and engaging team, always learning new things that can improve the products and services that we deliver. You’ll bring capability and enthusiasm to support our ambitious vision, with a desire to make a real difference at all levels of skills and experience. We’re really excited to encourage people to join us to develop a sustainable and diverse team while supporting your professional and personal development. I look forward to receiving your application."

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<p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">AI needs high-quality data, and experts believe emerging technology can help solve the information management challenge. Yet while evidence suggests pioneers are making progress, significant adoption barriers remain.</p>
<p>Data is the fuel for AI since generative, agentic, and ML systems are only as effective as the information they consume. Across all stages of the data lifecycle, including creation, storage, usage, archival, and destruction, <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4188566/cios-rethink-the-balance-between-ai-oversight-and-innovation.html">CIOs and their business peers must consider how information feeds AI services</a>.</p>
<p>Almost<a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-02-26-lack-of-ai-ready-data-puts-ai-projects-at-risk"> two-thirds of organisations</a> are unsure whether they have the right data management practices for AI, says Gartner. The tech analyst predicts organisations will abandon 60% of AI projects by the end of the year due to a lack of data readiness. In such circumstances, a potential competitive advantage quickly becomes an innovation cul-de-sac.</p>
<p>CIOs who want to exploit AI will need a way to improve data management across the lifecycle, and it&rsquo;s here that AI itself can play a crucial role. Gartner recommends organisations build on their existing practices by iteratively adding AI-specific services that extend and improve data management techniques.</p>
<p>Stephen Wood, COO at Rathbones Asset Management, recognises this opportunity, and he and his firm&rsquo;s staff are eager to avoid lifting and shifting information from one place to another in their data management efforts. AI could help.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Our people want to run models to look at the data, whether that&rsquo;s the shape, structure, value, or whatever it happens to be,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;If that task becomes something AI can do, I&rsquo;m not sure yet. But given its power, it seems obvious you&rsquo;ll be able to manage elements of the data lifecycle.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Digital leaders suggest AI can improve information management processes, but there are limitations. First, they must recognise that emerging technology needs high-quality data, and then they need to identify key challenges, particularly around governance and trust. Then they must carefully explore where AI can play a key role.</p>
<h2>Establishing data quality</h2>
<p>For some digital leaders, a clear direction for data lifecycle management is already part of the operating process, including using AI.</p>
<p>Alwin Bakkenes, head of software engineering at Volvo Cars, says his company&rsquo;s driver assistance systems (ADAS) rely on high-quality information. With a strong heritage in vehicle safety, Volvo has collected millions of data points since 2020, all with customer consent, to improve its collision-avoidance systems.</p>
<p>&ldquo;In our ADAS stack, data curation is one of the most important elements,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of data coming in from a large fleet, and we curate it and figure out what information we need to make model training more efficient.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Bakkenes gives the example of collecting data from vehicles to help understand traffic hotspots, such as large Parisian roundabouts. His team sends triggers to sensors to collect more data, which is then used to train AI models and test whether they behave as expected.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s quite an open loop, but that&rsquo;s our data management strategy,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And this insight must be maintained and curated over time. Crucially, more data isn&rsquo;t always the best data. Instead, data quality matters, and we&rsquo;ve had good data for a long time.&rdquo;</p>
<p>This strategic approach to information collection chimes with Ankur Anand, group CIO at recruiter Harvey Nash. He says successful data lifecycle management in the age of AI involves four underlying processes. &ldquo;First, the data has to be findable, which means AI can locate the relevant information without relying on a professional&rsquo;s knowledge,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>Second, data must be understandable. He gives the example of multinational companies using different definitions across the business. &ldquo;If there&rsquo;s no common language or consistent terms, the context will vary, the AI will interpret the data differently, and that can have a big impact on the decision-making processes,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>The third core element is that data must be trustworthy. &ldquo;The cleanup stage is very important,&rdquo; Anand says. &ldquo;The data must be permissioned appropriately so you don&rsquo;t have an issue with people seeing information they shouldn&rsquo;t be seeing. Confidentiality is crucial, because if the trust is broken, people won&rsquo;t use AI.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Finally, data must be usable at speed, which relies on the three previous processes. &ldquo;It shouldn&rsquo;t take people long to get a proper summarisation, comparison, or reasoning from AI.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Recognising the potential, with limitations</h2>
<p>Once data quality is established, digital leaders can start to consider how emerging technology can be inserted into stages of the data lifecycle.</p>
<p>Take Emmanuel Frenehard, chief digital officer at biopharmaceutical giant Sanofi. &ldquo;I think AI can help surface gaps in data,&rdquo; he says, referring to emerging technology, such as Snowflake&rsquo;s agents, to scan information and identify areas where decision makers lack detailed insights.</p>
<p>Frenehard adds that AI can also help correct data. Most of his firm&rsquo;s clinical trial data involves some element of human correction, and emerging technology can spot anomalies. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s very useful,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We use AI as a data governance methodology for clinical trials, where we review everything that comes in and self-heal the data.&rdquo;</p>
<p>However, while these capabilities exist, Frenehard says there are limits. In a heavily governed industry like biopharmaceuticals, a probabilistic AI model that uses statistics to predict likelihoods and manage uncertainty can be helpful, but it can also create risks. His firm isn&rsquo;t prepared to use AI to manage data without human input.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The potential is there, but the trust would have to be there, too,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I always have concerns with probabilistic models. Probabilities are never 100%. There may be areas of business where it&rsquo;s okay not to be 100% certain, yet there are also areas where it&rsquo;s not, such as patient data and treatment recommendations.&rdquo;</p>
<p>That sentiment resonates with Bernhard Seiser, VP of digital, data, and IT at AOP Health, who says his firm isn&rsquo;t using AI to manage the full data lifecycle. He says discussions about data often cover similar concerns in big, heavily governed sectors, especially when considering whether AI is ready for information management.</p>
<p>&ldquo;In our industry, 99% certainly doesn&rsquo;t help me in a data space that needs to be 100% accurate,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;But of course there are areas where you can leverage AI. For example, if you bring in new data sources, having somebody from the business available to describe each field is tough. For that task, gen AI tools can do a fantastic job.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Seiser says his organisation will continue to explore emerging technologies, but temper expectations. More AI might mean a degree of uncertainty that&rsquo;s unpalatable, and right now, pioneering developments that could push AI-enabled data lifecycle management to new heights seem a long way off.</p>
<p>&ldquo;For the more sophisticated stuff, like creating data products, writing queries, and so on, you always need to live with the fact that it&rsquo;s not 100% certain,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve spoken with technology experts, and people are unsure the technology will be ready for managing the full data lifecycle in five or even 10 years.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Exploring solid use cases</h2>
<p>While digital leaders aren&rsquo;t eager to automate the data lifecycle in its entirety, pioneers recognise AI brings new efficiencies to specific stages of the process.</p>
<p>Michael Cole, chief technology officer at the DP World Tour, has spent the past two years working with key partners, such as HCLTech and AWS, to digitise his organisation&rsquo;s historical archive of over 50 years of data, covering 20,000 tapes, 27,000 hours, and 1.2 petabytes of content. This process has helped highlight the value of AI-enabled data management.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s only the start of the journey,&rdquo; he says, referring to the transformation. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re about to announce a new platform for media asset management, which means we&rsquo;ll not only have all archived content in a digital format, but it&rsquo;ll be easily accessible for internal resources, media, broadcasters, partners, and ultimately fans as well.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Cole says this work illustrates the organisation&rsquo;s focus on digitising information and making it available to younger fans who want to consume sports content in myriad ways. As this process gathers pace, emerging technology will play an important role in data management.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We already use AI to automate the clipping of player shots, and we&rsquo;ll continue to use AI for metadata tagging because that process is critical to creating an efficient way to source content and data,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Everything must be tagged accurately to enable that efficiency. We think gen AI and agentic technology will evolve to boost the efficiency of not only producing content but making it accessible to our fans.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Freshworks CIO Ashwin Ballal is another digital leader who says AI can help manage stages of the lifecycle, such as the manually intensive data-cleansing process. An AI agent should be able to speed up that laborious process exponentially.</p>
<p>However, Ballal also suggests the key point isn&rsquo;t whether AI can do data management work quickly, but whether tools work effectively to improve data integrity and quality. The good news is model training can help boost effectiveness. Now his firm is looking to insert agentic AI into the data management lifecycle.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just beginning that process,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We have a Databricks platform and have built LLMs and agents on top of the data. So if you&rsquo;re a salesperson, you&rsquo;ve got a sales agent, a marketing agent, and a product agent. This technology taps into the power of the data.&rdquo;</p>

How CIOs use AI to better manage data lifecycles

<p>This article was originally published on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/innovation/ai-career-ladder-new-ways-to-top/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZDNET</a>&nbsp;and features insights from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>, CIO at Harvey Nash.</p>
<hr>
<p>Traditional career paths are giving way to lattice-like structures, and successful professionals will embrace this change.</p>
<p>For decades, the story was simple: start in an entry role, gain on-the-job experience, and move up the career ladder step by step. Now, in an age of AI, that long-accepted narrative is crumbling.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.zdnet.com/innovation/how-workers-use-ai-at-work-2026/">AI is automating routine tasks at the bottom rungs of the career ladder</a> while giving people <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/5-entry-level-tech-jobs-ai-is-already-augmenting-according-to-amazon/">the tools to work on more complex tasks earlier in their careers</a>.</p>
<p>In this AI-enabled workplace, instead of a single upward career path, professionals encounter a flexible employment structure where they must grow vertically into senior roles, horizontally across functions, and diagonally into adjacent areas to build new capabilities.</p>
<p>&ldquo;AI is not just changing what work looks like; it is also changing how people climb,&rdquo; Ankur Anand, CIO at recruiter Harvey Nash, told ZDNET. &ldquo;The traditional career ladder is being replaced with a career lattice, and people who learn to move across it will reach the top faster than those who wait for the next rung.&rdquo;</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s already clear that <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/innovation/chase-cio-ai-fundamentals/">the workplace of tomorrow won&rsquo;t look like the one we know today</a>, and neither will its traditional career path.</p>
<p>Business leaders told ZDNET that ambitious professionals will rise to the top in today&rsquo;s work environment by focusing on two core areas: exploring new territory and making practical moves.</p>
<h2>Exploring new territories</h2>
<p>If step-by-step promotions are a thing of the past, then professionals will need to find new ways to reach the summit.</p>
<p>Anand said climbing the career ladder means being open to opportunities, especially those that involve emerging technologies. &ldquo;The route to the top is less about tenure in one track and more about building a broad, transferable skill set while using AI to accelerate learning and impact,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>That sentiment resonated with Jesse Cox, accounts payable manager at healthcare specialist Solis Mammography, who told ZDNET that upwardly mobile employees are ready to explore fresh territories.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I was telling somebody the other day, &lsquo;AI is here. You&rsquo;re either going to get on your surfboard and ride the wave, or it&rsquo;s going to plow you over, and you&rsquo;ll get left behind. There&rsquo;s really no choice.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
<p>Cox said professionals should prioritize continuous personal development. Smart employees recognize that AI helps them work more quickly and move into new areas that might once have seemed beyond their compass.</p>
<p>&ldquo;AI doesn&rsquo;t mean you&rsquo;re losing your job,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It means you get to do things that you put on the back burner because you never had the time to get to them. That&rsquo;s what AI truly means.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In his own department, professionals are exploiting AI services to save time and improve existing business processes, such as approving and paying invoices.</p>
<p>People who prove strong AI use cases share best-practice lessons and showcase their ability to become next-generation leaders.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You must look and say, &lsquo;OK, well, what does this mean? What do I get to do? How do I continue to grow?&rsquo; As a professional, you&rsquo;re going to have to grow with this wave.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Tal Carmi, CIO at technology specialist WalkMe, also told ZDNET that professionals must embrace AI, recounting a story where one of his senior executive colleagues expressed this requirement in clear terms</p>
<p>&ldquo;He said, &lsquo;If somebody comes to me and he doesn&rsquo;t speak AI at the basic level, then it&rsquo;s like somebody who&rsquo;s not using the internet or somebody who doesn&rsquo;t use email or Excel.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
<p>Carmi has met people outside the tech industry who&rsquo;ve said they haven&rsquo;t explored AI as they&rsquo;re not developers. This limited approach will constrain your upward ambitions.</p>
<p>&ldquo;AI is in a different place today,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Companies will try to give you skills or knowledge. But in the end, I think it&rsquo;s curiosity that drives people, especially at the rate things change.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Making practical moves</h2>
<p>The key to long-term career success, suggested Kirsty Roth, chief operating officer at Thomson Reuters, is adaptability. The best professionals are enthused by change.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I remember a bunch of excited team members playing with the big breakthrough models for ChatGPT,&rdquo; she told ZDNET. &ldquo;And guess what? Those people have turned out to be some of our most capable engineers in the last 18 months.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Adaptability isn&rsquo;t just a core requirement for those at lower rungs of the career lattice. Roth said too many people wrongly assume that younger people are best placed to respond to the career changes brought by AI.</p>
<p>Instead, her evidence suggests the best professionals, regardless of demographic, adapt confidently to the new, AI-enabled workplace and the continuous learning journey it requires.</p>
<p>These professionals ask important questions about the next rung of the career lattice long before they get there.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We all get to these points in our careers where we have a choice of job A or job B, and I usually tell people to write what you think are the two or three lines on your CV that will be added at the end of the job,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Think about, &lsquo;What are you going to learn? What are you going to have done differently in that role?&rsquo; If you go into these changes with an open mind and are willing to learn new things, you&rsquo;ll be just fine. Those people will be the CEOs and board members of the future.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The key message, Anand suggested, is that AI is not just a technology shift, but a leadership test. The people who excel will pass with flying colors.</p>
<p>He suggested six practical moves for professionals who want to keep their career ambitions on track:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Use AI to learn faster, not just to finish tasks:</strong> &ldquo;Treat AI as a coach. Ask it to explain concepts, test your ideas, and help you explore different approaches before you decide. This approach turns everyday work into a faster learning loop.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>Aim for judgement‑heavy work early: </strong>&ldquo;Look for chances to review AI outputs, flag complex cases, or surface insights for senior teams. These activities build the decision‑making muscle that defines future leaders.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>Build a T‑shaped profile:</strong> &ldquo;Go deep in your core discipline, such as finance, recruiting, or engineering, but add a strong crossbar of AI fluency, data literacy, and basic product or business thinking. That combination makes you valuable as roles evolve.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>Think in projects, not job titles:</strong> &ldquo;Treat each role as a set of projects where you can show clear impact, such as time saved, revenue influenced, risk reduced, or experience improved. This mindset helps you stand out when promotion criteria shift.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>Invest in human skills that AI amplifies:</strong> &ldquo;Communication, empathy, and critical thinking are the areas where humans still lead. Use AI to handle routine work so you can focus more on relationships, stakeholder management, and problem‑solving.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>Be open to lateral and diagonal moves:</strong> &ldquo;If a move across teams or functions builds important skills or AI experience, take it. In a lattice, sideways steps can be the fastest way up over time.&rdquo;</li>
</ol>

AI just broke your career ladder – here are 6 new ways to the top

<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/bev-white" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bev White</a>, Executive Chair of Harvey Nash and Crimson, has been named in Staffing Industry Analysts&rsquo; <strong>Global Power 150 Women in Staffing 2026</strong>, recognising her continued influence within the global staffing industry.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/__gallery/2c49bc4a-84ed-48df-b0a9-810e81455723" alt="Bev White, Executive Chair at Harvey Nash" width="300" height="300"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The annual list celebrates women whose leadership and contribution are helping to shape the staffing sector.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The recognition comes as Bev White prepares to take on another influential industry role as Chair of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). The REC represents the UK recruitment industry and champions its role in supporting businesses, candidates and the wider economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Commenting on her inclusion, Bev White said:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;I&rsquo;m honoured to be recognised alongside so many women making an impact across our industry. Recruitment has such an important role to play in helping organisations understand the skills they need, find them and build workforces that are ready for what comes next. Technology and AI are opening up new possibilities, but ultimately this is still an industry built around people and potential.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bev brings extensive experience across technology, recruitment and business leadership. Before becoming Executive Chair of Harvey Nash and Crimson, she was Group CEO of Nash Squared. Her earlier career included technology leadership roles at Schlumberger and NTL, which became Virgin Media, before moving into the recruitment and talent sector.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her appointment to lead the REC reflects her continued focus on the role recruitment can play in supporting people, businesses and economic growth, while helping the sector respond positively to the forces changing the world of work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.staffingindustry.com/lists/global-power-150-women-in-staffing/2026-global-power-150" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Find out more about the SIA Global Power 150 Women in Staffing 2026.</a></p>

Bev White named in SIA’s Global Power 150 Women in Staffing 2026

<h2>What a Chief Information Officer Does</h2>
<p dir="ltr">A Chief Information Officer (CIO) is the senior executive responsible for an organisation's information technology: its strategy, systems, data, security and the teams that run them. Today, the CIO role goes well beyond running IT. Boards expect CIOs to turn technology, and increasingly AI, into measurable business results.</p>
<p dir="ltr">At Harvey Nash, we have tracked the CIO role for more than 25 years. Our Digital Leadership Report, which began life in 1998 as the CIO Survey, is the world's largest and longest-running study of senior technology leaders. Its 2025 edition surveyed 2,015 technology leaders across 62 countries. You can <a href="https://survey.censuswide.com/survey/selfserve/53b/g022/2608246?list=6&amp;Link_Status=LIVE&amp;clientSource=hannah.stevens@harveynash.com">take part in the 2026 Digital Leadership Report here</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This guide draws on that research, and on our experience recruiting CIOs, to explain what the job involves, what it takes to do it well, and where it is heading.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Key takeaways</strong></p>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The CIO owns technology strategy, IT operations, cyber risk, data and the technology team.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">68% of CIOs now sit on the operational board or executive team, up from 61% in 2023 (<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025">Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report</a>).</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Boards now see the CIO as a business leader first and a technologist second.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">AI is the number one skills shortage for technology leaders, and proving AI's business value is now a core part of the CIO's job.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Most CIOs spend five to ten years at director level before stepping into the C-suite.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">What is the CIO role?</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The CIO is the most senior person accountable for how an organisation uses information technology. They decide which technology the business invests in, make sure it works reliably and securely, and lead the people who deliver it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In most organisations the CIO reports to the CEO, or sometimes to the CFO or COO, and sits on the executive team. That seat matters. Our research shows that organisations with digital leaders at the top table see a 20% uplift in adopting new technology and a 24% advantage in attracting and retaining talent.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A note on the name: in financial services, "CIO" can also mean Chief Investment Officer. This guide covers the <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/talent-solutions/technology-digital-search/cio-recruiter">Chief Information Officer.</a></p>
<h3 dir="ltr">What does a CIO do? Key responsibilities</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The detail varies by sector and size, but most CIO roles cover seven areas:</p>
<ol>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Technology strategy.</strong> Aligning technology investment with the organisation's business goals, and deciding where to spend, and where not to.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Digital transformation.</strong> Leading the adoption of new technology, automation and ways of working across the business, not just inside IT.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>IT operations and infrastructure.</strong> Keeping core systems, networks, cloud platforms and support services running reliably.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Cyber security and risk</strong>. Protecting the organisation's systems and data, usually alongside a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). In our 2025 research, 29% of technology leaders reported a major cyber-attack in the past two years, the highest level since 2019.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Data and AI.</strong> Making sure data is well managed, and that AI projects move from pilot to real value. In 2025, 90% of technology leaders were piloting or investing in AI.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Budget and suppliers</strong>. Managing the technology budget, software procurement and key supplier relationships.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Leading the technology team.</strong> Hiring, developing and keeping the people who deliver all of the above.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h3 dir="ltr">What skills does a CIO need?</h3>
<p dir="ltr">Technical depth still matters. In our research, 48% of technologists rank a deep understanding of technology among their leader's top three traits, and 46% say a lack of it in leadership is a significant barrier. But it is no longer enough on its own. Technology teams want CIOs to combine their technical depth and expertise with these key traits:</p>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Business acumen. Understanding the organisation's finances and market well enough to build a clear business case for every technology investment.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Commercial judgement. Knowing which projects will pay back, and stopping the ones that won't.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Change leadership. Taking large teams, and the wider organisation, through major change.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Influence and communication. Explaining complex technology in plain business terms to the board, and persuading rather than commanding. As<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand"> Ankur Anand, CIO</a> at Harvey Nash, puts it, the role now needs "a new mindset and new skills, collaborating with the business, influencing, guiding, and persuading."</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Risk and governance. Balancing innovation with security, regulation and compliance.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">AI literacy. Turning AI opportunities into practical strategies and measurable results.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">How is the CIO role changing?</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The CIO role has changed more in the last five years than in the previous twenty. Four shifts stand out in our Digital Leadership Report data.</p>
<p dir="ltr">1. From IT manager to business leader. 68% of CIOs now sit on the operational board or executive team, up from 61% in 2023. Boards increasingly see technology leaders as enterprise leaders first and technology experts second.</p>
<p dir="ltr">2. Accountable for AI results, not just AI pilots. The share of organisations running large-scale AI implementations almost doubled between 2023 and 2025, from 10% to 19%. Yet only one in three report clear, demonstrable ROI. Closing that gap is now squarely the CIO's problem.</p>
<p dir="ltr">3. Doing more with tighter budgets. Technology budget growth in 2025 was the lowest in a decade, though 39% of leaders still expect budgets to rise. Investment has not disappeared; it has become more selective, which puts a premium on CIOs who can prove value.</p>
<p dir="ltr">4. A tougher talent market. AI jumped from the sixth to the first most scarce technology skill in 18 months, with 51% of technology leaders reporting a shortage, up from 28%. It is the steepest rise in any skills shortage we have recorded in more than 15 years. Building and keeping a capable team is one of the hardest parts of the job.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Cloud has also changed where power sits. Technology is no longer controlled only from the centre, so today's CIO leads through partnership with other executives rather than command and control.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">CIO vs CTO: what is the difference?</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The two roles overlap and are sometimes held by one person, but the focus is different. In short, the CIO looks inward at how technology runs the business; the <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/talent-solutions/technology-digital-search/cto-recruiter">CTO</a> looks outward at the technology the business sells or builds.</p>
<div dir="ltr" align="left">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 17px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;" border="1"><colgroup><col width="139"><col width="227"><col width="236"></colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 91.1111px;">
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Role</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Main focus</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Typical question they answer</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 174.444px;">
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">CIO (Chief Information Officer)</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">Internal technology, systems, data and IT operations that run the organisation</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">"Is our technology making the business more efficient, secure and competitive?"</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 141.111px;">
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">CTO (Chief Technology Officer)</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">Product and engineering technology, often customer-facing</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">"Are we building the right technology into what we sell?"</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 141.111px;">
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">CDO (Chief Digital Officer)</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">Digital customer experience and digital business models</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">"How do we win and serve customers digitally?"</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 124.444px;">
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">Chief Data Officer</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">Data strategy, governance and analytics</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">"Can we trust and use our data?"</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 124.444px;">
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">CISO (Chief Information Security Officer)</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">Cyber security and information risk</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 5px;">
<p dir="ltr">"Are we protected, and could we recover?"</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p dir="ltr">In many organisations the CIO and CTO work as close partners, and that relationship is becoming more important as AI blurs the line between internal systems and products. We recruit for all of these roles; see our<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/talent-solutions/technology-digital-search/cto-recruiter"> CTO recruitment</a> page for more on the CTO.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">How do you become a CIO?</h3>
<p dir="ltr">There is no single route, but most CIOs follow a similar path: a technical or IT operations background, then IT management, then a director-level role such as Head of IT or IT Director. In our experience, candidates typically spend five to ten years at director level before moving into the C-suite.</p>
<p dir="ltr">What separates those who make the step:</p>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">A strong track record of leading change and transformation, not just running systems.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Relationships across the business, beyond the IT function.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Business education or exposure, such as an MBA, P&amp;L responsibility or time in a commercial role.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Investment in communication and influencing skills.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Measuring success by the business problems solved, not the job title.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p dir="ltr">For more, read our guide on<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/latest-news/how-to-level-up-from-it-management-to-it-leadership"> how to level up from IT management to IT leadership</a>.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">What do CIO interviews focus on?</h3>
<p dir="ltr">CIO interviews are rarely about technology alone. Boards and hiring panels usually test five things:</p>
<ol>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Business impact. Examples of technology investments that delivered measurable results, with numbers.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">AI and data strategy. How you would move AI from pilots to value in their organisation, and how you would measure it.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Transformation experience. A major change programme you led: what went wrong, and what you did about it.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Risk and resilience. How you would handle a serious cyber incident, and how you report risk to the board.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Leadership and influence. How you build a team in a tight talent market, and how you win over sceptical executives.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p dir="ltr">Come prepared with a short, clear view of what the organisation's technology should look like in three years, and what it would take to get there.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">Hiring a CIO? What to look for</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The best CIO appointments start with a clear brief. Before you search, agree internally on:</p>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">What the CIO will be accountable for. Operations, transformation, AI, or all three.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Where the role sits. Reporting to the CEO and sitting on the executive team gives the CIO the authority to deliver.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The balance of skills you need now. A turnaround needs a different CIO from steady-state growth.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p dir="ltr">Example: Harvey Nash was asked to find a global CIO for an international logistics group in the Fortune 500. The brief called for a leader who could run complex global operations while driving transformation across the business.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Harvey Nash has recruited technology leaders for more than 35 years, and over a third of our client relationships have lasted more than ten years. Find out more about our<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/talent-solutions/technology-digital-search/cio-recruiter"> CIO recruitment</a> service.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">CIO role: frequently asked questions</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>What does CIO stand for?</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">CIO stands for Chief Information Officer, the senior executive responsible for an organisation's information technology strategy, systems and teams.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Who does a CIO report to?</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Usually the CEO. In some organisations the CIO reports to the CFO or COO. 68% of CIOs now sit on the operational board or executive team.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Is the CIO part of the C-suite?</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Yes. The CIO is a C-level executive, and in most large organisations sits on the executive leadership team.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>What is the difference between a CIO and an IT Director?</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">An IT Director usually runs IT operations and delivery. A CIO owns technology strategy at executive level and is accountable for how technology drives business results. Many CIOs are former IT Directors.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>What is the difference between a CIO and a CTO?</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">A CIO focuses on the internal technology that runs the organisation. A CTO focuses on the technology in the products or services the organisation sells.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>What is the biggest challenge for CIOs today?</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Proving the business value of technology, especially AI, on tighter budgets. Only one in three organisations report clear ROI from AI, and AI is now the number one technology skills shortage.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>How long do CIOs stay in the role?</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Tenure varies, but CIO roles are demanding and typically last a few years. Organisations that plan for succession early find the next appointment much easier.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">About the research</h3>
<p dir="ltr">The statistics in this article come from the Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report. Formerly the CIO Survey, it has run since 1998 and is the world's largest and longest-running survey of senior technology leaders. The 2025 edition surveyed 2,015 technology and digital leaders across 62 countries between December 2024 and March 2025.<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025"> Read the Digital Leadership Report 2025</a>, or see<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/latest-news/what-boards-now-expect-from-technology-leaders"> what boards now expect from technology leaders</a>.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">Looking for a CIO?</h3>
<p dir="ltr">Hiring a CIO is one of the most important appointments your organisation will make. Get it right and the impact will drive the business forward. Get it wrong and it can set you back years.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Harvey Nash has recruited CIOs for more than 35 years, for private, public and third sector organisations in the UK and internationally. Our dedicated CIO search team will help you shape the brief, map the market and find a leader who can turn technology, and AI, into real business results.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/talent-solutions/technology-digital-search/cio-recruiter">Speak to our CIO recruitment team</a> or<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/submit-vacancy"> submit your CIO requirements</a> today.</p>

The CIO Role: How the Job Is Changing

<p>This article was originally published by <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Five-ways-to-make-it-to-the-tech-C-suite" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ComputerWeekly.com</a> and is authored by Harvey Nash directors of technology &amp; digital executive search, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/kirsteen-bell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kirsteen Bell</a> and <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/peter-birch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Birch</a>.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Build a clear plan, invest in your technical skills and work on your leadership capabilities and your personal brand.</h2>
<p>If you&rsquo;ve made it to a management or director role in technology, you may well have aspirations to make it to the <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-digital-leaders-playbook-A-guide-for-IT-chiefs-by-Paul-Coby">tech C-suite as a CIO</a>, CTO or other leadership position. But competition amongst talented professionals is fierce, while the advent of AI means that the technology landscape is changing and moving at a pace never seen before.</p>
<p>So, how can you <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/it-strategy/feature/The-path-to-becoming-a-CIO-from-a-CIO">maximise your chances of making it to the tech C-suite</a>? Here are five key tips from our experience of supporting organisations in their executive leadership searches.</p>
<h3>1. Prove yourself through results &ndash; and be prepared to wait</h3>
<p>To really stand a chance of making the C-suite, you&rsquo;ll need a deep and broad track record of leading impactful projects, driving change and transformation underpinned by innovative tech-based solutions. What boards are most interested in is results: outcomes rather than job titles. Make sure you can show what you&rsquo;ve actually achieved, how you did that, and the financial and or performance/productivity impact it had for the organisation. Don&rsquo;t expect your C-suite ambition to happen straightaway. Following on from working in junior and management roles, generally a candidate would spend 5-10 years operating at Director level, perhaps reporting to a CIO. Be realistic about your strengths and weaknesses, and any gaps in your experience you need to fill. For example, a strong track record on the engineering, systems and apps side &ndash; the front-office, customer-facing applications of tech &ndash; is generally at a premium. So if your experience lies more in the back-office infrastructure and networking domain, look for opportunities to build your credentials in frontline digital, data and AI where technology translates into measurable business outcomes.</p>
<h3>2. Be flexible about career paths</h3>
<p>If you&rsquo;re working in a FTSE or other business, there is the question of whether you want to stay in that environment all of your career &ndash; or whether you would be open to moving to an SME or start-up as CIO or other tech leadership role as a first step (before potentially going back to a FTSE again). Conversely, if you&rsquo;re in an SME or start-up now, do you want to try to get into a bigger corporate and work your way up in an environment where there may be more potential routes up? That&rsquo;s a pathway we quite often see &ndash; the CTO of a start-up moving into a Director role in a large corporate, for example. But there are challenges involved both ways due to the significant differences in working environment, team sizes and culture. A FTSE hiring manager may be concerned that someone from a start-up will struggle to adapt to the more formal and process-driven environment in their business, while leaders in a start-up may worry that a candidate moving from a corporate may not fit the agile culture. You really need to think hard about whether such a switch would work for you: do you have the ability to adapt?</p>
<h3>3. Upskill yourself and gain experience in AI</h3>
<p>The rise of AI has fundamentally altered conversations around executive hiring as our wider client base seek leaders who understand how AI can be applied responsibly and effectively at an enterprise level. The pace of change has been extraordinary. AI now features in some way in almost every senior hiring mandate we receive: knowledge and experience of AI, along with wider digital and data literacy, are becoming the expected currency of tech leadership. Our clients, without exception, are telling us that their new technology leaders need to be able to straddle the old and the new, embracing AI in a meaningful and benefits aligned manner. Tech leaders need to be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366623871/Mid-career-professionals-must-learn-to-understand-and-use-AI-as-GenAI-tips-balance">skilled in developing practical AI strategies</a> aligned to organisational goals and driving adoption across the workforce. Put your hand up for any AI project opportunities in your current role. This isn&rsquo;t just about technical understanding either &ndash; balancing innovation with governance, ethics, security and risk management is also critical, so look for opportunities to contribute to these key aspects.</p>
<h3>4. Focus on personal development and leadership skills</h3>
<p>Being a tech leader these days is about much more than just being a technology expert. Boards are looking for rounded leaders: people who understand the commercial drivers, are critical thinkers, excellent communicators, embrace innovation, can deal with ambiguity, and have the ability to lead, manage and inspire teams. Work on your soft skills. If there is training available here, take it. Tech leaders need high emotional intelligence and the ability to manage diverse teams. Learn from others you admire &ndash; is there an opportunity to get a mentor? A common theme amongst many successful tech leaders is that they have proactively sought out mentors to support them with their personal development, helping them reflect and learn about everything from business and strategic thinking to personal resilience and leadership skills.</p>
<h3>5. Develop your personal brand</h3>
<p>This is an area that some tech leaders pay significant attention to. Building your profile in the market obviously helps you get noticed and may open up doors. Look for opportunities to get involved in PR and marketing activities, such as contributing to articles, speaking at events and participating in webinars, panels and podcasts.&nbsp; Consider also getting involved with activities that resonate with you personally, such as supporting efforts to increase diversity in tech or open up pathways into the profession. All of these activities help you build your network, be more visible and uncover opportunities.</p>
<p>They say Rome wasn&rsquo;t built in a day &ndash; and neither are tech leadership careers. Have patience. Build a clear plan, invest in your technical skills and work on your leadership capabilities. In that way, you&rsquo;ll be better equipped to take advantage of the opportunities that arise along the way.</p>

Five ways to make it to the tech C-suite

<p>This article was originally published on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-training-gap-workplace-skills/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZDNET</a>&nbsp;and features insights from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>, CIO at Harvey Nash.</p>
<hr>
<h3>Ongoing skills development will distinguish the winners from the losers in the AI age. Your employer should help you develop skills in three key areas.</h3>
<p>AI tools might be common in businesses, but high-quality training is not. Research from technology training and talent provider QA found that 32% of employees have received no formal training, and only 15% receive ongoing or advanced support.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This lack of learning and development has a big impact. Only 9% of employees consider themselves advanced or expert users, and just 13% of professionals are confident in using AI for basic tasks.</p>
<p>Jo Bishenden, chief learning officer at QA, told ZDNET that her firm&rsquo;s research highlights a big gap between implementation and education.</p>
<p>&ldquo;AI is already reshaping how work gets done,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Yet while organisations continue to invest heavily in AI tools and platforms, most businesses are making the same mistake: they&rsquo;re spending on AI tools and neglecting the people expected to use them.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Other research points to a similar issue. The <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harvey Nash Tech Talent Salary Report</a> found that while three-quarters of IT staff have access to AI tools, one in five technologists are expected to self-learn, and 23% are waiting for formal training.</p>
<p>So what exactly should employers be doing? Bishenden said the best AI training programmes get three things right: they ensure AI literacy is for everyone and provide a shared baseline understanding of AI; they provide role-specific learning and development opportunities; and they support behavioural change that allows people to exploit emerging technologies.</p>
<p>Here&rsquo;s what those three areas look like in practice and what those approaches might mean for your professional development.</p>
<h2>Broad AI literacy</h2>
<p>Bishenden said it&rsquo;s important to recognise AI isn&rsquo;t a plug-and-play service. Emerging technology only works when people know how to use it well, and that reality means employers should develop cross-organisational literacy.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Employees must know how to ask the right questions, interpret outputs critically, apply judgment, and redesign everyday workflows around new capabilities,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<p>To develop higher levels of literacy, Bishenden said companies should provide a shared baseline understanding of what AI can and cannot do, where risks sit, and what responsible use looks like: &ldquo;This approach builds confidence, reduces fear, and creates a common language across the business.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>, global CIO at recruiter Harvey Nash, agreed that broad-based AI learning and development is about developing core capabilities.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s about the security and ethics that must be built in from day one,&rdquo; he told ZDNET. &ldquo;People need to understand what responsibility they need to shoulder for the effective use of AI.&rdquo;</p>
<p>To develop this awareness, the best organisations take best-practice approaches that have worked with a small group of employees and spread them across the wider organisation.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s an approach Emmanuel Frenehard, chief digital officer at biopharmaceutical giant Sanofi, has pioneered within his firm.</p>
<p>Sanofi&rsquo;s executives completed Drive Digital, a programme designed with the ESSEC business school in Paris that focused on key areas, such as use cases and value generation.</p>
<p>More than 100 managers passed through the programme before it was extended to more than 1,500 other professionals across the organisation. Frenehard told ZDNET that Sanofi continues to look for fresh ways to develop everyone&rsquo;s AI literacy.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We do a lot of workshops. Once a month, we have these AI hacks where somebody will come and teach a lesson on great prompting,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I learned something from the latest AI hack, where someone had a different approach. So, we&rsquo;re training people in a way that&rsquo;s like gaming. We make it playful.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Role‑specific education</h2>
<p>Bishenden said a common mistake she sees in companies is that managers focus on exploiting tools rather than delivering outcomes.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If people don&rsquo;t know how to use AI well, the technology won&rsquo;t matter,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Teaching people about AI is not the same as enabling them to solve real business problems with it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>When training isn&rsquo;t clearly connected with day‑to‑day work activities, said Bishenden, it quickly becomes disconnected and forgotten.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Training must move quickly into practical use, showing how AI supports real tasks in real roles, from analysis and decision‑making to communication and leadership.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Harvey Nash&rsquo;s Anand also recognised the importance of role-specific AI training.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t just have arbitrary, standard training for, say, Copilot,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If it&rsquo;s a finance, HR, or marketing professional, the training has to be specific to how these employees use AI.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Companies also need to recognise that some people will need more help to make the most of AI in their roles than others.</p>
<p>Freshworks CTO Murali Swaminathan told ZDNET that a professional in a line-of-business area, such as finance, might not have the awareness of a software engineer who&rsquo;s been using agents for months.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That means you must bring them up to speed on how to use AI, the best practices, what to do, what not to do, and then give them the right tools to make them successful in their jobs,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We have been talking internally about how to bring everybody on board. So, everybody has access to Claude and other technologies, but they need to do it the right way. That&rsquo;s where we&rsquo;re trying to guide them.&rdquo;</p>
<p>His Freshworks colleague, CIO Ashwin Ballal, told ZDNET that these role-specific training programmes should be bolstered by certifications that prove on-the-job credentials.</p>
<p>&ldquo;With AI, it&rsquo;s often like we&rsquo;re trying to give people a Formula One car and say, &lsquo;Drive,&rsquo; But F1 drivers must get used to the track and get certified,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the level of certification we need for AI. We need multiple layers &mdash; a consumer level, a pro level, and then an advanced level.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Continuous learning</h2>
<p>Bishenden said companies should also recognise that effective AI training is a constant work in progress. &ldquo;Learning must be continuous, she said. &ldquo;AI evolves rapidly, and capability needs to keep pace.&rdquo;</p>
<p>New models emerge almost every week. Training programmes that look good today could be outdated tomorrow.</p>
<p>&ldquo;AI training is often treated as a one‑off awareness session, a compliance requirement, or something reserved for technical specialists. However, AI capability is not an IT project; it&rsquo;s an organisational mindset shift,&rdquo; said Bishenden.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Emerging technology changes how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how accountability works. Learning programmes must encourage experimentation, critical thinking, and ethical judgement if AI is to scale successfully.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Stephen Wood, chief operating officer at Rathbones Asset Management, said his organisation aims to educate its staff about AI as regularly as possible.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We want to develop their skills. We create structures, like digital champions, but with an AI focus. We want to be in a scenario where AI is on people&rsquo;s minds 24/7, so they fully embrace it,&rdquo; he told ZDNET. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re in a very fortunate position that everyone in our business is engaged in AI. They&rsquo;re excited; they want to learn. I&rsquo;ve got people knocking on the door, saying they want more training.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Louise Newbury-Smith, head of UK&amp;I at technology specialist Zoom, said her organisation also focuses on helping people develop their skills on an ongoing basis.</p>
<p>Her organisation has AI enablement teams at the local and global levels that showcase individual successes and spread best practices.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Having people who understand enablement, rather than pushing training, is one of the keys to success, and that means really bringing AI to life and making it real,&rdquo; she told ZDNET.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Our approach is about repeating those best practices and sharing knowledge, and if you create that kind of environment, then you can&rsquo;t go far wrong.&rdquo;</p>

Just 13% of professionals are confident using AI – how top companies are solving this skills gap

<p class="MsoNormal">The professionals who understand artificial intelligence best should, in theory, feel secure about its rise. Their skills are in demand, and organisations are competing for talent who can turn AI ambitions into practical results.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Despite this, our latest research reveals a more complicated picture.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In our <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026?utm_source=Tech+Bytes&amp;utm_medium=LinkedIn&amp;utm_campaign=Tech+Bytes+June+26" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2026 Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report</a>, 14% of <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/specialisms/ai-and-machine-learning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AI and machine learning professionals</a> said they felt their job was highly threatened by AI. That is twice the global average of 7% and the second-highest figure of any technology specialism, behind only quality assurance and testing at 15%. A further 36% of AI and machine learning professionals felt slightly under threat.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the same time, AI is the area where employers face the greatest skills shortage. A third of respondents placed it at the top of the shortage list, ahead of software engineering and development at 24% and cybersecurity at 23%.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How can the professionals in greatest demand also be among those most concerned about their future?</p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">Proximity brings a clearer view of what AI can do</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">For many people, AI is experienced mainly through gen-AI applications powered by large language models (LLMs), such as chatbots, coding assistants and summarisation tools. AI professionals see a much broader picture, spanning model development, data, automation and deployment. They understand how quickly these capabilities are advancing and how tasks that once required significant human input are becoming easier to automate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That proximity may explain some of the concern. It is not necessarily a belief that AI will remove the need for AI professionals altogether. It may instead reflect a more informed view of how quickly their roles, tools and required skills could change.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Building, training and deploying AI is not immune to AI-enabled automation. In fact, some of AI&rsquo;s clearest productivity gains are already being seen across coding, testing, data preparation, model development and monitoring, where tasks can be completed faster and with less manual input. Those closest to these capabilities are likely to recognise that valuable expertise will need to keep evolving.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their concern, therefore, should not simply be dismissed as pessimism. It may be an early signal from the people with the clearest view of the technology&rsquo;s direction.</p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">Skills shortages do not mean roles will stand still</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">The apparent contradiction becomes easier to understand when we separate demand for skills from the shape of individual jobs.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Leadership Report</a> 2025 found that 51% of digital leaders were experiencing an AI skills shortage, up from 28% in the previous report. This 82% increase was the steepest rise in skills scarcity recorded during 16 years of tracking.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Organisations clearly need more AI capability. But that doesn&rsquo;t mean every role will remain unchanged. As AI becomes embedded across business functions, employers need people who can apply it to real organisational challenges and achieve ROI, not simply understand the technology in isolation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LinkedIn data in our <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026?utm_source=Tech+Bytes&amp;utm_medium=LinkedIn&amp;utm_campaign=Tech+Bytes+June+26" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report</a> identifies machine learning, data structures, pattern recognition, deep learning and large language models among the most sought-after capabilities. These technical skills must increasingly sit alongside data quality, governance, commercial understanding and awareness of the human consequences of automated decisions.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is not a market in which expertise is becoming less important. It is one in which the definition of expertise is moving quickly.</p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">AI is changing hiring, but it can also create growth</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">The same tension can be seen in employers&rsquo; hiring plans.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Digital leaders expect AI to reduce their future hiring needs for existing technology roles by around 18% over the next two years. Almost two-thirds would choose a software developer with excellent generative AI skills and three years&rsquo; experience over someone with five years&rsquo; experience but no generative AI capability.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, organisations with large-scale AI implementations are 24% more likely than their peers to be increasing technology headcount, with much of that growth focused on AI and data. Those making the greatest progress are changing the capabilities they need and investing in people who can help them scale.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For employers, hiring talent and investing in AI are closely connected. Technology can automate tasks, but organisations still need specialists who can select the right use cases, challenge outputs, manage risk and connect technical capability to measurable business value.</p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">Access to AI is not the same as preparation</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some of the anxiety may also come from the gap between the speed of adoption and the support available to employees.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Three-quarters of technologists in our latest <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026?utm_source=Tech+Bytes&amp;utm_medium=LinkedIn&amp;utm_campaign=Tech+Bytes+June+26" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> have access to AI tools and platforms, but only 37% say their organisation is actively investing in AI upskilling. Just 43% are given dedicated time to experiment and learn, while 20% are expected to develop their knowledge independently.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Providing access without the time, training or direction to use AI effectively places the burden of adaptation on the individual. Even highly skilled professionals can feel exposed when expectations change faster than career pathways and learning opportunities.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It&rsquo;s clear that employers seeking scarce AI talent need to provide structured development, clarity about how roles are evolving and opportunities for specialists to broaden their experience across data, governance, deployment and business strategy.</p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">Turning concern into capability</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">The expertise that makes AI professionals so valuable also gives them a clearer view of how the technology could reshape their own roles. Their concern does not contradict the demand for their skills, but it reflects a deeper understanding of both AI&rsquo;s potential and its disruptive impact.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/specialisms/ai-and-machine-learning" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> AI and machine learning professionals</a>, long-term career resilience will come from continuous learning and the ability to connect deep technical knowledge with judgement, communication and business impact.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For employers, the priority is to create an environment where that development can happen and where scarce specialists can see a future, not just an immediate project.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">AI expertise remains one of the most valuable capabilities in the technology market. But demand alone isn&rsquo;t removing uncertainty. The organisations that recognise this and invest in their people as deliberately as they invest in the technology will be best placed to secure the skills they need and turn AI implementation into lasting value.</p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">Looking for AI and machine learning talent?</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whether you are <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/submit-vacancy">looking to hire specialist AI and machine learning professionals</a> or are considering the next step in your career, our dedicated team can help.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/specialisms/ai-and-machine-learning">Discover Harvey Nash&rsquo;s AI and machine learning recruitment expertise and explore the latest opportunities.</a></strong></p>

Why are AI professionals among those most concerned about AI?

<p>This article was originally published on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4207945/10-steps-to-implement-an-effective-ai-training-program.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CIO.com</a>&nbsp;and features insights from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>, CIO at Harvey Nash.</p>
<hr>
<p>AI offers big productivity boosts, but these benefits are tough to realise. Here&rsquo;s how to create training programs that ensure your staff gets the most out of emerging technologies.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s no surprise that <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4157466/cios-reimagine-business-processes-to-reap-ai-benefits.html">reaping the rewards from AI</a> requires careful guidance, especially in helping staff use tools safely and productively. Yet evidence suggests some CIOs and their executive peers aren&rsquo;t providing the level of guidance employees require.</p>
<p>While three-quarters of IT staff have access to AI tools, one in five technologists are expected to self-learn, and 23% are waiting for formal training, according to the recent <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026" rel="nofollow">Harvey Nash Tech Talent Salary Report</a>, which surveyed over 3,600 technology professionals globally.</p>
<p>The research suggests AI explorations are commonplace, but tailored learning and development initiatives are not. Digital leaders who want to <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4200284/what-it-really-means-to-be-an-ai-first-organization.html">turn AI into a value-generating opportunity, though, must educate their staff</a>. But what elements should AI training schemes include? Here, industry experts offer 10 steps to implement an effective program.</p>
<h2 id="1-take-a-comprehensive-approach">1. Take a comprehensive approach</h2>
<p>Michael Cole, chief technology officer at the DP World Tour, the men&rsquo;s professional golf tour that oversees 42 tournaments in 25 countries, says AI training is an organisation-wide effort.</p>
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<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve asked the training coordinators in our HR department to help me deliver what I believe is going to be a fit-for-purpose training and development program for not only my IT team here at the European Tour, but equally across the business,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>Cole says the crucial element to emphasise is that AI and the range of capabilities it brings is about much more than learning how to use technology. &ldquo;Using AI effectively is about process, mindset, and culture,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;So, when we start to think about the training and development needed to bring an organisation like ours into this AI-enabled era of transformation, it&rsquo;s a comprehensive program that must extend across the business.&rdquo;</p>
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<h2 id="2-educate-the-boss">2. Educate the boss</h2>
<p>In an organisation-wide program, everyone needs AI education, including the boss. That&rsquo;s why Emmanuel Frenehard, chief digital officer at biopharmaceutical giant Sanofi, says his firm takes a multi-layer approach to AI training.</p>
<p>The executives there completed Drive Digital, a program that Sanofi designed with the ESSEC business school in Paris. The initiative focused on core considerations, such as use cases and value generation. After 150 managers passed through the program, it was extended to more than 1,000 other professionals across the organisation.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t just look for the solution; don&rsquo;t just think about Claude or ChatGPT,&rdquo; says Frenehard, referring to best-practice lessons. &ldquo;Think about the challenge you&rsquo;re trying to solve. In our case, that approach means focusing on what we&rsquo;re doing, the value we&rsquo;re looking to create, and the dependencies the project will create.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He says training also needs to help AI doubters overcome their fears. &ldquo;You have to make it fun and as risk-free as possible,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;People shouldn&rsquo;t feel they need to be super-technical to use AI productively.&rdquo;</p>
<h2 id="3-build-clarity-and-agency">3. Build clarity and agency</h2>
<p>Jo&nbsp;Bishenden, chief learning officer at tech training and talent provider QA, says AI education is often treated as a one‑off awareness session, a compliance requirement, or something reserved for technical specialists.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The best programs get three things right. They provide a baseline for everyone across the organisation, the courses focus on role-specific applications to show how AI impacts everyday activities, and they provide continuous learning to encourage a behaviour change as new AI tools are introduced.</p>
<p>&ldquo;When done well, organisations see better return on AI investment, improved productivity, and more confident decision‑making,&rdquo; says Bishenden. &ldquo;Employees gain clarity and agency, understanding how AI augments their expertise rather than replaces it. Ultimately, AI success isn&rsquo;t determined by the technology alone, but by the capability of the workforce using it.&rdquo;</p>
<h2 id="4-put-the-human-in-the-loop">4. Put the human in the loop</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>, group CIO at recruiter Harvey Nash, says AI training is often a work in progress, with his firm&rsquo;s research suggesting one in five technologists are expected to self-learn. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a rush to deliver the tools, but then organisations aren&rsquo;t investing enough in enabling the capability of the people,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>While technological skills like prompt engineering are an important part of AI learning and development, Anand said the best programs go beyond IT expertise to ensure humans in the loop have a thorough understanding of their responsibilities.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There are so many softer elements that need to be handled as part of AI training,&rdquo; says Anand. &ldquo;Good training is about using the tool as well as the governance and risk frameworks that need to be changed accordingly.&rdquo;</p>
<h2 id="5-showcase-individual-successes">5. Showcase individual successes</h2>
<p>Louise Newbury-Smith, head of UK&amp;I at Zoom, says it has AI enablement teams at the local and global level. And while the company provides courses and self-learning opportunities, Newbury-Smith says the enablement element brings AI training to life.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Our approach is about showcasing individual successes, making it real, and repeating best practices,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;We have what we call a Cook Along session with our AI evangelists. We&rsquo;ll do those sessions together a lot as a group, and that makes the process fun. If you&rsquo;ve got champions who can share incredible successes, then that goes a long way.&rdquo;</p>
<p>She says the key to success is sharing knowledge. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re very much focused on the human,&rdquo; she adds. &ldquo;All the services, content, and direction of AI is about how we can give humans time back so they can have more valuable interactions with other staff to empower them with the information they need.&rdquo;</p>
<h2 id="6-focus-on-the-finer-details">6. Focus on the finer details</h2>
<p>Dan Cherowbrier, CTO at Formula E, the motorsport championship for electric cars, is another digital leader whose business focuses on enablement. The company has a dedicated AI engineer who helps employees exploit emerging technology.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got an innovative culture, and we weren&rsquo;t short of ideas of what we could do with AI,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;What we needed were the resources to get people going, get the technology tested, and get it out there.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The AI enablement engineer works with other tech specialists in the company to ensure tools are deployed safely and securely. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re beefing up our data and AI team so we can help users across the business plug in and understand APIs, get access to data, run security checks, and then put AI into production,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<h2 id="7-develop-reusable-skills">7. Develop reusable skills</h2>
<p>Murali Swaminathan, CTO at technology firm Freshworks, says there&rsquo;s so much information about AI models that people can easily take the wrong direction without guidance.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to give our staff structured learning,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We understand they&rsquo;re not all on the same page. Some are ahead of others, so you need to provide knowledge that applies to their specific job roles.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Swaminathan says senior managers discuss how to train people effectively, as AI experiences and capabilities vary considerably across business units. However, the chosen pathway to AI learning and deployment must suit the individual and the company.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I had this challenge with my engineers,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Initially, we gave them four different tools. Everybody was using AI, but it was so inconsistent, and everyone was trying to do the same thing in different ways. So we&rsquo;re now trying to build reusable skills. And that approach must be replicated for every job function.&rdquo;</p>
<h2 id="8-learn-by-doing">8. Learn by doing</h2>
<p>Luke Gebb, head of global innovation at American Express, says the financial services firm has various training programs. Having seen AI education in different forms, he advocates for learning by doing, or as a second-best strategy, watching someone else use the technology.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Hearing or reading about AI, or being presented with something where you&rsquo;re not actually seeing it happen is not nearly as helpful,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The best thing is to get a homework assignment and try something.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gebb says this approach plays out regularly across the people working in his 120-strong innovation group. The team runs one-hour show-and-tell sessions where an employee demonstrates how they use AI tools in their everyday activities.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Then they get a bunch of questions, they post their best-practice lessons, and then others try the same thing. It&rsquo;s an approach that works really well.&rdquo;</p>
<h2 id="9-use-pioneering-techniques">9. Use pioneering techniques</h2>
<p>Stephen Wood, COO at Rathbones Asset Management, says AI training in his organisation is mandatory. &ldquo;We want everyone to be versed in different types of AI,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not expecting everyone to be a coding genius and an expert in all this stuff, but everyone needs to understand it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The firm takes a proactive approach to training, using education sessions and spreading best practices via digital champions. The company also embraces pioneering techniques, including running a hackathon to help identify in-house capabilities.</p>
<div id="nativo-2"></div>
<p>&ldquo;The hackathon showed that with some searching on Google and YouTube, you could start to create agents that could do basic functions,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;That process taught us that, with the right training, repeated sessions and continuous development, we wouldn&rsquo;t necessarily need to hire people to create big productivity gains. That was quite an exciting moment.&rdquo;</p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<h2 id="10-evaluate-new-possibilities">10. Evaluate new possibilities</h2>
<p>Emerging technology can&rsquo;t exist in a vacuum. Bernhard Seiser, VP of digital, data, and IT at AOP Health, says anyone using AI must be aware of potential consequences. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s your responsibility to validate whether what you&rsquo;ve created is correct,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>Operating in a regulation-heavy industry means AI training is linked to data governance. &ldquo;We leverage it in areas where compliance isn&rsquo;t an issue,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;For example, writing text, creating images, and so on. Certain things can be done.&rdquo;</p>
<p>As new AI tools emerge, AOP Health will consider its options and develop a training program. &ldquo;That approach could mean bringing in specialised tools for specific tasks,&rdquo; says Seiser. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s part of my job, and part of my team&rsquo;s job, to evaluate AI for each use case.&rdquo;</p>
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10 steps to implement an effective AI training program

<p>This article was originally published on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-replacing-staff-with-ai-backfires-and-how-smart-leaders-generate-real-value-instead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZDNet</a>&nbsp;and features insights from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>, CIO at Harvey Nash.</p>
<hr>
<p>Three-quarters of organisations have found AI layoffs cost more than they saved, and as many as nine in 10 companies would rethink them given the chance.</p>
<p data-start="525" data-end="776">Defaulting to AI-enabled layoffs is often seen as a shortcut to cost-cutting. Specialist site jobloss.ai, which tracks AI-enabled layoffs, reported that 126,000 US employees lost their jobs between January 2025 and June 2026 due to AI-related factors.</p>
<p data-start="778" data-end="925">Ankur Anand, group CIO at recruiter Harvey Nash, told ZDNET it&rsquo;s easy to see why many executives regard AI deployment as a pathway to cost-cutting.</p>
<p data-start="927" data-end="1181">&ldquo;Early messages from vendors, consultants, and even some boards have focused on productivity, automation, and doing more with less,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Headlines about AI‑related layoffs reinforce the idea that the fastest route to value is through fewer people.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="1183" data-end="1279">This default position paints a grim picture for professionals anxious about AI-enabled job cuts.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="13vq1t9" data-start="1281" data-end="1319">Businesses regret job-cut decisions</h2>
<p data-start="1321" data-end="1542">However, replacing workers with AI is no guarantee of success. In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests many businesses are beginning to recognise the limitations of AI and even regret some of their job-cut decisions.</p>
<p data-start="1544" data-end="1800">Research from Careerminds found that slashing jobs is unlikely to create the value senior executives crave. Three-quarters of organisations found AI layoffs cost more than they saved, and as many as nine in 10 companies would rethink them given the chance.</p>
<p data-start="1802" data-end="1975">Such is the sense of regret that analyst Gartner estimates 50% of companies that attributed headcount reduction to AI will rehire staff to perform similar functions by 2027.</p>
<p data-start="1977" data-end="2185">In short, suggested Anand, firms that treat AI mainly as a cost‑cutting tool are missing the bigger opportunity &mdash; allying technological capability with human excellence to generate new value for the business.</p>
<p data-start="2187" data-end="2383">&ldquo;If your AI strategy starts and ends with headcount, you are using a growth technology to run a shrinkage plan,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The leaders who win will use AI to create new value, not just cut costs.&rdquo;</p>
<h2 data-section-id="1ka9j6u" data-start="2385" data-end="2413">Going beyond cost-cutting</h2>
<p data-start="2415" data-end="2608">Steve Lucas, CEO at integration technology specialist Boomi, told ZDNET that the starting point for value-based considerations should be a big dollop of circumspection about AI-enabled layoffs.</p>
<p data-start="2610" data-end="2790">While emerging tech will change roles and responsibilities, many of the job cuts attributed to AI &mdash; particularly in the IT industry &mdash; are companies looking for a convenient excuse.</p>
<p data-start="2792" data-end="3064">&ldquo;The reality is that AI will have a massive impact on jobs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Some of it will be negative, but a lot of undue blame is being laid at the feet of AI today as a matter of convenience, by a lot of tech executives, when these are just layoffs &mdash; that&rsquo;s what they are.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="3066" data-end="3234">Lucas said professionals should question so-called experts who suggest AI will mean the end of work as we know it. After all, these are still early days for automation.</p>
<p data-start="3236" data-end="3476">&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t understand the change, and we can&rsquo;t fully see past it, and anyone who says they do is selling something,&rdquo; he said, before suggesting that pioneering companies will find ways to embrace AI to the advantage of their human workforce.</p>
<p data-start="3478" data-end="3651">&ldquo;I am an AI optimist for a long list of reasons,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I believe that AI will help us live longer, healthier lives and make us profoundly more productive as a society.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="3653" data-end="3858">Stephen Wood, chief operating officer at financial services firm Rathbones Asset Management, is another business leader who believes the impact of AI on the workplace will be positive rather than negative.</p>
<p data-start="3860" data-end="4042">He referred to the legal industry, where experts regularly assert that AI will disrupt employee roles and responsibilities. AI can do some of the work, but it has significant limits.</p>
<p data-start="4044" data-end="4403">&ldquo;The reality is that, yes, generative AI could do the job of a paralegal; it can go through untold amounts of cases, and, if you can get it not to hallucinate, it can write up everything you need to know,&rdquo; he told ZDNET. &ldquo;However, how does anyone then become the lawyer who stands in the court during the case? You need to have people &mdash; you need the experts.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="4405" data-end="4536">Wood said he sees similar trends in his own industry. AI can be used to pick up some tasks, but not at the expense of human talent.</p>
<p data-start="4538" data-end="4780">&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not thinking in any way that this is a technology that removes people. It certainly stops me from needing to hire as many people as possible, and it certainly makes me be able to do more, and it makes my people able to do more,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p data-start="4782" data-end="4955">&ldquo;But ultimately, those skilled people still need to be there, and you still need to educate them, and they should benefit from AI, rather than let it be to their detriment.&rdquo;</p>
<h2 data-section-id="1kzuefp" data-start="4957" data-end="4987">Creating new business value</h2>
<p data-start="4989" data-end="5175">Education is also a key part of the process for Tim Chilton, managing geospatial consultant at the UK mapping agency Ordnance Survey, who acts as his organisation&rsquo;s internal AI champion.</p>
<p data-start="5177" data-end="5488">One of his exploratory use cases centres on deploying Snowflake agentic AI technologies. Chilton told ZDNET that the initiative aims to give staff a chatbot-style interface that provides timely access to statistics, such as for a last-minute sales call, that might otherwise have taken days or weeks to surface.</p>
<p data-start="5490" data-end="5612">In short, the initiative&rsquo;s objective is to enable existing staff via innovation, rather than replace human talent with AI.</p>
<p data-start="5614" data-end="5814">&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the approach we&rsquo;re trying to promote within our customer team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If you get on board with AI, you&rsquo;re going to be in charge and empowered as a team to use the best of this technology.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="5816" data-end="5943">Internal professionals at the Ordnance Survey are even encouraged to define the balance between technological and human agency.</p>
<p data-start="5945" data-end="6196">&ldquo;They can say when enough is enough,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And Snowflake has a limit for us. I don&rsquo;t want AI across everything. So, we&rsquo;re finding out where that balance is, where AI is usefully put into business workflows, and where it doesn&rsquo;t have a place now.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="6198" data-end="6400">That kind of tightly defined process resonated with Harvey Nash&rsquo;s Anand, who said smart business leaders and their teams use AI to compress cycle times in critical processes, turning speed into revenue.</p>
<p data-start="6402" data-end="6425">He gave these examples:</p>
<ul data-start="6427" data-end="6768">
<li data-section-id="mqgbtj" data-start="6427" data-end="6541">Professional services firms are using gen AI to complete valuations and due diligence in days rather than weeks.</li>
<li data-section-id="1i5epmj" data-start="6542" data-end="6653">AI-enabled software development teams are shipping features faster and capturing market opportunities sooner.</li>
<li data-section-id="1sosj37" data-start="6654" data-end="6768">Pharmaceutical firms are using AI authoring tools to reduce errors in clinical documents and regulatory filings.</li>
</ul>
<p data-start="6770" data-end="6907">Perhaps most importantly, said Anand, the effective exploitation of AI is not about slashing staff numbers but finding avenues to growth.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="1ym8cjm" data-start="6909" data-end="6931">5 areas to focus on</h2>
<p data-start="6933" data-end="7125">&ldquo;The question is not whether AI will cut costs; it will,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The real question is whether you will use it to build something bigger, better, and more valuable than what you have today.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="7127" data-end="7248">Anand suggested business leaders and their teams looking to generate value from AI should focus on these five areas next:</p>
<ol data-start="7250" data-end="8024" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">
<li data-section-id="1eteuev" data-start="7250" data-end="7420">Do not default to layoffs: Indiscriminate headcount cuts in anticipation of AI efficiency gains can destroy valuable knowledge and weaken your ability to innovate.</li>
<li data-section-id="8m8kxt" data-start="7421" data-end="7592">Redesign work, not just reduce it: Use AI to reshape processes and roles, so humans focus on judgement, relationships, and creativity while AI handles routine work.</li>
<li data-section-id="1eza4r5" data-start="7593" data-end="7724">Measure value beyond cost: Track cycle time, quality, scalability, new revenue, and risk reduction, not just labour savings.</li>
<li data-section-id="b21h3j" data-start="7725" data-end="7874">Invest in people: Reskill and upskill staff to work with AI and create new roles that leverage human strengths alongside machine capabilities.</li>
<li data-section-id="frh7k9" data-start="7875" data-end="8024" data-is-last-node="">Recognise that AI will change workforces over time: Create lasting value by using AI as a platform for growth, not just a lever for shrinkage.</li>
</ol>

Why replacing staff with AI backfires – and 5 ways smart leaders generate real value instead

<p>Drawing on her experience in Executive Search, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/kirsteen-bell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kirsteen Bell</a>, Director of Technology &amp; Digital Executive Search at Harvey Nash, explores how boards&rsquo; expectations of technology leaders are evolving and what organisations are now looking for from their senior technology executives.</p>
<hr>
<p>From my work in Executive Search at Harvey Nash, I have seen how the profile of a successful technology leader has evolved significantly over the past eighteen months, arguably more than at any point in the previous decade. At the heart of that change are two closely connected priorities, with organisations wanting to make better use of their data, and adopt AI in a way that creates genuine business value.</p>
<h2>What boards expect now</h2>
<p>Historically, many of our C-suite appointments were heavily focused on addressing technology debt and modernising legacy systems. While organisations still require strong technical credibility, the emphasis has shifted decisively towards business leadership, transformation capability and strategic influence.</p>
<p>In today&rsquo;s technology environment, boards are increasingly seeking executives who can use technology, data and AI to drive growth, improve productivity, strengthen resilience and create a competitive advantage. The focus is no longer simply on what can be implemented, but on the value it can deliver.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Leadership Report</a> reflects this shift. The proportion of organisations with large-scale AI implementations rose from 10% in 2023 to 19% in 2025, representing a 90% increase. Yet only 33% reported clear, demonstrable ROI. For boards, the opportunity is evident that the challenge is finding leaders who can turn investment into measurable outcomes.</p>
<h2>How has AI changed the brief?</h2>
<p>The rise of AI has fundamentally altered conversations around executive hiring. While we have been discussing the rise of the CAIO, or Chief AI Officer, and wider AI adoption for the past four to five years, the last eighteen months have brought a significant increase in our clients&rsquo; commitment to funding AI across their organisations.</p>
<p>Across our search assignments, a requirement for new technology leaders to be able to straddle the old and the new, managing legacy systems while embracing AI in a meaningful way that aligns with wider business objectives is particularly consistent.</p>
<p>The challenge is increasingly organisational rather than purely technical. As a result, broader transformation leadership experience is often valued more highly than deep AI expertise alone.</p>
<p>Key areas of focus include, but are not restricted to, the following:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Experience in translating AI opportunities into measurable business outcomes.</li>
<li>Skilled in developing practical AI strategies aligned to organisational goals &amp; driving adoption across the workforce.</li>
<li>The ability to balance innovation with governance and risk management.</li>
<li>The credibility to build confidence among boards and executive teams, clearly demonstrating benefits realised against investment.</li>
</ul>
<h2>The Switch to enterprise leader</h2>
<p>The most sought-after technology executives today are enterprise leaders first and technology experts second. We are now seeing boards require technology leaders to make significant contributions to corporate strategy, guide data-driven investment decisions and lead enterprise-level organisational change. As technology becomes embedded across every aspect of an organisation, the distinction between business leadership and technology leadership continues to diminish.</p>
<p>This does not make technical credibility any less important, however. Our <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report</a> found that 48% of technologists rank a deep understanding of technology among their leaders&rsquo; top three traits. At the same time, 46% say a lack of technology understanding in leadership is either a huge barrier or a significant issue when delivering their technology goals.</p>
<p>The strongest candidates are combining enough technical depth to command confidence with the commercial judgement and influence needed to shape enterprise strategy.</p>
<h2>Leadership is the differentiator</h2>
<p>This switch to a more commercially aligned and financially savvy technology leader has never been more important, as is the ability to communicate effectively across the business, particularly with less technical stakeholders.</p>
<p>As AI capabilities become more accessible, the leadership skills required to turn them into meaningful value become increasingly important. Leadership capability is now a genuine differentiator.</p>
<p>Across the market, briefs for top talent increasingly reference change and transformation leadership, strategic thinking, commercial awareness, stakeholder management and influencing skills, alongside talent development and workforce transformation. Leaders must balance rapidly changing technology adoption with the right level of governance, risk and regulatory oversight. They must also be able to guide organisations through ambiguity and uncertainty while maintaining trust and engagement across the business.</p>
<h2>Balancing innovation with governance</h2>
<p>This leads us to one of the most consistent themes emerging from executive hiring discussions, governance. Our clients are alert to the opportunities presented by AI, but equally concerned about ensuring it is implemented responsibly.</p>
<p>This spans regulatory compliance, ethical AI deployment and reputational risk, as well as organisational readiness, workforce impact and financial return. As a result, clients are increasingly prioritising leaders who can create robust governance frameworks while still enabling innovation and agility.</p>
<h2>What does the future look like?</h2>
<p>From what we have seen so far, we believe AI literacy will become a baseline expectation for senior technology executives over the next three to five years. The most sought-after candidates will combine technology expertise with commercial leadership. They will be capable of leading genuine organisational transformation, including workforce and cultural change, while managing risk and governance effectively.</p>
<p>In short, future technology leaders will be judged by their ability to translate emerging technologies into sustainable business outcomes, bridging strategy, transformation and innovation while maintaining trust.</p>
<p>That is the profile boards are increasingly asking us to find today, and the one we expect to define technology leadership for the years ahead.</p>

What boards now expect from technology leaders

<div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4207533/how-to-level-up-from-it-management-to-it-leadership.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CIO.com</a> and features insights from <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/peter-birch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Birch</a>,&nbsp;Director, Technology &amp; Digital Global Executive Search at Harvey Nash.</p>
<hr>
<p>CIO.com Next CIO Award winners weigh in on what it takes to grow your career toward technology&rsquo;s corner office.</p>
<p>Oliver Galicki no longer needs to envision what it would be like to ascend to the CIO role. He&rsquo;s just landed one.</p>
<p>On Aug. 10,&nbsp;Galicki&nbsp;transitioned from VP of clinical applications and engineering at Memorial Hermann Health System to become deputy CIO and VP of applications at Medstar Health System. He attributes his new job to having cultivated a combination of technical and soft skills over the course of his career.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The foundation of understanding technology and having done some hands-on work earlier in my career has helped me be able to ask the right questions and help drive the right business value and outcomes for our clinical operators,&rdquo; Galicki says. &ldquo;But in the second half of my career, it&rsquo;s been more around the soft skills; the relationship building, the creation of trust. How do you solve problems for the organization that takes it to the next level?&rdquo;</p>
<p>That combination is essential for IT leaders today, says Peter Birch, director of technology&nbsp;and digital executive search at Harvey Nash.&nbsp;Stand-out candidates for C-suite tech exec roles must have &ldquo;a deep and broad track&nbsp;record of driving change and transformation underpinned by innovative tech-based&nbsp;solutions,&rdquo; Birch says. &ldquo;These leaders are also required to be highly commercial&nbsp;operators, able to master corporate engagement, and speak the language of the board.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Moreover, climbing the IT leadership ladder requires demonstrating &ldquo;the value return&nbsp;they can bring to the CIO role for the wider business enterprise,&rdquo; he adds.&nbsp;That means taking on big initiatives, learning from mistakes, developing business&nbsp;acumen, and finding strong mentors along the way.</p>
<h2>Leading with business acumen</h2>
<p>Trista Huang says that what has helped her stand&nbsp;out from the &ldquo;majority of technologists&rdquo; is her business acumen and her drive to learn more.&nbsp;&ldquo;I always have taken extra certificate courses in the field that I worked on,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<p>After receiving an undergraduate marketing degree and then an MBA, Huang&rsquo;s career&nbsp;trajectory was more business-focused, with stints as a business analyst, portfolio&nbsp;manager, and project manager.</p>
<p>Along the way, however, Huang &ldquo;learned my way into the technical side&rdquo; by taking&nbsp;programming classes at New York University and getting certifications in project&nbsp;management, as well as agile and waterfall methodologies.</p>
<p>Now vice president of technology and analytics at Blackstone Real Estate Hotels and Resorts, Huang aspires to become a CIO change-maker. &ldquo;I want to show the business and help the business to generate competitive advantage to create something that business couldn&rsquo;t do before, leveraging technology and leveraging data,&rdquo; she says.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Huang attributes her rise in leadership in part to her ability to communicate. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t dive down to nitty-gritty details &mdash; or you dive into the very nitty-gritty details &mdash; but tailor your answer to the audience and you never, never sound condescending,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<p>Tone is important, Huang adds, as is using laymen&rsquo;s terms and giving straightforward&nbsp;answers, &ldquo;not running people in circles. That is also important as you rise to a leadership&nbsp;level.&rdquo;</p>
<p>So is gaining a deep understanding of the business. Here is where Huang&rsquo;s experience on the business side has paid off, as most technologists who rely heavily on their business counterparts for guidance have to wait for those business colleagues to tell them what to do.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t think outside the box if you don&rsquo;t know the business,&rdquo; she says, advising aspiring leaders to emphasize team building and empathy as well. &ldquo;That takes soft skills &mdash; how you talk to people, get buy-in.&rdquo;</p>
<h2 id="the-strategic-impact-of-technical-experience">The strategic impact of technical experience</h2>
<p>Jerry Imsand&nbsp;has taken a more technical route to IT leadership.</p>
<p>With more than three decades in IT, Imsand&rsquo;s experience spans infrastructure, cybersecurity, identity and access management, enterprise architecture, master data management, business intelligence, digital services, and now AI.</p>
<p>That broad technical resume gives him a unique perspective on how interconnected IT systems can advance the organizational mission.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Throughout my career, I have intentionally sought opportunities to understand not just the technology itself, but how technology enables business and government to better serve people,&rdquo; says Imsand, deputy CTO for the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Strategic Technology Solutions.</p>
<p>&ldquo;My career has evolved from being deeply technical to leading organizations where strategy, innovation, and developing people are every bit as important as the technology itself,&rdquo; he adds.</p>
<p>Imsand aspires to be a CTO or CIO due to the opportunity those roles have to shape organizational strategy, build high-performing teams, and ensure technology investments create measurable value for citizens, customers, and the organization.</p>
<h2 id="having-a-just-do-it-attitude">Having a just-do-it attitude</h2>
<p>Kari Johnson, deputy CIO and chief data and analytics officer for the City of Scottsdale, Ariz., has worked in IT for about 20 years &mdash; since before it was called IT, she says.</p>
<p>Her early career focused on data and systems, and eventually, Johnson went back to school to get a bachelor&rsquo;s degree in computer science.</p>
<p>Consulting work enabled her to become involved in all aspects of the business &mdash; from setting up email systems to ordering and installing fiber.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I would see things and say, &lsquo;We could improve this, add more people, make something more enterprise,&rsquo;&rdquo; Johnson recalls, adding that this problem-solving capacity and curiosity have been vital to her career.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a just-do-it kind of person. If I see something that can be improved or improves the life of someone else &hellip; I make it a point to learn about it and see what I can do to help improve it,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<p>Johnson wants to keep moving up the leadership ladder, but she doesn&rsquo;t necessarily tie fulfillment and value to titles. &ldquo;I just keep aspiring to be that leader that brings other people along, because someone brought me along,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<h2 id="taking-big-swings-and-learning-from-mistakes">Taking big swings &mdash; and learning from mistakes</h2>
<p>For most ascending IT professionals, the stretch assignment marks a rite of passage. Moving up from mid-level IT management to IT leadership is often accompanied by a big (<a href="https://www.cio.com/article/3608229/erp-modernization-still-a-make-or-break-project-for-cios.html">potentially make or break</a>) project to lead and learn from. Galicki, this involved being tasked with taking on the $400 million-plus implementation of Memorial Hermann&rsquo;s Epic electronic health records system. It was a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7249000391550361600/" rel="nofollow">two-year project with a team of roughly 350 to 400 IT people</a>.</p>
<p>In hindsight, there were things he would have done differently, Galicki says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We could have a done a more timely job [of] deployment,&rdquo; he notes.</p>
<p>IT added 9,000 mobile devices and rolled out the Epic system the same day. That created &ldquo;a very confused end-user nurse experience.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve looked back on that and thought, &lsquo;Man, that should not have been our biggest distraction on day one of our big go live,&rsquo;&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>Galicki also gained greater perspective as a result of the experience.</p>
<div id="nativo-3"></div>
<p>&ldquo;What I&rsquo;ve learned is you have to take a step back. You have to remember that a health system is never doing just one thing &mdash; even if it&rsquo;s the biggest objective,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Step back and put yourself in the perspective of end-users that you&rsquo;re bringing change to.&rdquo; Echoing Huang, Galicki says empathy is essential because every tech project brings a layer of change.</p>
<p>For Imsand, focusing on building the right technical solution has also taught him the importance of ensuring everyone understands why the intended change matters.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I learned that even the best technology can struggle if stakeholders are not engaged early and often,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Today, I spend considerably more time communicating the vision, listening to concerns, building alignment, and creating ownership before implementation begins.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Imsand has also learned that not every opportunity needs to be pursued immediately.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Prioritization is just as important as innovation,&rdquo; he stresses. &ldquo;Some of the best leadership decisions involve knowing what not to do so the organization can focus its time, resources, and energy on what creates the greatest value.&rdquo;</p>
<p>As for her learning experiences, Huang points to failed projects that didn&rsquo;t make it to production.</p>
<p>Most mistakes were made by &ldquo;overly trusting the information people gave on timelines,&rdquo; she says, as well as not fully understanding why certain milestones hit delays and giving stakeholders too much confidence that a team would be able to conquer a roadblock.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I could have dived deeper,&rdquo; she admits, noting that not taking the extra step caused delays that had domino effects.</p>
<h2 id="finding-great-mentors">Finding great mentors</h2>
<p>Often, IT managers don&rsquo;t get to where they are on their own. Galicki attributes his rise in leadership to having great mentors along the way.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t grow in leadership in general, but certainly in the IT world within a health system, without learning why decisions were made, how to lead, how to work within the organization, and I think IT leadership is no different,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to go out and build trust from that.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Learning from mentors is critical, but so is building alignment with the end-users, Galicki adds.</p>
<p>Huang agrees, saying her mentor is her CTO and boss&nbsp;Amol Kale.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very big part of my growing journey,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;He has given me lot of tips on how to manage down and being a good manager.&rdquo; Learning how to manage down is equally important to managing up, Huang notes.</p>
<p>Kale has also made Huang aware of her tone of voice. Noting that she is a New Yorker who talks fast, Huang says Kale often tells her to slow down. Sometimes, Huang says, she doesn&rsquo;t recognize that &ldquo;my tone can come across as a little harsh, a little too fast.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Feedback like that can be vital &mdash; and sometimes hard to come by. Huang and others advise aspiring IT leaders to seek that out by first building trust.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Definitely someone that you trust and you constantly get feedback from is very important,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<h2 id="how-to-rise-from-it-manager-to-it-leadership">How to rise from IT manager to IT leadership</h2>
<p>Candidates for IT leadership roles generally spend between five and 10 years operating in a director-level capacity, perhaps reporting to a CIO, Harvey Nash&rsquo;s Birch notes.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If the candidate has the drive, broad technology understanding, commercial expertise, and the ability to inspire and lead diverse groups of professionals, then they may well be approached for their first C-suite position,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Perhaps they would move from being a direct report of a global CIO in a large corporate, complex business to being a CIO themselves.&rdquo;</p>
<p>While many organizations focus on succession management to ensure that when their CXO departs there is someone ready to step into the role for a seamless transition, internal promotion is not always appropriate, Birch notes. &ldquo;Often, with a change at the board level or across the C-suite, there is an appetite to bring in alternative technology leadership who can deliver new ideas and ways of doing things.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Regardless, there are measures IT managers can take to make themselves more visible and valuable. Huang and Imsand both advise building relationships across the organization, not just within IT.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Spend time forming human connections. That goes a long way. Technology, you can always learn online &mdash; we forget the human connection,&rdquo; Huang says. &ldquo;Show genuine interest in other people; that&rsquo;s the best way to form connections. People like to talk about themselves. That&rsquo;s how you learn.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Galicki is a firm believer in getting outside of IT to learn more about the changes and problems businesspeople are trying to solve.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If you sit behind a desk,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;you&rsquo;re losing out on at least half the picture of what we do day to day.&rdquo; He also advises asking questions. &ldquo;The more you ask about the business of healthcare, the more you can support&rdquo; business units. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be an order taker.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Also, Imsand advises against defining yourself by your current job title. Like Johnson, he says you should become known as someone who consistently solves organizational problems.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Develop expertise beyond technology,&rdquo; Imsand adds. &ldquo;Learn how budgets are built, understand procurement, governance, risk management, and business strategy.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Johnson recommends doing the job you aspire to &mdash; with executive buy-in. She also stresses not to dwell on mistakes. &ldquo;We all mess up every day up to highest level, and if you don&rsquo;t put yourself out there, you&rsquo;re not going to go anywhere,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<p>Imsand also believes it&rsquo;s worth investing in your communication skills. &ldquo;Senior leaders spend far more time explaining, influencing, mentoring, and aligning people than configuring technology.&rdquo;</p>
<p>And IT managers should invest in developing others, he says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;As your career progresses, your success becomes less about what you accomplish personally and more about what your team accomplishes because of your leadership,&rdquo; Imsand explains.</p>
<h2 id="what-leadership-is-really-about">What leadership is really about</h2>
<p>Johnson has a more philosophical perspective on what it takes to become a leader.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Leadership isn&rsquo;t your title or job assignments, it&rsquo;s what you do to bring other people on board and move mountains to get things done,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;The best leaders I&rsquo;ve known &hellip; it&rsquo;s literally the essence of who they are.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Even as she doesn&rsquo;t emphasize job titles, Johnson admits that when the right opportunity comes along, she wants to become a CIO. But she believes there is&nbsp;more room in the C-suite for other tech executives&nbsp;&mdash; and she wouldn&rsquo;t mind a title with AI in it.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to end up realizing at the CIO level there is another job of that same C-suite level that is enterprise data and CIO,&rdquo; since the CIO can&rsquo;t do everything, Johnson says. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s all the data and infrastructure to take care of and more of the business.&rdquo; That might leave room for an equitable C-level position that&rsquo;s concentrated on data and AI, she says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Maybe we stop calling things &lsquo;data&rsquo; and &lsquo;AI&rsquo; and we start calling that enterprise information,&rdquo; Johnson muses. &ldquo;Maybe I will invent another title for myself.&rdquo;</p>
</div>

How to level up from IT management to IT leadership

<p>From 4 to 6 August, our Tech Evangelist, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/david-savage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Savage</a>, attended <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/ai4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ai4</a> in Las Vegas, which brought together more than 12,000 people to explore the latest developments shaping artificial intelligence.</p>
<p>During the event, David moderated a panel on the rise of AI coding assistants, exploring how organisations can use agents to augment software development. He also spoke with several digital leaders for Harvey Nash&rsquo;s long-running <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-talks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Talks</a> podcast.</p>
<p>While much of the conference focused on deploying AI at scale, David&rsquo;s conversations raised another question: what happens when organisations actually succeed?</p>
<p>Below, David shares his reflections from the event and the questions technology leaders need to consider as AI moves from experimentation to implementation.</p>
<hr>
<p>At Ai4, I found myself among a community of people who I would describe as mature in their thinking and understanding of AI.</p>
<p>Ai4 positions itself as North America&rsquo;s largest AI conference, and more than 12,000 people gathered at the Venetian in Las Vegas to hear from industry leaders, exchange ideas and explore the next phase of AI adoption.</p>
<p>I was invited to moderate a session on the rise of AI coding assistants. The panel brought together engineers, senior technology leaders and security experts to discuss how agents can augment the code being written across many organisations.</p>
<p>Alongside the panel, I sat down with a number of leaders for Harvey Nash&rsquo;s Tech Talks podcast. Across those conversations, several important themes emerged.</p>
<h2>Even AI-mature audiences are still searching for answers</h2>
<p>You never really know who will be sitting in the audience at a conference session. Partway through our discussion on AI coding assistants, I asked how many people in the room were software engineers.</p>
<p>Around 95% of the audience raised their hands.</p>
<p>I found that fascinating. I had assumed the session would primarily attract leaders or less technically minded professionals looking to understand how these tools might affect their organisations.</p>
<p>Many of the surveys we have covered on Tech Talks suggest that engineers feel they have a better understanding than their leaders of how to use AI in practice. Yet even within this technically experienced audience, people were looking for insight, reassurance and peer-to-peer support.</p>
<p>Being further along the AI journey does not mean having all the answers.</p>
<p>One question stood out in particular. A teacher asked for the microphone and said: &ldquo;What should I be teaching my kids?&rdquo;</p>
<p>It cut through the technical discussion and brought us back to the people who will inherit the decisions organisations are making today.</p>
<p>For all that AI promises, it will not deliver without human oversight. Some organisations that reduced their workforces in anticipation of AI-driven productivity may have moved too far, too quickly. As the technology evolves, there will still be an important place for people. There may be fewer people completing certain tasks, but their judgement, creativity and accountability could become even more instrumental.</p>
<p>Giving the next generation the skills, confidence and sense of purpose to succeed has never been more important.</p>
<h2>Define the destination, not just the deployment</h2>
<p>At the end of every Tech Talks interview, I ask the same question: &ldquo;What aren&rsquo;t we talking about?&rdquo;</p>
<p>I have been asking it for around a year, and it often makes guests pause. It forces them to look beyond the dominant industry conversations and consider the potential blind spots.</p>
<p>At Ai4, one rather large blind spot quickly came into view.</p>
<p>People want to talk about how to deploy AI at scale. Almost nobody wants to talk about what happens after they succeed.</p>
<p>Erin Boyd, Chief Digital Strategy and AI Officer at The AES Corporation, put it most bluntly:</p>
<p>&ldquo;I do personally think we are not focusing enough on what happens when we actually successfully deploy agentic AI.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Organisations are rightly investing time in choosing models, developing agent frameworks and establishing guardrails. But deployment is not the destination.</p>
<p>What does an organisation look like once agentic AI is operating successfully at scale? How do roles, teams and decision-making structures change? Who remains accountable when agents begin completing more business-critical work?</p>
<p>These questions need to be considered before deployment, not after it.</p>
<h2>Work backwards from business impact</h2>
<p>Stephen Henn, Managing Director of AI Innovation at DLA Piper, approached the conversation from the perspective of return on investment.</p>
<p>He suggested that many organisations begin with the tool and then look for processes or problems to apply it to. Those seeing a genuine return start from the opposite direction:</p>
<p>&ldquo;What do I want to get out of it? What is the big impact? We know that if we solve this problem, we&rsquo;re going to get ROI. Then work backwards.&rdquo;</p>
<p>This distinction is becoming increasingly important. Successful AI implementation does not begin with asking where a new model or agent can be used. It begins with a clearly defined business problem and an understanding of what solving it would achieve.</p>
<p>The technology should follow the outcome.</p>
<p>Without that clarity, organisations risk deploying AI successfully from a technical perspective without creating meaningful business value.</p>
<h2>Bring financial accountability into the conversation</h2>
<p>Arjun Srinivasan, SVP of AI and Data Science at ShipStation Global, identified another voice that is often missing from discussions around AI deployment:</p>
<p>&ldquo;I would love to hear more from a CFO&rsquo;s perspective. They&rsquo;re the ones who sign the cheque. They&rsquo;re the ones who are answerable to the board. I&rsquo;m not hearing that.&rdquo;</p>
<p>AI strategy cannot remain solely a technology conversation. As investment increases and organisations move from experimentation to scaled deployment, financial leaders need to be part of defining what success looks like, how it will be measured and who will be accountable for delivering it.</p>
<p>The people approving the investment and answering to the board should not enter the conversation only when the costs arrive.</p>
<h2>So what happens next?</h2>
<p>Ai4 was largely built around the on-ramp to AI adoption. That is not a criticism. Many organisations are still trying to achieve their first meaningful deployment, and there is enormous value in discussing models, frameworks and guardrails.</p>
<p>But very few conversations focused on the destination.</p>
<p>Across different sectors and roles, the same gap appeared repeatedly. Organisations are concentrating on how to deploy AI without giving enough attention to what happens when it works.</p>
<p>What does success actually look like? How will it change the organisation? Who owns the outcome? What role will people continue to play?</p>
<p>If your AI strategy has a clear answer for &ldquo;how do we deploy?&rdquo; but a blank space where &ldquo;what does success look like, and who owns it?&rdquo; should be, you do not have a deployment problem.</p>
<p>You have a destination problem.</p>
<hr>
<p>Hear more insights from Ai4 as David&rsquo;s conversations with digital leaders are released on the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3DugvTFpGLOhle28qyw0JR">Tech Talks podcast.</a></p>
<p>Watch the video below to hear David&rsquo;s conversations with digital leaders at Ai4:</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mdx4ax8kC9w?si=kG9yhVTmZ-lxgJ60" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>

Reflections for the 2026 AI4 conference

<p>This article was originally published on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/polymaths-specialists-arent-required-ai-agent-workplace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZDNet</a>&nbsp;and features insights from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>, CIO at Harvey Nash.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Versatility is in, with people expected to work across the tech stack.</h2>
<p>Experts recognise that agentic AI is changing the workplace. From <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-agents-arent-just-assistants-how-theyre-changing-the-future-of-work-today/">the deployment of intelligent assistants</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-autonomous-business-is-coming-heres-why-that-shift-is-good-news-for-professionals/">the rise of autonomous businesses</a>, agents are expected to fulfil a range of activities traditionally carried out by professionals.</p>
<p>While there's agreement that agents will have a significant impact on operations, there's less consensus on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/types-of-people-who-will-excel-in-ai-agent-era-according-to-tech-leaders/">the role humans will play in the agentic-enabled workplace of the future</a>.</p>
<p>However, what's already clear is that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-create-great-results-with-your-agentic-work-colleagues-in-the-autonomous-business/">the future of work will require a careful blend of human expertise and AI capabilities</a>, with professionals working effectively and productively alongside their agentic counterparts.</p>
<p>For Gerrit Kazmaier, president of product and technology at Workday, finding the right balance between human and AI agency presents new opportunities. He said earlier this year that&nbsp;<a href="https://hrexecutive.com/what-workdays-biggest-agent-launch-means-for-hr-leaders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">agentic AI amplifies workers' strengths, allowing them to function as polymaths</a>.</p>
<p>In the age of agentic AI,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.workday.com/en-us/perspectives/ai/what-is-a-polymath-ai-era.html#link={%22role%22:%22standard%22,%22href%22:%22https://www.workday.com/en-us/perspectives/ai/what-is-a-polymath-ai-era.html%22,%22target%22:%22%22,%22absolute%22:%22%22,%22linkText%22:%22suggested%20Workday%20Principal%20Strategist%20Julie%20Colwell%20in%20a%20recent%20blog%20post%22}" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">as suggested by Workday principal strategist Julie Colwell in a recent blog post</a>, the rise of the polymath is associated with a shift in labour demand away from specialists who know everything about a single domain to professionals with knowledge across multiple disciplines.</p>
<p>Kathy Pham, vice president of AI at Workday, also acknowledged the rise of the polymath and told ZDNET that professionals who can work with agents across multiple areas simultaneously will be crucial.</p>
<p>"These are the gaps that we need to fill, and maybe we can then redirect our energy to higher-value areas, because we've now automated the less valuable parts of our working lives that took our time," she said.</p>
<p>So, what will a successful polymath look like? Business leaders told us that two core characteristics will be crucial: adaptability to AI-enabled change and the confidence to make valuable decisions that agents can't.</p>
<h2>Embracing agentic change</h2>
<p>Chris Kairinos, senior director of global modern workplace technology, client services, and technology operations at A+E Global Media, recognised that the polymath-like capabilities of adaptability and flexibility will be crucial as agents continue to take hold.</p>
<p>Experts suggest the term polymath has its roots in Ancient Greek and describes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/worklife/article/20191118-what-shapes-a-polymath---and-do-we-need-them-more-than-ever" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">someone who excels in multiple fields</a>.</p>
<p>"Everybody needs just to embrace technology," he told ZDNET, suggesting that a focus on expertise in one area is being replaced by the aptitude to work across many.</p>
<p>"I don't think you need to master technology, because I don't think there is a way to master it now," continued Kairinos, insinuating the key components of technology-enabled work are likely to change on what feels like an almost constant basis.</p>
<p>Kairinos used the analogy of a musical instrument to explain skills development in the AI era. Rather than learning to play a piano once, professionals must be able to tune their skills to embrace modified instruments quickly and effectively.</p>
<p>"It's as if 30 different keys are being added to a piano. The shape of the piano is changing; there are now three layers of keys on that piano, and there are an extra three pedals," he said.</p>
<p>"If the piano is changing all the time, how are you ever going to become a master? In those conditions, you can't. You've just got to be adaptable enough to be able to use it."</p>
<p>Such is the pace of change with AI, said David Minahan, director of digital, data, and technology at UK charity Young Lives vs. Cancer, that business leaders must create a learning and development strategy that acknowledges the demand for polymath-like capabilities.</p>
<p>But there's a twist. While tightly defined specialists are out, in-demand polymaths are unlikely to be expected to work across multiple functions.</p>
<p>"I think generalists are too broad," he told ZDNET, referring to the shift. "Specialists aren't required in most businesses anymore because AI leverages knowledge differently. For this reason, I've deliberately taken a strategy to create 'versatilists.'"</p>
<p>As AI completes repetitive and mundane work, Minahan said his versatilists should be comfortable applying their skills across many areas, such as discussions with business stakeholders to identify valuable digital transformation projects.</p>
<p>"I've got that approach in my internal strategy," he said. "Our people are expected to work across the tech stack. And it's a deliberate point: generalists aren't necessary, but versatility is."</p>
<p>Crucially, Minahan said his team can also see the benefits of becoming versatilists.</p>
<p>"There is a history in IT where people get pigeonholed in certain things, and it's difficult for them to move," he said. "So, I've created this language and pathway that means actually, if you're smart, you're motivated, and you're talented, you could do any of these things."</p>
<h2>Adding extra value</h2>
<p>Ankur Anand, group CIO at recruiter Harvey Nash, also recognised the importance of professional versatility.</p>
<p>Yes, becoming a polymath -- someone who can move beyond traditional role definitions into new areas -- resonates, but in a particular sense: the best professionals will use AI to extend their specific skills rather than becoming generalists across multiple areas.</p>
<p>"Every professional who's actually pulling ahead right now is an expert whose specialism has stretched to include directing, questioning, and correcting AI that works alongside them," he told ZDNET. "That split is different from becoming a jack of all trades, and it's a much more useful goal for anyone building a career around this shift."</p>
<p>Rather than juggling multiple careers, Anand suggested successful professionals will use AI to boost their current working practices.</p>
<p>The key to success will be whether your expertise is deep enough to know when an agent is making the wrong choices.</p>
<p>He gave the example of technology firm Snowflake, where on an average day, engineers work with multiple agents. One head of engineering spends 20 to 30 hours a week directing five agents, reviewing their design choices, and deciding when code is good enough to ship.</p>
<p>"His deep technical background is exactly what lets him catch the agents when they get something wrong," said Anand. "Someone with only a shallow, general grasp of engineering would have nothing solid enough to check the agents' work against."</p>
<p>As these highly skilled polymaths become the norm, versatility won't just be a core skill for IT professionals.</p>
<p>Minahan said responsibilities in all functions will change as employees work alongside agents.</p>
<p>"For lots of organisations' operational aspects, whether that's in sales, marketing, HR, finance, administration, service delivery, or product creation, you will have an expanse of people possibly in very different job descriptions in a few years as part of a versatile workforce, leveraging tools like AI for specific knowledge and insight," he said.</p>
<p>Anand can see this pattern emerging in his own industry, recruitment. Yes, an AI sourcing tool can scan thousands of candidate profiles against a job spec faster than any person. However, the placements that matter, the senior technical hires and the roles with genuinely scarce skills, still come down to a consultant who's spent years inside one specific market, knowing what skills and experience work best for the hiring manager's needs.</p>
<p>In short, the best polymaths will be the professionals who use their experience to add the valuable human touch that no AI can provide.</p>
<p>"They're the specialists who know a candidate who looks like a moderate match on paper might be the far better fit, while one who ticks every box on the spec sheet would walk out within six months," said Anand.</p>
<p>"That judgment is built from pattern recognition earned over years in a narrow field. No AI tool builds it for you, and no amount of general knowledge substitutes for it."&nbsp;</p>

How to add value in an agentic AI workplace

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-do-cybersecurity-leaders-want-3-skills-beat-certifications-and-experience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZDNet</a> and features insights from <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>, CIO at Harvey Nash.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Certifications and years of experience can only take you so far in cyber now. Automation means new skills are coming to the fore.</h2>
<p>Working in cybersecurity is a tough gig. While security teams work hard to prevent damage to their organizations, ZDNET reported earlier this year that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/nearly-half-of-cybersecurity-pros-want-to-quit-heres-why/">many cyber professionals aren't receiving the recognition they deserve</a></p>
<p>Emerging technology brings new challenges.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-used-ai-to-fix-1072-chrome-security-bugs-in-60-days/">AI-assisted vulnerability discovery</a>&nbsp;is accelerating the pace of bug reports, with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-is-finding-bugs-faster-than-humans-can-fix-them-how-enterprise-security-teams-must-adapt/">growing mismatch between what machines can surface and what humans can realistically triage</a>.</p>
<p>In such a fast-changing and challenging working environment, it's easy to understand why&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/nearly-half-of-cybersecurity-pros-want-to-quit-heres-why/">almost half of cybersecurity pros want to quit</a>.</p>
<p>However, staff should pause before sending their resignation letters: in an age of AI, where threats come from multiple angles, your business needs you now more than ever.</p>
<p>As Fabrizio Pilotti, CIO at Aston Martin Aramco Formula One, said to ZDNET recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-in-formula-one-competitive-advantage-is-all-about-the-human-in-the-loop/">digital leaders must think carefully about the balance between AI and human capabilities</a>, and maintaining this equilibrium effectively creates new opportunities for security professionals.</p>
<p>"In IT, lots of rules are changing. We're thinking a lot about team structure, even job descriptions between the agentic part and non-agentic part," he said.</p>
<p>"I would say cyber, together with software development, is at the top of our priority list because of growing complexity and changing environments, where you have to react so fast."</p>
<p>The good news, therefore, is that talented cyber staff could finally receive the recognition their skills fully deserve.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-is-cyber-weapon-and-massive-target-crowdstrike-warns/">as agentic AI hoovers up elements of the traditional IT security role</a>, how can cyber professionals prove their worth and build a successful career?</p>
<p>The experts suggest successful candidates will focus on three key areas: curiosity-led critical thinking, instinctive qualities that sit above the automation line, and an ability to turn ambiguous signals into confident, risk-based decisions.</p>
<h2>Blend curiosity with critical thinking</h2>
<p>Eric Schmitt, global chief information security officer at risk and claims administration specialist Sedgwick, said many people mistakenly believe that a great cybersecurity professional is someone with certifications or years of experience.</p>
<p>While those credentials can indicate someone's likely capabilities, they are no guarantee of success, particularly in a world where AI and other emerging technologies transform the nature of attacks and the methods of response.</p>
<p>To this end, Schmitt told ZDNET that a great cybersecurity professional excels in one key area: curiosity.</p>
<p>"I would rather hire someone a year into their career who constantly asks, 'Why does this work this way?' over someone 20 years in who doesn't," he said.</p>
<p>Schmitt said that while experience teaches you what has worked in the past, curiosity teaches you what might break next and where the solution may be, a distinction that has never mattered more than it does in today's rapidly changing threat landscape.</p>
<p>"Credentials tell me where someone's been, while questions like 'Why does this agent call that service?' or 'Why do we follow this process?' or trying to figure out which data a certain model is reading, who can modify it, and what an agent is allowed to do on its own, can tell me how they think a lot better."</p>
<p>However, curiosity alone is not enough. Schmitt suggested curious cybersecurity professionals also need strong critical thinking skills.</p>
<p>"Curiosity generates the most impactful questions, and critical thinking decides which answers hold up," he said.</p>
<p>"AI has made this type of thinking an urgent component, because these tools produce confident, plausible output at volume, but someone still has to ask whether it's right and be able to tell."</p>
<p>Schmitt said curiosity without critical rigor leads to noise, and rigor without curiosity leads to stagnation, suggesting professionals with the right blend of capabilities will appeal to businesses that develop a proactive approach to cyber risks.</p>
<p>"Together, these skills allow a security professional to keep pace with a threat landscape that no longer rewards static expertise," he said. "Managers should hire for curiosity and cultivate critical thinking, because everything else can be taught."</p>
<h2>Sit above the automation line</h2>
<p>This focus on critical thinking skills also appeals to Ankur Anand, CIO at recruiter Harvey Nash, who suggested industry research points to a significant problem -- over-reliance on AI tools could leave enterprises exposed to attacks.</p>
<p>He referred to&nbsp;<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.26791" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">SecRespond's recently released benchmark that tested 23 leading AI models</a> against real forensic data from compromised systems. Every model failed on the same category of attack: intrusions that never triggered an alert in the first place.</p>
<p>"That's the detail that should worry people more than any skills-gap statistic," he told ZDNET, suggesting that most security tools, including those that use AI, work by investigating something that's already flagged as unusual.</p>
<p>"If nothing trips the alarm, an AI built to investigate alarms has nothing to chew on."</p>
<p>Anand said the best cybersecurity professionals possess the judgment to know when something's awry.</p>
<p>"They'll have the instinct to get suspicious about a system that looks completely fine, and to ask why it's quiet when everyone else is only watching for what's loud."</p>
<p>So, how can IT security staff hone these instincts? Anand suggested the skills worth investing in sit above the automation line.</p>
<p>He pointed first to threat-hunting capabilities: "Going looking for trouble with no alert telling you where to look."</p>
<p>Second, AI oversight will be a crucial skill, plus the ability to describe potential risks to non-IT employees.</p>
<p>"That's about knowing when a model's output is wrong and having the confidence to say so aloud in a meeting," he said.</p>
<p>"Plain communication matters more than it used to, because someone still has to turn 'the model flagged this' into a decision the business can actually act on."</p>
<p>Finally, Anand said good old-fashioned technological expertise will play an important role in helping cybersecurity professionals turn judgments into actions.</p>
<p>"Basic Python is worth learning too, so you can query and interrogate the tools doing the triage instead of just accepting their verdicts," he said.</p>
<h2>Focus on prioritizing risk</h2>
<p>The key takeaway for cybersecurity professionals, suggested Errol Weiss, chief security officer at member-driven organization Health-ISAC, is the need to shift their focus to adaptive thinking and operational judgment in the age of AI.</p>
<p>"That transition requires clear thinking under pressure, curiosity, and the ability to turn ambiguous signals into a confident, risk-based decision," he told ZDNET.</p>
<p>Weiss said adaptability is crucial because AI is accelerating both attack and defense cycles, meaning security teams are dealing with faster-moving threats, more noise, and often have less time to respond.</p>
<p>"We need individuals who combine technical skills with an understanding of how systems operate in the real world, especially in sectors like healthcare, where patching or mitigation isn't straightforward," he said.</p>
<p>"Communication is a core skill. Security professionals need to explain risk in a way that drives action across clinical, operational, and executive teams."</p>
<p>Weiss said the people who stand out will be those who can quickly interpret and prioritize risk.</p>
<p>When AI tools can do much of the heavy lifting, it is the human in the loop -- in this case, the talented cybersecurity professional -- who will help organizations manage risks.</p>
<p>"AI tools can surface potential security issues, but they don't understand business context, safety implications, or operational constraints," he said.</p>
<p>"That's where human expertise remains critical. AI will continue to augment cybersecurity, but it won't replace the need for experienced professionals who can make decisions during uncertainty. The most effective practitioners will be those who can work alongside AI, question its outputs, and translate insights into practical, timely action."</p>

What do cybersecurity leaders want in staff?

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.thehrdirector.com/hrs-pivotal-role-ai-upskilling-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The HR Director</a> and is authored by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcneal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Neal</a>, Chief People Officer at Harvey Nash</p>
<hr>
<p>As custodians of the people and skills agenda, HR has a key role to play &ndash; and must step up to the plate on one of the defining issues of our time: AI upskilling. Quite simply, it is vital that HR is in lockstep with its partners across the business, collaborating closely with the IT function and other key departments.</p>
<p class="ql-align-justify">As the AI revolution continues, upskilling and reskilling staff so they can use it to full effect has become a key strategic priority for businesses across sectors. Without that, the investments being made won&rsquo;t achieve the value and productivity boosts that are hoped for.</p>
<p class="ql-align-justify">Yet research* shows that progress is patchy at best. While the majority of technologists (76%) have access to AI tools, far fewer feel they are being given structured support, time or clear frameworks to build capability (36%). Less than half (43%) are being given dedicated time to experiment and learn. A significant proportion report being expected to self‑learn (20%), while others are still waiting for formal training to be introduced (23%).</p>
<p class="ql-align-justify">The picture is likely to be even less well-progressed in non-technology roles, meaning that employees in key functions are not being given the support and frameworks they need to maximise the use of AI.</p>
<h2 class="ql-align-justify">HR at the table</h2>
<p class="ql-align-justify">As custodians of the people and skills agenda, HR has a key role to play &ndash; and must step up to the plate on one of the defining issues of our time. Quite simply, it is vital that HR is in lockstep with its partners across the business, collaborating closely with the IT function and other key departments.</p>
<p class="ql-align-justify">Without this, the unintended consequence could be that the CIO inadvertently becomes head of workforce planning by default, with the business and the way people work being shaped around the tech stack and AI tools. This unintended consequential people displacement could lead to disillusionment and ineffective outcomes.</p>
<h2 class="ql-align-justify">Defining the rules and parameters</h2>
<p class="ql-align-justify">In my view, from our own experience and from discussions on the topic at many conferences and industry events, there are a number of key steps for businesses (and HR leaders) to take.</p>
<p class="ql-align-justify">Firstly, there needs to be real clarity around the purpose of AI and therefore the outcomes being sought. What will AI be used for (and what won&rsquo;t it be used for), how will people interact with this, what governance and controls need to be in place, and where are the hand-offs from AI to people/people skills? To consider these questions, it is essential to have a cross-functional AI leadership team that includes key stakeholders from departments including HR, technology, finance and customer-facing teams (sales etc). The governance point is especially important. There must be clear mechanisms and structures in place, backed up by a published and widely communicated AI policy, that establish the process by which AI use cases are assessed, progressed and monitored.</p>
<h2 class="ql-align-justify">&lsquo;Human-only&rsquo; skills</h2>
<p class="ql-align-justify">A crucial question within all this is: what are the human-only skills that will be needed? By this I mean the capabilities and attributes that AI can&rsquo;t replicate. These are likely to include qualities such as empathy, in particular when dealing with customers. It may be fine &ndash; and expected &ndash; to deploy an AI bot to handle a routine customer enquiry or request &ndash; but what happens if something goes wrong, the order is misplaced or the customer has complex needs or circumstances? There needs to be a route to a human being built in so that customers can interact with a person who can apply the empathy, understanding and sensitivity needed. Other human skills include judgement in grey areas (whether those are service-related or market-related) and the ability to stand back from data to take account of the full picture: that human ability to draw on experience and even &lsquo;gut feel&rsquo; to know what the data is actually showing.</p>
<p class="ql-align-justify">From these steps, an inventory can be built of the skills staff need to utilise AI across different parts of the business &ndash; and training and support developed to enable it. This is almost certainly going to be a mixture of formal and informal/self-directed learning, with time to experiment and learn. Needless to say, this is an area where the HR team will have a particularly critical role, drawing on their experience and expertise in designing and procuring L&amp;D programmes to apply best practice principles that work.</p>
<h2 class="ql-align-justify">Realising the benefits</h2>
<p class="ql-align-justify">Finally, to actually realise the benefits of AI, organisations need to know what they will do with the extra capacity that will (hopefully) be created. How can this be utilised so that people get more done? If extra capacity is unmanaged or undirected, it could simply lead to wasted opportunity or reduced productivity as it is frittered away as downtime. Conversely, if staff are given increased targets due to the expected time savings, they could be overloaded and indeed resentful. The reality is that many teams across businesses are already working at 120%! Taking it down to 100% means they are still fully subscribed. Business leaders need to strike the right balance of sensitivity and support for their people on the one hand with the quest for a high-performance workforce on the other. Those that push too far could find the effects are counterproductive.</p>
<p class="ql-align-justify">The first task, of course, is to get to that point of creating increased capacity. But if and when that is achieved, being very clear about how it will be used is the key to actually unlocking value and increased productivity from AI. HR leaders have a front seat role to play in mapping this out and making it a reality. It&rsquo;s the quest that sits in front of all of us as HR practitioners right now.</p>

HR’s pivotal role in AI upskilling

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.computing.co.uk/opinion/2026/token-o-palypse-reassess-balance-human-machine?itc=refresh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Computing.co.uk</a> and is authored by <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/simon-crichton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simon Crichton</a>, CEO,&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/david-savage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Savage</a>, Technology Evangelist.</p>
<hr>
<p>A new phrase has started to spread in tech circles: Token-o-palypse. This refers to the &lsquo;apocalyptic&rsquo; costs of running AI models, which have&nbsp;<a title="spiked significantly" href="https://www.computing.co.uk/research/2026/the-era-of-cheap-ai-is-ending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spiked significantly</a>&nbsp;in the last few weeks. Quite simply, is AI becoming too expensive?</p>
<p>At the core of token-o-palypse is the hidden cost of internal reasoning in newer AI models.</p>
<p>Historically, a prompt might use 100 input tokens and yield 400 output tokens, resulting in a predictable bill for 500 tokens.</p>
<p>However, newer models (like Opus 4.6) are designed with internal loops to stop and think before answering. They construct a reasoning plan, test their answers, iterate, and even create baby agents to find the best output.</p>
<div id="miso-ask-combo"></div>
<p>While this delivers highly refined answers, the model is generating and consuming its own tokens in the background. This autonomous looping can burn through three to ten times the number of tokens per prompt.</p>
<p>Because these newer models are already more expensive on a unit-token basis, an interaction that used to cost 500 tokens can suddenly consume 4,000 to 5,000 tokens without the user explicitly asking for that level of reasoning, causing corporate token bills to&nbsp;<a title="skyrocket overnight" href="https://www.computing.co.uk/event/2026/where-s-all-the-money-going" target="_blank" rel="noopener">skyrocket overnight</a>.</p>
<p>Given that many businesses are already struggling to create return on investment from AI &ndash; the 2025&nbsp;<a title="Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report" href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report</a>&nbsp;found that two-thirds of tech leaders are not realising ROI &ndash; this begs the question of whether the AI hype could begin to flounder due to hard financial realities. Will CEOs continue to sign off on the escalating AI budgets being asked for?</p>
<h2 id="managing-costs-through-tokenomics">Managing costs through &lsquo;Tokenomics&rsquo;</h2>
<p>The cost of tokens is unlikely to fall, but there are ways businesses can manage the bill.</p>
<p>Organisations are realising they need to be more strategic about the tools they deploy, which starts with understanding the problem they are trying to solve and how best to do it &ndash; AI may not always be the answer.</p>
<p>Then there&rsquo;s the question of tools. The great majority of enterprise AI workloads do not actually require the latest, most expensive language models. Instead,&nbsp;<a title="businesses can control their token expenses" href="https://www.computing.co.uk/interview/2026/how-thg-stopped-ai-becoming-next-cloud-bill-shock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">businesses can control their token expenses</a>&nbsp;and maintain functionality by shifting to smaller, open-source models, or by training their own internal models for specific tasks. As one tech leader we spoke to recently put it, &ldquo;Everyone wants a Ferrari, but sometimes a bicycle will do the job.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The easiest way to explain this in practice is to look at where AI is being deployed. In some instances, AI is being used instead of good old-fashioned automation.</p>
<p>Another approach is the use of &lsquo;recipes&rsquo;, which involves creating a playbook of AI workflows and calculations that can be taken and applied in different contexts &ndash; obviating the need to have AI recalculate what has already been done.</p>
<p>An additional focus is on combating agent sprawl or shadow AI, by ensuring there is a coordinated, centralised approach to AI deployment rather than a wild west where multiple departments start spinning up agents independently and adding to the token bill. Strong AI governance is becoming even more essential.</p>
<p>But while good tokenomics of this kind helps, they only goes so far. There is another fundamental question the token-o-palypse raises, which in our view urgently needs to be debated: does the balance between human and machine need to be reset?</p>
<h2 id="a-shift-back-towards-people">A shift back towards people?</h2>
<p>In the talent market, volume recruitment of traditional core IT roles such as developers and testers, especially at junior levels, has been impacted as companies look to do more with AI. However, in our conversations with tech leaders, there is evidence that some organisations are beginning to hire more junior talent again because of the elevated costs of AI.</p>
<p>At the repeatable task end, in many instances it is becoming more economical to use more junior and early careers staff than AI &ndash; with the same quality of end output.</p>
<p>Is token-o-palypse therefore the wake-up call that industry needs? The beginning, perhaps, of a restoration of a healthier balance?</p>
<p>Let us not forget all the capabilities and attributes that human professionals have, which AI struggles to deliver. Critical thinking based on experience and judgement, appropriate scepticism and the ability to stand back, strategic insight, human empathy and understanding.</p>
<h2 id="balancing-the-pipeline">Balancing the pipeline</h2>
<p>There is also the key question of&nbsp;<a title="maintaining a talent pipeline" href="https://www.computing.co.uk/news-analysis/2026/uk-public-fearful-ai-impact-jobs-research" target="_blank" rel="noopener">maintaining a talent pipeline</a>. If the pipeline is cut off at entry level, who will be the senior technical and strategic leaders of the future?</p>
<p>It is often said that the jobs AI takes away will be replaced by more interesting and strategic roles further up the value chain: but will we have the talent to fill those roles if entry routes have been decimated lower down?</p>
<p>In our view, the time has come for corporates to review talent and hiring strategies, with key principles being:</p>
<ul>
<li>Protect routes for junior talent:&nbsp;Maintain some level of junior hiring, including graduates, apprentices and career switchers. Nurtured well, they will become the lifeblood of your future business.</li>
<li>Upskill rather than replace:&nbsp;Rather than looking to eliminate headcount through AI, review where upskilling can enable your team to get more out of present tools. Empower your people to manage AI &ndash; instead of using AI to manage out people.</li>
<li>Prioritise diverse problem-solvers:&nbsp;A diverse intake of talent will provide a wider range of thinking and problem-solving capability. Organisations need people who possess the judgement to validate AI outputs and the curiosity to find the right business problems for AI to solve.</li>
<li>Keep training your tech teams on fundamentals:&nbsp;It is a challenge to know what training to provide tech teams given that things fall out of date so quickly. However, don&rsquo;t abandon foundational computer science concepts, programming logic and algorithm design. Even if AI writes the code, humans need robust problem-solving and creative skills to know what to ask the AI to build and how to validate it. Keep a continuous learning culture and encourage the sharing of ideas and lessons learned.</li>
</ul>
<p>Token-o-palypse is becoming a major concern for corporates. But it also an opportunity. At this early stage, there is a window for business leaders to ask themselves: Are we going to do something about this? The right decisions now could establish the blueprint for years to come.</p>

What 'Token-o-palypse' means for human and AI work

<p>This article was originally published by <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-modern-CIO-role-is-almost-overwhelming-heres-how-to-survive-and-thrive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ComputerWeekly.com</a> and features insights from Harvey Nash CIO, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/ankur-anand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>, on how the role of the CIO is evolving in the age of AI.</p>
<h2>Responsible for everything from keeping the IT lights on to digital transformation, AI strategy, fostering cross-organisation relations and managing complexity, the modern CIO has their plate full. Top CIOs share their tips for success</h2>
<p>The range of opportunities in an age of artificial intelligence (AI) means now is an exciting time to be a CIO. However, this level of excitement doesn&rsquo;t come without challenges &ndash; with a number of pioneering digital leaders recognising that the rate of change brings new complexities.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s something that resonates with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639330/Interview-Nick-Pearson-CIO-Ricoh-Europe">Nick Pearson, CIO at technology specialist Ricoh Europe</a>, who recognises the ever-widening number of&nbsp;responsibilities. He says the CIO used to be the most knowledgeable IT expert in the room. Now, to a certain degree, being the most tech-savvy person is impossible because of the breadth of changes associated with AI.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The challenge in the digital leadership space is that you&rsquo;re everything from the AI strategist, the expert on running services in the cloud, through to overseeing operations, understanding the latest cyber security risks and managing suppliers,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The plethora of topics is massive and could be overwhelming.&rdquo;</p>
<p>More than anyone else in the C-suite, other business leaders look to the CIO for expert guidance on technology. Yet the rapid release of new AI models and agents means other people in the business are likely to be aware of up-and-coming technologies and might even come to the IT department with solutions for their challenges.</p>
<p>However, as Pearson and his peers attest, there are ways to lead digital successfully in an era of almost constant change. Smart CIOs create strategies to embrace this pressure. Rather than just surviving, CIOs use strategies, from becoming ambassadors for change to working with trusted lieutenants and embracing innovation, to thrive in their new positions of power.</p>
<h3>Spread the burden</h3>
<p>Pearson says one of the key success factors is that CIOs need to act as ambassadors, rather than the centre of technological knowledge. He gives the example of managing AI roll-out. Pearson has created an AI Council to ensure that emerging technology is embraced safely and effectively. Crucially, it&rsquo;s a cross-organisation leadership group.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I was never going to stand the AI Council up on my own inside of Ricoh,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;One, it&rsquo;s too big; two, it would ostracise half the business. So, dual management of topics is crucial. We&rsquo;re a team here on AI &ndash; it&rsquo;s not my solution set, it&rsquo;s not an application. You spread a bit of the burden and get co-sponsorship across the board.&rdquo;</p>
<section data-menu-title="Spread the burden">
<p>Pearson suggests this joined-up management approach will become the norm. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to see more co-sponsors, rather than people just thinking, &lsquo;Well, it&rsquo;s the IT guy&rsquo;s job to deliver this, or it&rsquo;s the sales leader&rsquo;s job&rsquo;,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be more a case of, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s both our jobs, and you need to lean in as much as I do on the tech side.&rsquo; And I&rsquo;m seeing that shift already.&rdquo;</p>
<p>As an example, he says HR professionals at Ricoh invested in AI tools to scan labour markets and find talent.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Now, that technology stack is fairly bespoke to HR to a certain degree. So, they have to lean in a lot more to technology than they used to with an old-fashioned HR system, where we&rsquo;d run it,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really about professionals saying, &lsquo;How do we want the solution to work for our business?&rsquo;, which is going to share the burden a little bit more. One of my ideas to manage the overwhelming breadth of change is to partner a lot more closely with the board members on most of this innovation.&rdquo;</p>
</section>
<section data-menu-title="Focus on the finishing line">
<h3>Focus on the finishing line</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366628079/Interview-How-ITSM-helps-deliver-results-at-McLaren-Racing">Dan Keyworth, executive director of performance technology and systems at McLaren Racing</a>, says it&rsquo;s easy to get overwhelmed by the number of options out there. Successful CIOs scan the horizon and help the business find solutions to its problems from multiple directions.</p>
<p>&ldquo;As a digital leader, it&rsquo;s a good idea to look inwards as much as outwards,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You must think about the actual business objectives the organisation is truly trying to achieve. And comparison, in my view, is the biggest element to focus on.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Keyworth gives an example of this process in action. &ldquo;So, if you compare your sector to another industry and are doing something that looks cutting edge, but it&rsquo;s not relevant to your business, then that shouldn&rsquo;t be a focus,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Your process should be very much about focusing on yourself. Think about what your win looks like.&rdquo;</p>
<p>To that end, Keyworth encourages other CIOs to ensure their digital strategies and the activity supporting those plans are commensurate with broader business objectives. &ldquo;Suddenly, you feel like you&rsquo;re in more control of your destiny than perhaps being influenced too much by external factors,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>Keyworth says a focus on business objectives is crucial in his sport. Rather than being viewed as a cost centre, IT is now seen as a critical success factor in helping his team gain a competitive advantage. His ability to communicate the benefits to business peers can help make the difference to on-track performance.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We say that for every pound you spend on the car, there&rsquo;s a pound on tools as well,&rdquo; he says.</p>
</section>
<section data-menu-title="Take a pragmatic stance">
<h3>Take a pragmatic stance</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366643836/Interview-Clare-Hickie-EMEA-CTO-Workday">Clare Hickie, CTO for EMEA at software provider Workday</a>, says there are many conflicting stresses in the world of technology, especially for digital leaders. However, most senior tech managers have grown used to the complexity of their roles.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Technology leaders have a level of pragmatism,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;And so what&rsquo;s important for them is that, once they understand and can look at the business and manage it from a prioritisation perspective, then they can be successful.&rdquo;</p>
<section data-menu-title="Take a pragmatic stance">
<p>While AI brings new demands, Hickie says it&rsquo;s important to recognise that the CIO role has been evolving for years. &ldquo;The position has gone from being the owner of cost centres to being the orchestrator of AI and supporting the strategic goals of the operation,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not even just about managing from a strategy perspective, although that&rsquo;s our role too. Before, everyone saw the CIO as an implementer, but now you&rsquo;re the maker of IT.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Hickie says good digital leaders offer specialist advice to their line-of-business colleagues. Rather than allowing emerging technology to become an intractable challenge, CIOs work with their peers across the organisation to ensure that people can exploit digital and data effectively.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We perform and take away the distractors every single day,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;A huge aspect of the role at the moment is supporting organisations as they move more towards the world of AI, because businesses are looking to the CIO for that level of guidance. So, if I think about how I operate&nbsp;and our teams operate, we&rsquo;re very good at saying what needs to happen as opposed to letting the noise sit around us.&rdquo;</p>
</section>
<section data-menu-title="Create a great environment">
<h3>Create a great environment</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366640503/Interview-Jem-Walters-CTO-Vanquis">Jem Walters, CTO at banking group Vanquis</a>, is another executive who recognises the inherent complexity of modern digital leadership.</p>
<p>&ldquo;A lot is coming at us at the moment,&rdquo; he says, before outlining his coping strategy. &ldquo;The role of a CIO is to create the best environment possible so that great people can do great work.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s my philosophy, really. The role shifts in the modern age from being the person who&rsquo;s fixing stuff and making it work better to an enabler of new and exciting business opportunities.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Walters gives the example of cross-organisation interoperability. Vanquis uses MuleSoft&rsquo;s integration platform to help ensure systems are joined up. &ldquo;Now our ability to integrate with other businesses, data sources, and products and services is infinitely better, quicker, and faster than in the past,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Ensuring the underlying foundations are in place opens up a lot of opportunity for us in terms of business model development, exploring opportunities to partner with other people, and bringing in other products and services that could be Vanquis-branded or not. So, modern CIOs must be a strategic enabler for new business opportunities.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Walters says digital leaders continue to encounter new challenges, particularly in fast-moving areas such as IT security. &ldquo;For those of us who manage cyber, we&rsquo;ve got to do all our other work and make sure everything stays secure,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an arms race, isn&rsquo;t it? Can the good guys stay ahead of the bad guys? We&rsquo;ve got to keep investing in new tooling and defensive capability to keep ourselves safe and resilient.&rdquo;</p>
</section>
<section data-menu-title="Become an adaptable leader">
<h3>Become an adaptable leader</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639074/Interview-Ankur-Anand-group-CIO-Nash-Squared">Ankur Anand, group CIO at recruitment specialist Harvey Nash</a>, says adaptability is a key success factor for effective CIOs in the digital age. &ldquo;Everyone is going through the journey and asking questions,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You must recognise that no question is a foolish question. Be conscious of where your weak areas are, understand them from the point of view of the broader community and then, through that process, you move up the curve.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Anand says your ability to progress depends on a broad range of factors, including wider technology and business concerns. More specifically, and despite the potential for decentralised purchasing from line-of-business professionals, CIOs will play a crucial role in overseeing the roll-out of AI across the organisation.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That process is changing the role of CIO, where they&rsquo;re not only responsible for the delivery of the technology, but also the enablement of the technology,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Not many people can understand what needs to be done, so that is challenging the traditional role of the CIO.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Like other digital leaders, Anand recognises the importance of staying on top of cyber security concerns, especially as errant outsiders change their tactics in response to emerging technology capabilities. Effective CIOs will ensure their teams are upskilled to help reduce the digital leadership burden.</p>
<p>&ldquo;AI means your target operating model has to be changed again,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Different people are solving this challenge in different ways. Discussing solutions with them, conversing and getting inputs from your peers is the way CIOs will be able to deal with the challenges.&rdquo;</p>
</section>
</section>

The modern CIO role is almost overwhelming – here’s how to survive and thrive

<p>This article was originally published by <a href="https://futurescot.com/on-a-mission-for-growth-scotland-needs-to-turn-ai-ambition-into-economic-reality-urges-top-recruiter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FutureScot</a> and features insights from Harvey Nash Executive Director, Public Sector, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/graeme-mcnaull" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Graeme McNaull</a>.</p>
<hr>
<h2>On a mission for growth &ndash; Scotland needs to turn AI ambition into economic reality, urges top recruiter</h2>
<p>AI is no longer a debate about a future way of working in Scotland. It is already reshaping how we think about how organisations function, the delivery of public services and how individuals build relevance in a fast-changing economy.</p>
<p>The focus now is on how quickly we can adapt: businesses, public services, and individuals.  &nbsp;The Scottish Government&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-ai-strategy-2026-2031/">Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2026-2031 </a>outlines an ambitious vision, positioning Scotland as a global leader in ethical, inclusive and trustworthy AI while using technology to drive productivity improvement, strengthen public services and harness economic growth. </p>
<p>Trust and confidence will be essential to acceptance and embracement, particularly where sensitive personal and identifiable information is concerned in areas such as welfare benefits and health records. &nbsp;</p>
<p>However, beneath this ambition, many organisations are finding it difficult to embed real transformation, with a high volume of AI pilot schemes failing to deliver the desired outcomes or return on investment. &nbsp;</p>
<p>For employees, the challenge is equally stark. Despite headlines predicting widespread job losses, the reality is often far more nuanced. The majority of people are unlikely to lose their jobs directly to AI but may find themselves competing with colleagues who have learned how to use AI to work faster, make better decisions and deliver greater value, or be deployed on to more human centric higher value tasks where they can add more business value. &nbsp;</p>
<h3>Scotland&rsquo;s pilot-to-performance challenge</h3>
<p>AI enthusiasm is not in short supply across Scotland. &nbsp;</p>
<p>According to Harvey Nash&rsquo;s latest research, more than four in ten Scottish organisations (41.18%) are currently piloting AI technologies. But only 12.3% have reached an advanced stage where AI is embedded across multiple functions and delivering tangible business value. Targeting AI at historical process and legacy technology is unlikely to be as successful as an approach which revisits such processes and determines if they are still fit for purpose or relevant for the business. &nbsp;</p>
<p>This gap between &lsquo;experimentation&rsquo; and &lsquo;execution&rsquo; is becoming one of Scotland&rsquo;s biggest AI challenges, and a clear determinant for competitive advantage, whether in business or national outcomes. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Many organisations have successfully launched proof-of-concept projects, but far fewer have established the governance, skills, processes, and leadership buy-in required to scale AI across the enterprise. Tackling these foundational elements early is critical to achieving long-term growth and value. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Around 43% of Scottish leaders cite the lack of a clear business case as the primary barrier to a successful AI strategy.<br><br>While leaders understand AI&rsquo;s potential, many struggle to identify where it can deliver tangible value, whether through productivity gains, operational efficiency, enhanced customer experiences, or cost optimisation. Consequently, chief finance officers are demanding robust return on investment and transparent metrics at every stage of implementation, rather than waiting for a project&rsquo;s conclusion. &nbsp;<br><br>Without these upfront frameworks, many enterprises remain trapped in a perpetual pilot mode, experimenting without ever fully realising their financial return.  &nbsp;</p>
<p>With the pace of change and growing economic and social demands, it is now time to move from curiosity to capability. &nbsp;</p>
<h3>Public sector reform is accelerating the conversation</h3>
<p>Nowhere is this more apparent than in Scotland&rsquo;s public sector. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Faced with significant financial pressures and even greater demand, public sector organisations are increasingly looking to technology and automation as part of long-term transformation plans. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The Scottish Government has outlined plans which aim to reduce approximately 11,000 public sector roles by 2030 as part of wider efforts to address projected funding pressures. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Procurement reforms have delivered savings of more than &pound;300 million, while estate rationalisation programmes have generated additional efficiencies through the consolidation of government buildings. &nbsp;</p>
<p>This is not simply evidence of cost-cutting. &nbsp;</p>
<p>They highlight a broader shift in how public services are being designed and delivered. AI and automation are becoming essential tools for maintaining service quality while contending with financial constraints. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<h3>The workforce challenge isn&rsquo;t replacement</h3>
<p>Much of the public discussion around AI continues to focus on job displacement. &nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Harvey Nash Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report 2026</a> found that 40% of technologists globally feel their role is under threat from AI. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Yet the evidence emerging from organisations actively implementing AI tells a different story. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Rather than replacing professionals outright, AI is changing how work gets done. Routine, repetitive and administrative tasks are increasingly being automated while human skills, such as critical thinking, relationship building, creativity, decision-making and judgement are becoming even more valuable.   &nbsp;</p>
<p>This is particularly evident among younger workers. Our research found nearly six in ten professionals aged between 18 and 24 believe their roles remain secure, reflecting a growing recognition that AI is becoming a tool for augmentation rather than replacement. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The challenge for workers across all age groups is ensuring they remain relevant as the nature of work evolves. &nbsp;</p>
<p>By 2030, it is estimated that 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change, with AI acting as a major catalyst. For many professionals, this represents one of the most significant workforce transitions of their careers. &nbsp;</p>
<h3>Scotland&rsquo;s innovation ecosystem offers a glimpse of the future</h3>
<p>Supported by a strong talent pipeline, a collaborative technology ecosystem and growing investment, Scotland is fast becoming a destination for AI-driven start-ups looking to turn innovation into commercial success. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Edinburgh-based fintech start-up Aveni recently secured &pound;12 million in funding to accelerate the development of agentic AI solutions for financial services. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Legal technology company Wordsmith AI raised $70 million to expand its AI-powered platform that helps in-house legal teams manage routine legal work at scale. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Neither of these organisations is removing the need for skilled professionals: they are redefining where professionals spend their time. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Tasks that once consumed hours are being completed in minutes. This allows teams to focus on strategic work, client relationships and complex problem-solving. &nbsp;</p>
<h3>The upskilling imperative &nbsp;</h3>
<p>If AI is transforming work, then upskilling becomes one of the defining challenges for organisations and individuals alike, and Scotland is experiencing this pressure now. &nbsp;</p>
<p>More than a quarter (26.59%) of organisations report shortages in AI skills. Around  37.1% of organisations are actively investing in AI training programmes, yet nearly a quarter of employees report no formal training being provided. &nbsp;</p>
<p>This disconnect is a significant risk to Scotland&rsquo;s economic performance. Most organisations recognise the importance of AI-readiness yet very few have adequately equipped their people with the skills needed to succeed. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Consequently, many individuals are taking matters into their own hands. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The Harvey Nash Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report found that 66% of technologists now rely primarily on self-directed learning to keep their skills relevant, while only 35% access formal workplace training programmes. &nbsp;</p>
<p>This highlights a growing reality that career resilience increasingly depends on continuous learning. &nbsp;</p>
<h3>Turning strategy into action &nbsp;</h3>
<p>The organisations making the greatest progress are those treating AI adoption as a people transformation challenge rather than purely a technology initiative. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Successful implementation requires leaders to align technology investment with robust but proportionate governance, workforce planning, skills development and organisational change linked to tangible and measurable outcomes.  &nbsp;</p>
<p>This is where experience and expertise become critical. &nbsp;</p>
<p>For decades, Harvey Nash has worked alongside organisations across Scotland to help them navigate technology transformation and address evolving skills challenges. As the longest-serving supplier on key Scottish Government Interim Frameworks, Harvey Nash has supported public sector organisations, government bodies and enterprises through multiple waves of digital change. &nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/sectors/public-sector" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Explore Harvey Nash&rsquo;s work in the Public Sector.</a> &nbsp;</p>
<p>Today, that experience is helping organisations prepare their workforce for an AI-driven future. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Whether supporting AI talent acquisition, workforce planning, leadership hiring, skills development strategies or broader digital transformation programmes, we focus on helping organisations bridge the gap between ambition and execution. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Because while technology can be acquired, capability must be grown, developed and sustained. &nbsp;</p>
<h3>The future belongs to the curious </h3>
<p>Scotland has all the ingredients required to become a leading AI nation. &nbsp;</p>
<p>A strong technology ecosystem. Ambitious public sector reform. Innovative startups. World-class universities. A growing commitment to ethical AI. The opportunity now is to turn that ambition into measurable outcomes. &nbsp;</p>
<p>That means moving beyond pilots and proof-of-concepts towards AI deployments that deliver tangible value. It means building public trust through responsible governance, equipping organisations with the skills to adopt AI confidently, and ensuring technology investments are aligned to clear business and societal outcomes. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Success will not be determined by who adopts AI first, but by who adopts it best. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The organisations that thrive will be those that combine technology with capable leadership, empowered workforces and a culture that embraces continuous learning, experimentation and responsible innovation.</p>
<p>For individuals, remaining relevant will depend not on competing with AI, but on developing the skills to work alongside it and unlock its full potential. &nbsp;</p>
<p>For Scotland, the challenge is no longer whether to embrace AI. That conversation has already moved on. The real challenge is whether Scotland can translate ambition into lasting economic growth, stronger public services and better outcomes for businesses, communities and people. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Scotland has the opportunity not only to keep pace with the global AI revolution but to help shape it. Because ultimately, Scotland&rsquo;s AI future won&rsquo;t be defined by the technology itself. It will be defined by the decisions made today, the capabilities built, and the ability to turn innovation into meaningful and lasting impact. &nbsp;</p>

Navigating Scotland's AI evolution

<p>This article was originally published by <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4183574/7-ways-to-ensure-effective-digital-leadership-in-the-age-of-agentic-ai.html?utm=hybrid_search" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CIO.com</a>&nbsp;and features insights from Harvey Nash CIO,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankuranand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>.</p>
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<h2>CIOs are turning agentic explorations into production services. From getting past the fear to embracing rapid change, here&rsquo;s how digital leaders turn agents into powerful work colleagues.</h2>
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<p>Research suggests&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4172555/how-it-teams-are-putting-ai-agents-to-work.html">pioneering CIOs must blend AI agents with human skills</a>. So how can digital leaders establish an effective balance between agentic and professional capabilities, and successfully lead their people into the agentic-enabled future? Here are seven best-practice tips from the experts.</p>
<h3>1. Get past the fear</h3>
<p>Huy Dao, director of data and ML platform at Booking.com, says the travel specialist&rsquo;s data stack makes it easier to develop new AI-enabled services, including a partner-to-guest agentic system for automated communication between customers and hotels.</p>
<p>The firm&rsquo;s stack includes AWS cloud technology, the Snowflake data platform, ThoughtSpot analytics, and Astronomer orchestration. Dao&rsquo;s data team also uses the MCP pioneered by Anthropic, the open-source agentic framework LangGraph, and a flexible approach to LLMs.</p>
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<p id="google_ads_iframe_/8456/IDG.G_B2B_CIO.com/artificial-intelligence_section_1__container__">Dao now has a strong data platform for AI exploration, and he encourages other digital leaders to get involved.&nbsp;&ldquo;As a business, we must think about how to prepare and ensure our data is ready for agents,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;If your organization is still skeptical about AI, I&rsquo;d say they should get past that fear because the potential is real.&rdquo;</p>
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<h3>2. Focus on amplification</h3>
<p>Ankur Anand, CIO at recruitment specialist Harvey Nash, says effective digital leaders will treat AI agents as a new layer of cognitive infrastructure that amplifies human expertise. He says&nbsp;<a href="https://www.noemamag.com/the-mythology-of-conscious-ai/" rel="nofollow">research&nbsp;from thinkers like Anil Seth</a>&nbsp;shows intelligence relies on prediction, interpretation, and context. AI agents excel at the first two, but still depend on human judgment to create meaning. Digital leaders should design operating models in which humans set direction, and agents execute at scale, speed, and precision.</p>
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<p>&ldquo;CIOs can lead their people into an agentic‑enabled future by setting a clear purpose, building trust through governance, and redesigning work around hybrid human‑agent workflows,&rdquo; Anand says. &ldquo;They should define decision rights, approved data sources, and guardrails so agents operate transparently and safely, while people retain accountability and oversight.&rdquo;</p>
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<h3>3. Make people feel empowered</h3>
<p>Ewa Zborowska, research director at tech analyst IDC, says agents are great at automating a discrete task, such as tidying up email replies and allowing professionals to focus on more creative tasks. But things get more challenging when firms join agents together to complete complex, multi-step tasks.</p>
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<p>&ldquo;A lot of organizations see an opportunity to introduce agents, but they also realize it&rsquo;s not going to be something they can do overnight,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;CIOs will often need agents to work across the full business process, which means understanding how everything works. They&rsquo;ll need to map the process and ensure they introduce agents in all the right places.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>Zborowska says effective mapping requires careful thought about the people who run those processes, so professionals today aren&rsquo;t left feeling irrelevant tomorrow.</p>
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<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a huge question about how you manage agents successfully,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;You need to make staff feel empowered with this new technology you&rsquo;re introducing.&rdquo;</p>
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<h3>4. Guide staff maturely</h3>
<p>Richard Corbridge, CIO at property specialist Segro, says his organization builds <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4164331/how-cios-use-ai-agents-to-accelerate-revenue-growth.html?utm=hybrid_search">agent capability</a> on a maturity scale. First, they consider AI-enabled processes where the human stays in the loop, and then consider the risks of removing them.</p>
<p>Corbridge says this nuanced approach is crucial because agentic features are included in almost every tech product. He refers to Microsoft Copilot, saying most of Segro&rsquo;s staff use the tool at least 10 times a day to help them operate more productively.</p>
<p>The general direction of travel, he says, should be to guide people and show how agents can help professionals create additional value. &ldquo;One of our directors said writing with Copilot is like having a super-intelligent colleague next to you the entire time you&rsquo;re working,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<h3>5. Work with external experts</h3>
<p>Joel Hron, CTO at global content and technology specialist Thomson Reuters, has helped his organization launch Trust in AI Alliance, a forum of senior AI researchers from Anthropic, AWS, Google Cloud, OpenAI, and Thomson Reuters, to discuss building confidence in agentic AI.</p>
<p>Having already led Thomson Reuters&rsquo; development of the AI-powered legal research tool Westlaw Advantage, and the firm&rsquo;s Deep Research agent that reviews insights and strategizes like a researcher, Hron is eager to do more, and that&rsquo;s where the Alliance comes in.</p>
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<p>&ldquo;Their goal is to exceed human-level performance in all areas of their models,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Given that we have some of the hardest human judgment-oriented challenges to solve, our work is a good litmus test for how good the models are, and we&rsquo;ve actually supported many of these companies in terms of evaluating their models over the last three years.&rdquo;</p>
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<h3>6. Have tough conversations</h3>
<p>Nick Pearson, European CIO at technology specialist Ricoh Europe, says digital leaders must watch how technology companies push agentic solutions.</p>
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<p>&ldquo;Any CIO will tell you they&rsquo;ve got vendors that are desperate to partner with them, which is great, but they&rsquo;re also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4101736/meet-the-maestro-ai-agents-are-ending-multi-cloud-vendor-lock-in.html?utm=hybrid_search">desperate to tie clients in</a>,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;As digital leaders, we&rsquo;ve got to be careful about how we manage these relationships, and we&rsquo;re all reflecting on long-term agreements that tie us into a current way of working.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>Pearson&rsquo;s explorations show that agentic AI can create value. Great digital leaders will steer the business toward these positive results, without being waylaid by FOMO. &ldquo;We need to look at those tools and see if it&rsquo;s just a nice thing to have, a hygiene factor, or really adding value &mdash; and we&rsquo;re still having those debates,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<h3>7. Don&rsquo;t get left behind</h3>
<p>Thierry Martin, head of enterprise data and analytics at Toyota Motor Europe, says CIOs must take an engaged approach to agents. While generative technologies like ChatGPT and Copilot can help shortcut laborious tasks, he believes agents offer a bigger boon.</p>
<p>Toyota Europe employees use the Snowflake Intelligence agent to find and exploit enterprise knowledge using natural language. LOB employees can use the technology to generate insights, such as finding regional demands for vehicle specifications, much more rapidly.</p>
<p>Martin is impressed with the results and says other digital leaders should start testing agents as soon as possible.</p>
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<p>&ldquo;The priority is to understand AI, and try to get ahead,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s the key to success because the pace of change just gets faster.&rdquo;</p>
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7 ways to ensure effective digital leadership in the age of agentic AI

<p>This article was originally published by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-beat-the-ai-algorithm-and-get-the-job-of-your-dreams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZDNET</a> and features insights from Harvey Nash Director, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/jack-capel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jack Capel</a>.</p>
<h2>Here's what that shift to AI means for the recruitment process, and how you can ensure your application gets picked from the pack.</h2>
<p>Long gone are the days when your major recruitment concern was beating another human to the job. Today, in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/reinventing-your-career-in-the-age-of-ai/">the age of AI</a>, candidates must overcome automated hurdles before they even reach the interview process. What's more, many of these&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/linkedins-new-ai-tools-guide-you-from-job-searching-to-nailing-interviews-heres-how/">job seekers are using AI-enabled tools</a> to try to game the recruitment process.</p>
<p>Recent research from MyPerfectResume revealed that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.myperfectresume.com/career-center/careers/basics/ai-in-hiring-layoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">73% of employers use AI in hiring decisions</a>, with about two-thirds (65%) saying AI automatically rejects applicants before a person sees them.</p>
<p>On the other side of the recruitment process, almost&nbsp;<a href="https://graduatemarkettrends.cdn.prismic.io/graduatemarkettrends/ah_k0AeQX7-eWpOx_early-careers-survey-2026.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">three-quarters (73%) of younger people</a> who responded to a survey by education specialist Jisc said they used AI in their job applications, particularly for editing or drafting CVs and writing cover letters.</p>
<p>Jack Capel, director at recruitment specialist Harvey Nash, told ZDNET that AI is now deeply embedded in recruitment, with many organizations using AI tools to screen CVs, identify key skills, and assess how well a candidate's experience aligns with the role.</p>
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<p>"The sophistication of these systems can vary significantly," he said. "Some still rely on basic keyword searches while others use more advanced models that read for meaning, context, and the 'how' behind your work. At the same time, many candidates are using AI to refine or rewrite their CVs, which raises the bar for everyone."</p>
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<p>What we're left with is a system in which, at least in some cases, AI systems of varying quality assess and reject applications that are often at least partly produced by other AI tools. To an outsider looking in, human resources has never felt less human, and this technological shift has significant implications for professionals seeking work.</p>
<p>As MyPerfectResume career expert Jasmine Escalera concluded, referring to her firm's research: "Job-seekers must now navigate a system where visibility depends on how well they align with algorithmic criteria, not just human judgment."</p>
<p>So, what can you do about the rise of AI in recruitment processes? Three areas are key to securing the job of your dreams: using AI tactically, demonstrating business benefits, and adding a human touch.</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/__gallery/b2277960-88f6-4794-8841-4770be7b46c6" alt="" width="409" height="245"></p>
<h3 id="toc-link-0-dd1d78f1-af84-48d5-8ddf-3857c1eb7522">1. Work with AI, not against it</h3>
<p>While Capel recognized that many candidates are now using AI to refine their CVs, which raises the overall standard of applications, that's not always the case.</p>
<p>Some applicants make basic formatting and language errors that an overreliance on AI can exacerbate. Capel suggested three key tactics.</p>
<p>First, avoid formatting mistakes that AI screening tools struggle with. Many AI tools can't read CVs saved as image files or flattened PDFs.</p>
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<p>"This issue often results in a blank reading where the AI cannot extract any text at all. Two-column layouts can also confuse less sophisticated models," he said.&nbsp;"Use a standard text-based PDF or Word document and keep the layout simple so the content can be read accurately."</p>
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<p>Second, balance keywords with context. Capel said keyword stuffing remains one of the biggest mistakes candidates make, particularly among IT professionals.</p>
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<p>"Listing every tool, language, or methodology without explanation is a red flag for both AI and human reviewers," he said.&nbsp;"The strongest CVs combine essential keywords with context that explains how those technologies were used and what impact they had. This approach helps both simple and advanced AI models understand the depth of your experience."</p>
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<p>Third, use AI to enhance your CV, not write it for you. Capel said many recruiters can quickly spot a fully AI-generated CV. Common giveaways include inconsistent spelling, switching between first and third person, and using identical structures across every job.</p>
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<p>"AI is a powerful tool to improve clarity, but your CV should still sound like you," he said. "Make sure the achievements, tone, and examples reflect your real experience so the person they meet at interview matches the person on the page."</p>
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<h3 id="toc-link-1-dd1d78f1-af84-48d5-8ddf-3857c1eb7522">2. Show repeatable business benefits</h3>
<p>Stephen Wood, chief operating officer at Rathbones Asset Management, told ZDNET that the big mistake most people make when writing CVs or letters of interest for roles is that they focus on the tasks they've completed rather than the business outcomes they've delivered.</p>
<p>Wood suggested a different approach: focus on benefits and repeatability.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"What managers want to know is one, did the thing you do have some material benefits, and what were those benefits? And two, do you have a structured process you can bring to another environment that will help you be successful by delivering similar benefits?"</p>
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<p>Wood said it's important to add depth to this two-pronged approach and demonstrate your role in delivering business benefits. Don't leave an employer thinking that the great things you achieved are simply the byproduct of a much greater team effort.</p>
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<p>"As a manager, you don't know someone's strengths unless a candidate can show demonstrably that they've actually got a process to show how they approach things successfully on a day-to-day basis and a structure that means that they can bring this approach into different workplaces," he said.&nbsp;"When you see stuff that has a material business benefit, then that stands out for me way above someone's AI-enabled CV with a load of buzzwords in it."</p>
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<p>That approach resonated with Harvey Nash's Capel, who said that, for technical roles, it is no longer enough to describe what you built.</p>
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<p>"Hiring managers and AI models are increasingly looking for evidence of commercial awareness," he said.&nbsp;"Highlight how your work created value for the business, such as cost savings, efficiency improvements, revenue growth, or enhanced user experience. This mix of technical detail and business impact is becoming essential."</p>
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<h3 id="toc-link-2-dd1d78f1-af84-48d5-8ddf-3857c1eb7522">3. Add a human touch</h3>
<p>Louise Newbury-Smith, head of UK&amp;I at technology specialist Zoom, recognized the rise of AI in recruitment processes and said her organization, like so many others, uses AI to help analyze applications.</p>
<p>She told ZDNET that professionals who want to beat the AI algorithm and get the job their heart desires with a company like Zoom must ensure they're answering the exam question, tightly connecting their capabilities to requirements: "You need to be truly looking at your skills match to make sure that you get through to the next stage."</p>
<p>Newbury-Smith encouraged people to think outside the box and add a human touch by reaching out to recruiting managers.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Don't forget the human connection. If somebody is applying for a role, should they apply to that role through the standard recruitment process, or should they look at who that role is important to, and then reach out directly and get themselves noticed?" she asked.&nbsp;"You've got to show something of your personality in these processes. People want to know who you are and what's important to you. So, yes, follow the recruitment process, but also think about where you can add value as well."</p>
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<p>Capel echoed similar sentiments, suggesting that, in a crowded labor market, your individuality is a differentiator.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"A simple personalized message to the recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn to say you have applied and why the role interests you can help you stand out from hundreds of applicants," he said.&nbsp;"This approach signals genuine intent and separates you from generic, AI-assisted applications. The CV is only the starting point. Thoughtful human connection can take you further."</p>
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How to beat the AI algorithm and get the job of your dreams

<p>Across organisations, AI agents are beginning to take on tasks that once required significant human effort, from analysing data and preparing reports to managing workflows and supporting decision-making.</p>
<p>Major companies are already investing heavily in AI-powered platforms and software that use agentic capabilities to automate tasks, support decision-making and orchestrate workflows with increasing autonomy, signalling a future where human and agentic colleagues working together will become the norm.</p>
<p>As the technology continues to advance, the real challenge for business and leaders is not simply implementing agentic AI, but ensuring people are equipped to work effectively alongside it and with it. This means building both the skills and confidence needed to understand how these systems operate, while also establishing the governance, transparency and oversight required to trust their outputs and decisions. In many organisations, the biggest barriers to adoption are likely to be human and organisational rather than technological.</p>
<p>As Ankur Anand, CIO at Harvey Nash, explains:</p>
<p><em>"The CIOs who lead in 2026 will be the ones who treat AI agents as a new layer of cognitive infrastructure, where human intent guides the work and agents deliver the scale, speed, and precision to execute it."</em></p>
<p>The most successful organisations will not focus on replacing people with agents. They will focus on helping people and agents work together effectively.</p>
<p>This piece explores five practical ways leaders can build confidence in agentic colleagues.</p>
<h1>1. Create a clear vision for human-agent collaboration</h1>
<p>Many employees are unsure what agentic AI means for their role.</p>
<p>This uncertainty is often driven by a lack of direction from leadership. Our Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report found that 20% of organisations do not have a clear AI strategy, while 51% of technologists say an unclear strategy is preventing them from achieving their technology goals.</p>
<p>Employees need clarity on how work will actually change in practice, not just in principle.</p>
<p>That means being explicit about:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Which workflows will involve agents</li>
<li>How humans and agents will interact day-to-day</li>
<li>What &ldquo;good&rdquo; looks like in a hybrid model</li>
<li>How roles will evolve over time, not disappear overnight</li>
</ul>
<p>Clarity reduces speculation, and as we know, speculation drives fear, and leaders who define the operating model early create stability in how people interpret change.</p>
<h1>2. Put governance before scale</h1>
<p>Trust grows when people know there are safeguards in place.</p>
<p>Employees are far more likely to embrace AI agents when they understand how decisions are made, what data is being used, and who remains accountable for outcomes.</p>
<p>Strong governance accelerates adoption by giving people the confidence that agents are operating within clear boundaries, with appropriate oversight and accountability.</p>
<p>Governance should clearly define:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>What agents are allowed to do independently</li>
<li>Where human approval is mandatory</li>
<li>How decisions are logged and audited</li>
<li>What data sources are approved and why</li>
<li>How bias, drift, and errors are monitored over time</li>
</ul>
<p>Without these boundaries, confidence erodes quickly. With them, organisations create the conditions for safe, scalable adoption.</p>
<h1>3. Invest in upskilling, not just access</h1>
<p>Providing access to AI tools is not enough.</p>
<p>While our Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report found that 75% of technologists now have access to AI tools, only 37% work in organisations actively investing in AI upskilling through training, workshops, and certifications.</p>
<p>And only 43% are given dedicated time to experiment and learn with the tools they already have.</p>
<p>That gap matters because confidence in agentic AI (and new technology in general) comes from familiarity. Without time to experiment, employees cannot develop the understanding needed to use these tools effectively, identify where they can add value, or recognise their limitations.</p>
<p>As agentic AI becomes embedded across business functions, organisations will need to invest in upskilling beyond their technology teams to ensure employees can work confidently and responsibly alongside these systems.</p>
<p>Employees need time and space to:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Experiment with agents in low-risk environments</li>
<li>Understand where they perform well, and where they don&rsquo;t</li>
<li>Build new workflows around them</li>
<li>Learn how to validate and challenge outputs</li>
<li>Develop practical, job-relevant confidence</li>
</ul>
<p>Without upskilling, agents remain separate from day-to-day work. With it, they become embedded in how work gets done.</p>
<h1>4. Make accountability unambiguous</h1>
<p>One of the fastest ways to undermine trust in agentic systems is to blur responsibility.</p>
<p>Even as agents take on more execution, humans must remain accountable for outcomes that matter.</p>
<p>That means being explicit about:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Who owns the final decision</li>
<li>Where human judgement is required</li>
<li>How exceptions are handled</li>
<li>When escalation is triggered</li>
<li>What happens when agent outputs conflict with human insight</li>
</ul>
<p>This clarity is what allows autonomy without uncertainty.</p>
<p>When people understand that accountability is not shifting to agents but staying with people, confidence increases significantly.</p>
<h1>5. Show how agentic AI expands opportunity, not just efficiency</h1>
<p>If AI is only framed as a cost or efficiency lever, people will naturally assume it is something happening to them rather than with them.</p>
<p>The reality is more complex, and from our data, more positive.</p>
<p>The market is already showing new roles emerging. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/linkedin-economic-graph_ai-labor-market-update-sept-2025-activity-7374472273224962048-S-JY?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAC95HhQBDBgmIYHL_3zrw91RlE3mxtAu10c">LinkedIn&rsquo;s AI Market Update found that</a> Generative AI Engineer is one of the fastest-growing technology occupations, while hiring for AI engineering talent increased by more than 25% year-on-year in 2025.</p>
<p>At the same time, the Harvey Nash Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report shows that 48% of technology professionals rank a deep understanding of technology as one of the most important leadership traits.</p>
<p>The organisations building confidence are the ones showing, in practical terms, how agentic AI:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Removes low-value work</li>
<li>Creates space for higher-impact thinking</li>
<li>Enables faster learning and career mobility</li>
<li>Opens up entirely new categories of roles</li>
</ul>
<p>Confidence grows when people can see a future for themselves alongside the systems being built.</p>
<h1>Building trust in the agentic future</h1>
<p>The future of work is unlikely to be fully human or fully autonomous.</p>
<p>Instead, it will be defined by hybrid operating models where people and AI agents collaborate to achieve outcomes neither could deliver alone.</p>
<p>For CIOs and digital leaders, success will depend on more than deploying new technology. It will require creating trust through strategy, governance, communication, and capability building.</p>
<p>The winners will be those who help their people see agents not as competitors, but as colleagues.</p>
<p>Because confidence in agentic AI is not built by the technology itself. It is built by the leadership, clarity, and trust that surround it.</p>

Five ways to make people confident about their agentic work colleagues

<p class="isSelectedEnd">Our Tech Evangelist, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/david-savage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Savage</a>, attended the 2026 &lsquo;One&rsquo;, OutSystems&rsquo; annual conference in Amsterdam, bringing together employees, customers and technology leaders from across the globe to explore the future of digital transformation.</p>
<p class="isSelectedEnd">With AI dominating conversations across the technology landscape, the event focused on one critical question: how can organisations move beyond the hype and turn AI innovation into meaningful business impact?</p>
<p class="isSelectedEnd">Throughout the conference, David spoke with industry leaders to uncover the key challenges and opportunities facing organisations as they navigate the next phase of AI adoption.</p>
<p>Below, David shares his reflections from the event and the key themes that emerged from those conversations.</p>
<hr>
<p>In early June, I was invited to attend&nbsp;<a href="https://www.outsystems.com/event/ONE-Conference-2026/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&lsquo;One&rsquo;, OutSystems&rsquo;</a> annual conference, bringing their employees, customers and tech leaders together in Amsterdam. Threading all the conversations together was one big idea: moving from AI hype to meaningful impact.</p>
<p>Central to fulfilling that ambition was agentic AI. Woodson Martin (CEO of OutSystems) opened proceedings, promising to showcase real AI results from a range of global brands, whilst his colleagues helped attendees explore the latest innovations the OutSystems platform has to offer.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Whilst there, I had the chance to sit down with Woodson, as well as Luis Blando (Chief Product and Technology Officer), and OutSystems&rsquo; customer Lucy Donaldson (CIO at Globus). Three clear ideas came through the interviews.</p>
<h1>Establish strong governance to prevent "shadow AI" and technical debt</h1>
<p>As AI technology accelerates, Luis Blando told us leaders face the &ldquo;terrible&rdquo; tension present between rapid innovation and the need to maintain control and safety. Experimenting with disparate AI tools, without a cohesive platform approach, is creating a mountain of technical debt and compliance risks for enterprises.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The accessibility of AI empowers employees to solve problems on their own, leading to the growth of shadow AI. To avoid repeating past mistakes, technology leaders have to shift their roles to become more governance-led.</p>
<h1>Optimise AI costs by matching the right model to the specific use case</h1>
<p>It&rsquo;s a message that is not new, but the power of AI highlights why &lsquo;use the right tool&rsquo; needs repeating. The financial impact of widespread AI adoption is becoming a major concern for the C-suite, culminating in what is being described by some as a "token-o-palypse" (or tokenomics). Advanced models that loop through reasoning steps are burning through tokens, leading to massive and unexpected expenses.</p>
<p>Tech and digital leaders must recognise that they do not always need a Ferrari to solve every problem, when a bicycle is often perfectly adequate. For up to 90% of daily enterprise workloads, such as basic sentiment analysis, leaders should build systems with the flexibility to swap in smaller or open-source models at a fraction of the cost.</p>
<h1>Prioritise cultural transformation and foundational data management</h1>
<p>Organisations are rethinking their workflows and roles whilst AI agents begin completing tasks. But integrating AI effectively is fundamentally about people and data, not the tool. Adopting agentic AI systems requires a cultural transformation.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Bringing established teams along on this journey and shifting organisational dialogue requires dedicated leadership and can benefit from a beginner's mindset, where decisions are fully discussed and understood. Underpinning this cultural shift must be a rigorous focus on data. AI implementation will fail without proper context, making a master data management journey the essential first stepping stone for any AI strategy.</p>
<h1>So what happens next?</h1>
<p>Heading for the airport, I couldn&rsquo;t help but reflect on the conversations I&rsquo;d heard. Not just the interviews I conducted but the chats with vendors at their stations. Providers of AI are acutely aware that the products they are selling are leading to complex challenges, both structural and cultural. They themselves are urging organisations to slow down, to scale back on broad experimentation. But after three years of feeling like they&rsquo;re falling behind, most companies aren&rsquo;t ready to heed those warnings.</p>
<p>The irony is that the people selling the Ferrari are the ones telling you to take the bus. Until the bills arrive, nobody's listening.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Hear more from the event as David shares his conversations with digital leaders on the ground at OutSystems&rsquo; One conference via the video below</strong></p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ok6GpKRW92o?si=7ZsMIuhFBX9skvB2" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Key takeaways from OutSystems’ One conference

<p>This article was originally published by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-is-causing-cognitive-fatigue-heres-how-to-work-with-more-haste-and-less-speed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZDNET</a> and features insights from Harvey Nash CIO, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankuranand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ankur Anand</a>.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Research suggests people are working harder and not smarter with AI, but there are ways to turn emerging tech into a valuable tool.</h2>
<p>The promise of productivity boosts from AI can come with an unwelcome side order of stress. Harvard Business Review found that&nbsp;AI doesn't reduce work; it intensifies it, leading to cognitive fatigue and unsustainable hours.</p>
<p>While&nbsp;the common perception is that AI can help reduce workloads, allowing employees to focus more on higher-value and more engaging tasks, HBR's research found that staff using AI worked more quickly and often ended up with more to do, not less.</p>
<p>While we've written about how some&nbsp;professionals are finding ways to turn AI's time-saving magic into a productivity superpower, we've also recognized that some&nbsp;employees have started to become tired with the low quality of AI outputs.</p>
<p>Ankur Anand, group CIO at tech recruiter Harvey Nash, said professionals who want to avoid cognitive fatigue must understand how to use AI effectively and its potential risks.</p>
<p>"That focus will help to reduce the noise around the workload that AI creates," he told ZDNET, suggesting that many people have unrealistic expectations about the productivity boost that AI will provide.</p>
<p>"Many organizations are telling their people, 'We want to understand how you're making an impact with AI,'" he said. "But these professionals are not empowered, which means that using AI adds a lot of pressure, because they need to prove themselves on their own terms."</p>
<p>If you're going to make the most of AI at work, then you're going to have to find an effective balance between completing tasks quickly and producing high-quality work.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here's how the experts believe professionals can ensure they reap the benefits, not the problems, of AI -- and they suggest that you'll need to focus on three core areas: tools, guidelines, and outputs.</p>
<h3 id="toc-link-0-ac6f2daa-1f0b-4014-ab59-8077adda8637">Limit your toolset</h3>
<p>Alex Read, senior enterprise product manager for data at energy provider EDF UK, told ZDNET that the best way for professionals to reap the benefits, not the challenges, of AI is to be uber-focused on tools that help you produce value in your roles.</p>
<p>While there are thousands of potential AI-enabled services on the market, Read said sensible professionals limit their horizons.</p>
<p>In his own role, for example, Read focuses on how AI can help him build a data platform and update information accurately, efficiently, and productively: "Anything outside of that scope is noise for me."</p>
<p>That sentiment resonated with Nick Pearson, CIO at technology specialist Ricoh Europe, who told ZDNET it's important to take a step back and think carefully about how an AI tool can help you produce value in your role.</p>
<p>"If you think about the phrase 'gen AI,' the tech is very good, by definition, at generating outputs," he said. "I could go to bed in the evening, set the model to work, and we could have four new IT strategies produced overnight."</p>
<p>However, quantity doesn't necessarily mean quality. Pearson suggested it's important to focus on AI's blind spots, particularly as most models are trained on preexisting content.</p>
<p>"AI can't inspire people, per se; it can't naturally create something new, because it's actually quite recursive," he said.</p>
<p>"And the judgment you have to put in sometimes, on top of everything else, whether it be an ethical or a capability judgment, is not there automatically in the technology."</p>
<p>It's in this gap, said Pearson, that human experts play a critical role: "We're toying with that concern as an organization and saying, 'Where does AI really play an important role, versus where are we upskilling people in areas that AI probably won't play for a long time?'"</p>
<h3 id="toc-link-1-ac6f2daa-1f0b-4014-ab59-8077adda8637">Work to the guidelines</h3>
<p>HBR's research found that an initial productivity surge when AI is adopted&nbsp;can lead to lower-quality work, turnover, and other problems&nbsp;as people work harder rather than smarter.</p>
<p>To correct this issue, HBR said companies need to adopt an "AI practice," or a set of norms and standards around AI use that help professionals ensure they use AI in a constrained but productive manner.</p>
<p>At EDF UK, Read is part of an internal AI Center of Excellence in enterprise IT, which enables policy for the effective use of AI across the wider organization.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In addition to Read, who contributes input from a data-use perspective, the group includes other tech representatives, such as the firm's senior manager of AI, principal software engineer, and principal solution architect.</p>
<p>"The remit of this center is to make sure that, when the federated business units are looking to build, develop, and deploy AI services, they have platforms, guidance, best practices, architectural assets, and materials to guide them on how to safely and efficiently adopt AI and operationalize it at scale," he said.</p>
<p>Some of the key themes the center considers when assessing AI tools are scalability and reusability, ensuring a proposed service doesn't replicate one already in use.</p>
<p>"All new tools and services related to AI will go through that hopper and funnel to understand scope and ensure the security, regulatory, and ethical side of things are understood," he said, suggesting that all professionals should use their organization's pre-existing guidelines to foster an appropriate exploitation of emerging tech.</p>
<p>"The benefit that guided approach brings is that it allows us to be clear in our messaging around what AI services can be used, how they're used from a use-case perspective, and ultimately, what personas are allowed to use them."</p>
<h3 id="toc-link-2-ac6f2daa-1f0b-4014-ab59-8077adda8637">Refine your outputs</h3>
<p>Even when tools are assessed and considered acceptable, there can still be an overreliance on AI outputs. Worse,&nbsp;some professionals can drown in the insights they receive, leading to higher stress and fewer benefits.</p>
<p>Louise Newbury-Smith, head of UK&amp;I at technology specialist Zoom, told ZDNET that one way to ensure your outputs are constrained is to focus on prompting.</p>
<p>"Use simple amendments to be specific, such as 'Give me the top three things with the biggest impact.' That approach should guide your prompt, rather than saying, 'Give me everything you know about this topic.'"</p>
<p>Newbury-Smith said the successful use of AI is all about being smart about how it's exploited, and that effectiveness comes down to enablement and engagement. If a prompt yields too much information, refine it until you get what you need. She said this should still be faster than trying to get answers without AI.</p>
<p>The basic message for professionals is that effective applications of AI are all about you staying in the loop, said Bernhard Seiser, vice president of digital, data, and IT at AOP Health.</p>
<p>Think before you use AI, and think again before you push your outputs around the organization.</p>
<p>"It doesn't help the business if you get AI-generated emails that are many pages long, and then you need ChatGPT to summarize the text," he told ZDNET.</p>
<p>Seiser said that while there are certain tasks generative AI is good at and worth using for, in the end, "you need to use your brain."</p>

Is AI causing cognitive fatigue?

<p data-start="0" data-end="319">At the <a href="https://dublintechsummit.tech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dublin Tech Summit 2026</a>, tech evangelist <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/david-savage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Savage</a> spent time moderating discussions on talent, skills, and the future of technology across Ireland and beyond. What stood out most was the confidence with which people spoke about Ireland's future, not just as a home for global tech companies, but as a destination for innovation, investment, and talent in its own right.</p>
<p class="zlAe0W_TextBase zlAe0W_Text" data-w-component="text">In this piece, David reflects on a conversation that caught his attention during the summit and explores a bigger question that emerged from his time in Dublin. As Ireland's tech sector continues to grow and AI adoption accelerates, is the country becoming one of Europe's most compelling technology success stories?</p>
<hr>
<h1 dir="ltr">Ireland claims to be Europe&rsquo;s Silicon Valley, but does it have the talent to back that up?</h1>
<p dir="ltr">Last week, I was asked to moderate a talk at Dublin Tech Summit exploring how Ireland builds a competitive talent pool. Whilst on a panellist had a little, playful dig at me. Not personally, but in my status as a British person.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"Let's not forget that we are the only English-speaking EU member."</p>
<p dir="ltr">Personally, I always felt Brexit would diminish Britain&rsquo;s economy and standing internationally. However, London in particular is such a strong hub that the technology sector felt somewhat insulated. But the teasing comment shows the growing confidence across the Irish Sea that they are uniquely placed to compete in the technology space.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Right across the panel, there was a belief that they could offer opportunities to talented tech professionals to help fuel the country&rsquo;s growth. But is there evidence to suggest that confidence isn&rsquo;t misplaced?</p>
<p dir="ltr">Certainly, sitting in the same timezone as London is a business advantage. According to Investor Monitor (between mid 2016 and early 2021), Dublin welcomed 135 new financial companies, a quarter of all Brexit-related corporate relocations. That&rsquo;s more than Paris, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, with firms like Bank of America, Citi, and JPMorgan all moving into town. As of April this year, Ireland now hosts 5178 tech companies and 2200 startups, contributing approximately &euro;48 billion to the economy.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Clearly, this is some way short of the UK tech sector&rsquo;s size and contribution, but the number of new UK tech incorporations has tumbled in recent years. I&rsquo;m not suggesting Dublin will supplant London (still Europe&rsquo;s unicorn leader and a genuine global city) any time soon, but it is an increasingly attractive destination for tech talent.</p>
<h1 dir="ltr">Ireland Feels Like a Country-Sized Sandbox</h1>
<p dir="ltr">Ireland is a world-leading hub for AI adoption and the European home for giants like Google and Microsoft. In fact <a href="http://nucamp.co">nucamp.co</a> point to the fact that there are many opportunities for senior specialists in AI and cloud roles, salaries are highly competitive (senior AI professionals earn over &euro;140,000), and regions like Cork offer a wonderful quality of life that&rsquo;s hard to match elsewhere.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The point about Ireland being a world-leader for AI adoption cannot be overlooked either. It&rsquo;s estimated that 70% of Irish workers use AI regularly, higher percentages than we find in either the UK or the US.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ireland offers businesses the room to grow and provides flexibility within the EU, whilst remaining close to London. The UK often talks about our place as a &ldquo;Goldilocks Zone&rdquo;, taking the best of governance, talent, and investment to help grow our AI capacity. Is that &lsquo;zone&rsquo; really found in our neighbours in the North Atlantic?</p>
<p dir="ltr">Whilst the jibe about language and the EU was playful, there are several indicators to suggest that Ireland has every reason to feel bullish about its ability to compete in technology.</p>

Dublin Tech Summit 2026 Recap

<p><strong>The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) is pleased to announce Bev White has been selected as Chair-Designate, taking over as Chair later in the year after confirmation at the organisation&rsquo;s AGM next month.</strong></p>
<p>Bev White, Executive Chair of Harvey Nash and Crimson, will join the UK&rsquo;s leading trade association for talent, staffing and recruitment businesses at a critical time in its modern history. With so much changing in how firms operate today, talent planning is in flux. Technology, regulation and geopolitics are all reshaping the sector. The REC will be at the heart of ensuring the UK&rsquo;s world-leading talent sector navigates these challenges &ndash; and seizes the opportunities &ndash; successfully.</p>
<p>The announcement was made at today&rsquo;s REC annual conference #RECLive26. Bev White was appointed after an open selection process, open to all REC members.</p>
<p><strong>Michelle Mellor, REC Chair, said:</strong></p>
<p>&ldquo;Serving this incredible trade association for the UK recruitment industry as Chair over the last three years, has been the honour of my career.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The recruitment sector has faced unprecedented change during that time and the pace of transformation shows no sign of slowing. From the emergence of new technologies to the uncertainty created by political and economic developments both at home and abroad, our industry continues to navigate a uniquely challenging environment.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The REC will require strong, thoughtful leadership in the years ahead and I am delighted to be handing over to Bev who brings the experience, judgement and leadership qualities needed to guide the REC and support our members through the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It has been a privilege to serve alongside such dedicated Board and committee colleagues, members and the REC team. I leave the role immensely proud of what we have achieved together and confident that under Bev's leadership, the REC will continue to go from strength to strength.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Bev White, Executive Chair of Harvey Nash and Crimson, said:</strong></p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m incredibly honoured to be appointed Chair of the REC at such a pivotal moment for our industry. As the REC approaches its centenary, it has never been more important that we reflect the full breadth of our membership and the role we play in supporting organisations and individuals through constant change. The recruitment industry sits at the heart of how the UK grows and adapts, and I&rsquo;m proud to take on a role that carries both responsibility and real opportunity to shape what comes next.</p>
<p>&ldquo;What matters most to me is that every member feels heard and represented. The REC is a powerful platform to influence how businesses, government and society think about talent, skills and the future of work, and I bring a real curiosity about how forces like AI, while often seen as a threat, can unlock entirely new opportunities. My focus will be on making sure our industry&rsquo;s voice is not only heard but acted on, and that we support our members to navigate and lead through what is a fast-moving and hugely important time.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Current Chair Michelle Mellor, founder and director of businesses Cummins Mellor, CJUK and Personnel Checks will step down in October.</p>
<p><strong>Neil Carberry, REC Chief Executive, said:</strong></p>
<p>&ldquo;Michelle&rsquo;s entrepreneurialism and energy have been a huge asset to our organisation over her three years as Chair. She is leaving REC a more resilient and dynamic organisation.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Bev White is a stellar addition to the REC, with extensive experience and success in our sector. We have a shared understanding that people are not a component but actually really vital to the success of British business. Bev White and REC are aligned on how temporary and contract work is essential to economic growth, at all skill levels, and how permanent hiring needs to change alongside it to take a more long-term view.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Notes to editors</strong></p>
<p>1. About Bev White</p>
<p>Bev White is the Executive Chair of Harvey Nash and Crimson and until recently was the Group CEO of Nash Squared, home of Harvey Nash, a $1bn global specialist technology recruitment business with 27 offices across USA, Europe and Asia.<br><br>Following a degree in Computer Science, Bev began her career in technology, where she held CIO and IT leadership positions at Schlumberger and NTL (which became Virgin Media). Since 2002, she has combined a passion for technology with a career in recruitment and talent, where she has held various leadership roles. Prior to joining Nash Squared, Bev was CEO in the UK and Ireland for GI Group, one of the world&rsquo;s largest staffing companies operating in 57 countries.<br><br>Bev believes deeply in the power of people. Creating a sustainable culture where people can thrive is the cornerstone of everything she does. She is also a qualified coach and has spent most of her career helping people-centric businesses grow.</p>
<p>2. The role of the REC Board is to ensure that the REC is governed effectively, maintaining high standards of compliance and always in the interest of the members of the organisation.&nbsp; They also act as a key forum for challenge and discussion for the REC&rsquo;s executive leadership team. The Chair is responsible for the effective operation of the Board, line management of the Chief Executive and acting as an ambassador for the organisation with members and stakeholders.</p>

Bev White named Chair-Designate of the REC (Recruitment & Employment Confederation)

<p>This article was originally published by <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/The-unstoppable-rise-of-the-Chief-AI-Officer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ComputerWeekly.com</a> and features insights from Harvey Nash Executive Search experts <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/kirsteen-bell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kirsteen Bell</a> and <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/peter-birch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Birch</a>.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Chief AI Officers are proliferating as organisations look to deploy agentic AI, make a return on investment, and meet their governance obligations.</h2>
<p>Back in 2024, research at Harvey Nash found that just over 10% of businesses already had or were planning to appoint a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/C-suite-shakeup-Demand-for-chief-AI-officers-accelerates?_gl=1*114guyy*_ga*MTMxMDQ1OTgxMi4xNzc3OTY4NDc4*_ga_TQKE4GS5P9*czE3ODA0ODA2MDYkbzc2JGcxJHQxNzgwNDgwNjcyJGo1OCRsMCRoMA..">Chief AI Officer</a>&nbsp;(CAIO). This was an exciting development &ndash; but would it last, or would AI roles perhaps become subsumed into existing tech leadership briefs such as CIO, CTO, CDO as AI became business as usual?</p>
<div>
<div id="halfpage" data-google-query-id="COCW4OSZ8JQDFVeYUAYdsCMJsg"></div>
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<p>A couple of years later, the answer is clear: it is here to stay &ndash; and it&rsquo;s spreading fast. We see this ourselves in the mandates we work on with clients who are increasingly looking to appoint senior postholders with direct responsibility for AI. Of course, the job title for this may not be CAIO specifically &ndash; there are a host of titles emerging such as Head of AI, Chief AI Scientist, AI Transformation Officer, Responsible AI Director and more.</p>
<section data-menu-title="Sector hotspots">
<h1>Sector hotspots</h1>
<p>These appointments are especially prominent in financial services where organisations are generally advanced in their technology systems and data platforms, and where AI is a natural fit with the tech-enabled operating models of digital banking.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366640627/HSBC-gets-its-first-artificial-intelligence-chief">HSBC has recently announced the appointment of a CAIO</a>, for example, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639140/NatWest-hails-progress-after-12bn-spent-on-tech-last-year-but-true-AI-transformation-to-come">NatWest</a>&nbsp;appointed a Chief AI Research Officer last year.</p>
<p>Senior AI roles are also widespread in highly regulated sectors such as energy, where there is a particular focus on ensuring there is strong governance over the deployment of AI, managing the risks and maintaining compliance with data privacy and security rules. Other sectors where AI is really on the march include legal, accountancy and consultancy. The Big Four firms, for example, have CAIOs or equivalent and are driving significant efforts to integrate AI into both internal ways of working and solutions for clients. Graduate recruitment has reportedly dropped as AI begins to do more and more analytical work.</p>
<p>In general terms, it is the large FTSE and Fortune enterprises where AI roles are proliferating. At the mid-market level, it is more likely that the CIO or equivalent retains the lead on AI, perhaps with the appointment of a role a level below to lead on data, automation and the factors that lay the foundations for AI. The reality, after all, is that many organisations are still a long way from being AI-ready: there is still a considerable amount of modernisation and digitisation that needs to happen first.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the CAIO role is rapidly reaching into more and more businesses. Indeed, an&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ibm.com/2026-05-04-ibm-study-ceos-are-reshaping-c-suite-roles-for-the-ai-era">eye-catching piece of research from IBM</a>&nbsp;finds that as many as three-quarters of organisations (76%) now have a CAIO or equivalent, a huge jump from 26% in 2025.</p>
</section>
<section data-menu-title="Qualities of a CAIO">
<h1>Qualities of a CAIO</h1>
<p>So what are the skills and attributes of this new generation of CAIOs? Needless to say, a strong track record in and passion for technology comes with the territory. Many postholders have a CTO type background. But they are not merely &lsquo;techies&rsquo; excited by the inner workings of an LLM. We have in fact seen quite a marked evolution of the CAIO role over the last couple of years. In the early days, they were often positioned as &lsquo;evangelists&rsquo; whose function was in essence to raise awareness of AI, spread the word, and prepare the way for adoption. Now, as AI has matured and agentic deployment is the buzzword, the CAIO role has become much more about &lsquo;doing&rsquo;: commercially credible leaders who are driving ROI, engaging with boardrooms, managing enterprise change, reshaping operating models and managing governance and risk controls too.</p>
<p>It is not an overstatement to say that there is now a new, fixed career path for technology professionals to aspire to: the CAIO position is becoming a career goal for many, alongside the traditional targets of CIO, CTO, CDO, CISO etc. The role may sit slightly below the CIO and CTO in terms of seniority and remuneration, but it is becoming an established feature of the tech leadership org chart.</p>
<p>In some ways, this reflects the wider reality that tech roles are always evolving. Another post on the rise, for example, is Chief Product Officer (CPO). We are seeing this especially in fintech organisations where products need a tech solution for their channels to market. We are even seeing the appointment of some Chief Product and Technology Officers (CPTO) as a result.&nbsp;</p>
</section>
<section data-menu-title="CAIO here to stay">
<h1>CAIO here to stay</h1>
<p>Looking ahead, we expect the ubiquity of the CAIO to only increase. AI is the fastest moving market we have ever seen. The pace of development is incredible, so that organisations need to constantly check themselves, via a CAIO or equivalent, against key questions such as: Do we have the best utilisation possible? Are we keeping up with our competitors? Are we governing this appropriately and managing the risks?</p>
<p>This brings us back to the business as usual (BAU) question at the start. With AI moving so fast, it feels like it will never just be BAU. How could it be, when AI never stands still? For that reason, a CAIO or equivalent feels like a necessity for more and more organisations. Say &lsquo;ciao&rsquo; to the CAIO therefore &ndash; they&rsquo;re spreading and are here to stay.</p>
</section>

The unstoppable rise of the Chief AI Officer

<p data-start="0" data-end="217">At <a href="https://vancouver.websummit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Web Summit Vancouver</a> last month, Tech Evangelist <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/david-savage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Savage</a> spent time speaking with leaders, practitioners, and students across the tech ecosystem, exploring how AI is reshaping work, leadership, and creativity.</p>
<p data-start="219" data-end="572">Across conversations on the floor and on stage, a set of recurring questions emerged on whether fears around AI-driven job displacement are justified or a failure of imagination, whether leaders are truly keeping pace with the technology they are expected to guide, and what the rise of machine-generated content means for human creativity and connection.</p>
<p data-start="574" data-end="796" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">In this piece, David explores a series of overlapping tensions that emerged from his time in Vancouver. Rather than presenting a single clear narrative, he reflects on the questions and contradictions that continue to shape the debate around AI&rsquo;s impact on work, leadership, and society</p>
<hr>
<h1 dir="ltr">Is the fear of AI job creep justified, or showing a lack of imagination?</h1>
<p dir="ltr">Are leaders able to keep up with the challenges presented by AI, and if not, what does that mean for people further down the career ladder?</p>
<p dir="ltr">AI is creating hyper-realistic content at a staggering scale, but is the human void at its heart pushing us closer together?</p>
<p dir="ltr">These are just three questions I left Vancouver pondering following my time at Web Summit last month.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I spoke to leaders, guests, and students across the floor, on the stages, and huddled around meeting room tables, and these ideas were simply inescapable. The same concerns surfaced again and again, in different accents, different industries, different contexts, but circling the same anxious orbit.</p>
<h1 dir="ltr">The co-pilot in the room</h1>
<p dir="ltr">Let's start with the fear. Because there is genuine fear out there (and it would be dishonest to dismiss it out of hand). But a striking number of the people I spoke to in Vancouver weren't just pushing back on the panic; they were frustrated by it.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasmuy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nick Muy</a> of Scrut Automation was blunt about it. He argued that the idea that AI will simply eliminate jobs represents a fundamental &ldquo;lack of imagination&rdquo;. History is on his side; new technology has consistently led to task expansion. More work, not less. The narrative of mass redundancy ignores the pattern we've seen play out with every major technological shift.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericjwittman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eric Wittman</a> of VSCO made the same point from a creative angle. The fear that AI will replace photographers, he told me, misunderstands what AI actually does in practice. His experience is that it functions as a vital assistant, helping creatives cull hundreds of photos in a fraction of the time. It shoulders the administrative burden of running a creative business. It doesn't replace the eye. It clears the path for it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It&rsquo;s clear leaders are positive about how AI can increase the capabilities of their people. Realta Fusion&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cary-forest-969113a/?skipRedirect=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cary Forest</a> described using generative AI as a scientific collaborator, a tool that helped him solve complex calculus and algebra problems in minutes that would previously have taken months. Cary believes AI is accelerating, not replacing humans. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/apenwarr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Avery Pennarun</a> from Tailscale framed it as an equaliser. AI helps everyone level up, turning non-coders into coders, junior developers into seniors, and multiplying the output of those already operating at the top of their game.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I got the overwhelming impression that those I spoke to felt that human problem-solving would stay at the core of work. The machine just does the warm-up work.</p>
<h1 dir="ltr">The leaders who can't keep up</h1>
<p dir="ltr">If AI is accelerating everything, what happens when the people leading us through that acceleration struggle to keep up?</p>
<p dir="ltr">This came up repeatedly, and it wasn't comfortable. The consensus was that leaders no longer have the luxury of delegating their understanding of AI to someone else in the organisation.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wangnancy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nancy Wang</a>, CTO of 1Password, put it clearly. The role of CTOs and CISOs has fundamentally shifted from compliance-focused or background technical roles to becoming the face of AI transformation. That's a significant change, and not every leader has made the adjustment. At 1Password, the shift is visible even in how they hire. Traditional coding tests have been replaced. Candidates are now evaluated on how well they can instruct and debug alongside an AI coding agent.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Eric Wittman was equally direct: leaders need to lead from the front. Not brief on AI, but actually use it, test it, break it. The skills that got you to your current position are worth scrutinising. The organisations whose leaders are engaged hands-on are the ones building faster. Nick Muy echoed this. AI, he said, gives tech leaders no excuse not to be doing it themselves. The tools are accessible. The opportunity to stay close to the build is there. The question is whether leaders have the appetite to take it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And for those further down the career ladder? If leaders are struggling to keep up, the implications cascade. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bttanner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Tanner</a> of Artificial Agency offered a more optimistic lens here. He sees AI agents becoming interactive coaches, helping people build skills in everything from public speaking to customer service in real-world settings. The classroom, in other words, may increasingly look less like a classroom. This is timely, especially given the suspicion that the value of a traditional four-year degree has dramatically fallen.</p>
<h1 dir="ltr">The human hunger underneath it all</h1>
<p dir="ltr">The more people talked about AI's capacity to generate content at scale, the more another theme emerged. A hunger for things that feel unmistakably human.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/myles-palmer-b1b70519/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Myles Palmer,</a> of Metalab raised what he called the question of trust in the age of AI. Because AI can generate a convincing digital experience in minutes, he argued that consumers are now searching for that extra 10 to 15 per cent of human care and craft, or perhaps the unmistakable signs that something is a little less polished and real. Myles also called out the psychological exhaustion of using AI to process unsustainable volumes of work. We are asking human beings to keep pace with machine-speed throughput, and there are limits. If anything, it&rsquo;s dangerous as we sacrifice critical thinking just to keep up.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Brian Tanner's work at Artificial Agency is a fascinating response to this tension. The future of AI in entertainment (they&rsquo;re in gaming) isn't about making bigger worlds, it's about making deeper ones. He's focused on replicating the social dynamics of playing board games with friends; characters that hold grudges, form political alliances, and create experiences with genuine emotional weight and memory.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Nancy Wang approached the human question from the security side. As we delegate more tasks to AI agents, the challenge of managing the identities and credentials those agents use (the trust access gap) becomes critical. Who is acting on your behalf, and how do you know?</p>
<p dir="ltr">So what did I walk away from Vancouver with? Answers? No, but a much sharper set of questions and a renewed sense that the people worth listening to are the ones who are sitting with the complexity rather than attempting to downplay it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">To hear these perspectives first-hand, <a href="https://youtu.be/QL2gkuUTr58?si=crcN8Sm1TK0wM89d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watch our on-the-ground video from Web Summit Vancouver</a>, where David Savage explores the realities of AI-driven change, the pressures on leadership to keep pace, and what rising machine capability means for work, creativity, and human value.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QL2gkuUTr58?si=vJ6hzPLx3QDHY5Mx" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p data-start="574" data-end="796" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">&nbsp;</p>

Reflections from Web Summit Vancouver 2026

<div>
<h1><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Long-term collaboration focused on flexibility, continuity and management of external workforce</span></h1>
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<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">London, 29/05/2026 &ndash; Enexis, the Dutch grid operator, has selected Harvey Nash as its partner for the engagement of temporary external professionals. The agreement, worth 2 billion euros, begins with a three-year term and can be extended by up to five additional one-year periods.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Under this agreement, Harvey Nash will manage the full end-to-end process for external hiring at&nbsp;Enexis. This includes labour market sourcing, candidate selection, contracting, administration and reporting. By working with a single strategic partner,&nbsp;Enexis&nbsp;aims to increase visibility and control over quality, continuity, cost management and compliance with legislation and regulations.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">The partnership supports&nbsp;Enexis&nbsp;in organising its workforce in a flexible and future-ready way, in a labour market where specialist expertise is scarce and where the energy transition demands speed, scalability and adaptability. At the same time, access to a broad and diverse pool of professionals will be maintained.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">In addition, Harvey Nash will provide&nbsp;Enexis&nbsp;with ongoing market insights, management information and reporting on the use of external talent.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Simon Crichton, CEO of Harvey Nash, commented:</span>&nbsp;<br><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&ldquo;This is an important partnership for Harvey Nash, and particularly for our business in the Netherlands. The energy sector is undergoing rapid transformation, and organisations like&nbsp;Enexis&nbsp;are right at the centre of building the infrastructure for a more sustainable energy system.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Our role is clear: to help them access the specialist talent they need to deliver at pace, in a market where those skills are in short supply. We&rsquo;re already supporting this transformation through clients such as Gasunie, and this partnership with&nbsp;Enexis&nbsp;deepens our contribution to the future of energy, in the Netherlands and globally.&rdquo;</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Sarah Goossens, Commercial Director of Harvey Nash Netherlands, commented:</span>&nbsp;<br><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&ldquo;We are proud of the trust that&nbsp;Enexis&nbsp;has placed in Harvey Nash. This partnership reflects our strength in managing complex workforce challenges in a rapidly changing labour market. Through our expertise, scalability and data-driven approach, we will support&nbsp;Enexis&nbsp;in attracting scarce talent that is essential to delivering the energy transition.&rdquo;</span>&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br><strong><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">About Harvey Nash</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Harvey Nash is a specialist global technology recruitment firm that connects the world's most innovative companies with the technology talent they need to succeed. For over 35 years, Harvey Nash has been a pioneer and leading voice in the global technology space, having long-term strategic partnerships with blue-chip customers. With offices across multiple continents, including North America, the UK, Europe and Asia, Harvey Nash is experienced in partnering with organisations on their specialised technology talent requirements, including Cyber, DevOps, AI &amp; Automation, Data, Cloud and Software Engineering.</span></p>
</div>

Enexis selects Harvey Nash as partner for temporary hiring

What is Developer Experience (DevEx) & how do you hire for it?

<p>This article was originally published by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366642351/Tech-industry-slowly-dropping-DEI-efforts-finds-Harvey-Nash-survey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ComputerWeekly.com</a>&nbsp;and features insights from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/simon-crichton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simon Crichton</a>, CEO, Harvey Nash.</p>
<hr>
<h1>The tech diversity push in the UK is dropping, despite workers claiming good workplace efforts</h1>
<p>Tech workers feel the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366636968/What-will-the-DEI-landscape-of-the-tech-sector-look-like-in-2026">sector has seen a decrease in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)</a> focus over the past two years, according to research from Harvey Nash.</p>
<p>The technology recruitment firm found that a large number of tech workers (84%) believe their workplace is doing enough to support a diverse workforce, but 10% believe investment in Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives has been slipping, with more women than men believing the sector needs to do more.</p>
<p>A quarter of women working in tech in the UK said the technology sector is not working hard enough to encourage and support women to join and stay in tech roles, compared with 14% of their male counterparts.</p>
<p>Simon Crichton, global CEO of Harvey Nash, claimed this is down to a &ldquo;tougher economic environment&rdquo; including &ldquo;geopolitical tensions, tariffs and wars&rdquo;, as well as a shifting attitude towards DEI trickling into the UK.</p>
<p>He said: &ldquo;In those conditions, leadership inevitably narrows what they&rsquo;re thinking and focuses on performance, cost control and delivery, and the worry is that important subjects like DEI can slip down the agenda as a result.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I find it disappointing. It&rsquo;s taken a long time for the industry to reach a point where inclusion and progression are being treated as important leadership issues, not side conversations. To see that momentum stall is frustrating.&rdquo;</p>
<p>When assessing the &ldquo;push and pull&rdquo; factors influencing whether individuals plan to stay in their current tech role, Harvey Nash&rsquo;s&nbsp;Tech talent report&nbsp;found that more woman than men are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366642319/Almost-90-of-women-leave-tech-industry-within-10-years">unhappy in their current role</a>. Crichton pointed to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366627877/Thousands-of-women-in-tech-leave-their-roles-each-year">recently published&nbsp;Lovelace report</a>&nbsp;as reflecting similar findings, whereby women are leaving the technology sector entirely due factors such as a lack of career progression and pay inequality.</p>
<p>Harvey Nash&rsquo;s own report found that 22% of women in tech are currently either very unhappy or unhappy in their current role, compared to 19% of men.</p>
<p>It was also clear than men and women have different priorities when it comes to considering leaving their tech roles, with women more concerned with a lack of career opportunities as opposed to men, who are on the lookout for more money. Almost 60% of men said pay was their top reason for considering leaving their current role, while 51% of women said their defining reason was around career opportunities.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366553274/Care-responsibilities-excluding-women-from-tech-says-TTC">Personal circumstances</a>&nbsp;appeared as the fifth most likely reason women are considering leaving their tech role, whereas this did not appear in the top five reasons men gave for considering moving on.</p>
<p>Despite women claiming they plan to leave their current technology role due to a lack of career progression, women are more likely than men to have seen an increase in their workload over the past year &ndash; 60% of the women asked said their workload had increased, compared with 56% of men.</p>
<p>When it comes to pay for men and women, there is a pay gap in the technology sector, with women not only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365535482/Techs-gender-pay-gap-begins-to-return-to-pre-pandemic-levels">making approximately 8.2% less</a>&nbsp;than their male counterparts, but also more frequently being expected to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366546314/Splunk-conf23-The-dangers-of-party-planning-as-a-woman-in-tech">take on side-of-the-desk tasks</a>&nbsp;such as party planning.</p>
<p>When it comes to considering a new tech role, men and woman in the UK have very similar objectives &ndash; 76% of tech workers will choose their next role because of an increase in pay, and 41% want to be able to work from anywhere.</p>
<p>More than half of tech workers won&rsquo;t even consider a role if they were not able to work in a hybrid fashion, and 39% would settle for less money if it meant they could work from home more often.</p>
<p>Hybrid working was considered a way to improve wellbeing for tech workers, with 84% saying it helps to reduce commute and therefore allow more personal time, as well as increased productivity, and 81% said it contributes towards better work-life balance.</p>
<p>But there are some differences between men and women when it comes to hybrid and flexible working &ndash; a higher percentage of women than men were willing to take a lower salary for the ability to work from home more often, and 51% of women want flexible working hours compared with 41% of men.</p>
<p>Crichton said: &ldquo;The desire for hybrid working from our&nbsp;Tech talent and salary report&nbsp;is very similar between the two genders. I thought that was interesting because I recognised that, as a leader and within my own experience, giving that flexibility for hours doesn&rsquo;t harm anyone. I see great value in getting people into the office, but I also would be one of those that might not consider a role that didn&rsquo;t have hybrid working as an option.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Opportunities for career progression and strong organisational culture and leadership are also slightly more important to women, whereas the purpose and values of an organisation, as well as opportunities for training and skills development, are slightly more important to men.</p>
<p>In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), a focus on training is important, and 76% of tech workers said they had been given access to AI tools, though only 36% said they were given dedicated time to experiment with and learn how to use them.</p>
<p>For around 20% of tech workers, their organisations expect them to figure out the best use of these tools by themselves, and a quarter are still waiting for their companies to provide training.</p>
<p>Some 32% of firms are actively investing in providing AI skills to tech workers. A &ldquo;sandbox&rdquo; environment for staff to safely experiment with AI could be beneficial, said Crichton, who said there is benefit to a combination of formal training and allowing workers to figure things out for themselves, though the number of workers claiming to have access to AI versus those given formal training is a &ldquo;huge gap between access and enablement&rdquo;.</p>
<p>He added: &ldquo;The problem here is that AI is very new and organisations are rushing to keep up. People are going and trying and experimenting and are coming up with things that might not have come up in structured training.</p>
<p>&ldquo;What we&rsquo;re trying to promote is developing judgement, creativity and confidence to use AI effectively in the real world and in their workplace. It&rsquo;s about leadership in a new environment, creating an environment where experimentation can turn into capability.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Tech workers want their leaders to have a firm understanding of technology, with 44% saying it&rsquo;s important for their leaders to be &ldquo;techie&rdquo;, with 18% saying a lack of deep understanding around tech from a leader can stand in the way of the team achieving their goals. More than half also said a good leader will cultivate a positive culture within a team and have good communication.</p>

Tech industry slowly dropping DEI efforts

<p data-start="0" data-end="355">As organisations race to turn AI investment into real business value, industry events are becoming a critical space to separate hype from reality. At this year&rsquo;s <a href="https://datadecoded.com/ldn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline"><span class="whitespace-normal">Data Decoded London</span></span></a>, leaders, practitioners, and technologists came together to share honest perspectives on what it really takes to make AI work in practice.</p>
<p data-start="357" data-end="615" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">In this piece, Tech Evangelist <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/david-savage" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline"><span class="whitespace-normal">David Savage</span></span></a> reflects on the key conversations from the event, exploring the growing disconnect between leadership ambition and on-the-ground execution, and what organisations must do to close that gap.</p>
<hr>
<p dir="ltr">Despite a tube strike, London&rsquo;s Olympia was packed for the very first Data Decoded conference. It&rsquo;s clear that AI is keeping business leaders awake at night; they&rsquo;ve invested a huge amount of money and are desperate to see a return on that investment. But as the conversations over the two days revealed, you can't run before you can walk.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Going into the event, we carried a tension-filled statistic from our latest <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tech talent salary survey</a>: &ldquo;after speaking to over 3,000 tech professionals, we found that 46% (nearly half) don't believe their leadership truly understands AI&rdquo;. Here&rsquo;s how the conversations we had at Data Decoded unfolded.</p>
<h1 dir="ltr">Making sense of tech: The reality gap between the C-Suite and the ground</h1>
<p dir="ltr">We put that 46% stat to the experts on the floor, and the reactions were revealing. Surprisingly, many felt the number was actually too low. Kam Karaji, Director of Cybersecurity at the NFL, told us he expected it to be higher because there is a distinct education gap we haven't bridged. Leaders often assume AI will magically "solve their world" and give them all the information they need, but they fail to translate that into valuable business decisions.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Josie Reinhardt, Enterprise GTM at Hex, felt that the C-suite is pretty far removed from the realities of capturing value from AI. &ldquo;You can't just throw AI on top of data and expect magic to happen; there is vital, foundational "boots on the ground" work required to make it successful&rdquo;.</p>
<h1 dir="ltr">Navigating the maze: The nuts and bolts of governance</h1>
<p dir="ltr">Before AI can revolutionise a business, or as NASA Duty Branch Chief Dr Jeevan Perera brilliantly pointed out, handle the mundane maintenance of a lunar base so humans can focus on the "cool science", the foundations must be solid. The recurring theme at Data Decoded wasn't about the flashiest new algorithm, but rather the unglamorous necessities: &ldquo;data governance, data strategy, security, and sustainability&rdquo;. These are the critical policy and governance conversations that organisations absolutely must get right before deploying the tech at scale.</p>
<h1 dir="ltr">The talent blueprint: Closing the understanding gap</h1>
<p dir="ltr">As organisations scale, the disconnect between practitioners and leaders becomes a critical operational hurdle. It's naturally expected that practitioners on the ground will have a deeper grasp of AI tools than the executives above them. However, as the ECB&rsquo;s Performance Data Analyst Aaron Briggs told us, we need leadership groups to actively engage with these tools and understand how practitioners are using them. Only by understanding this base level of operation can leaders design effective, accountable strategies.&nbsp;</p>
<h1 dir="ltr">The vibe: A thirst for substance</h1>
<p dir="ltr">What stood out most over the two days wasn't just what was said on stage, but how it was received. At many conferences, it's not uncommon to see people &lsquo;phoning it in, scrolling on their phones instead of being present during talks. At Data Decoded, attendees were completely plugged in, present, and actively taking notes.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">The technology is evolving so rapidly that there's a palpable realisation of how much there is to learn. The fact that almost half of technologists doubt their leaders' AI comprehension underlines a massive need for education, awareness, and better implementation.</p>
<p dir="ltr">To hear these perspectives firsthand, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBJyLQfBbxQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watch our exclusive on-the-ground video from&nbsp;<span class="hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline"><span class="whitespace-normal">Data Decoded London</span></span></a>, where digital leaders share their candid views on AI adoption, leadership challenges, and what&rsquo;s next.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SBJyLQfBbxQ?si=RK8UJjaRulPPVnvk" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>

The truth about AI leadership: Reflections from London's first Data Decoded

<p style="text-align: left;">Although cyber security is the third most in-demand tech skill in the UK and across the globe, a new report finds that despite high-profile attacks on some of the UK&rsquo;s leading companies, cyber security professionals based in the UK (77%) missed out on pay rises, more than any other technology role last year.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">This UK trend was also mirrored across the world, but with slightly fewer (71%) global cybersecurity professionals missing out on a pay rise. The report says that these findings perhaps beg the question: how hard are organisations working to keep their cyber talent?</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The Harvey Nash Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report, that surveyed over 3,600 technology professionals globally (1,394 in the UK), found that almost three times as many UK tech professionals working in Infrastructure/support (60%), DevOps (60%), and AI &amp; Machine Learning (55%) as those in cyber security (23%) received a pay rise last year.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Although the global study found that tech professionals in the UK are the most pessimistic about expectations for more pay, almost three quarters (71%) of those working in AI &amp; Machine Learning, over half of those in Infrastructure/Support (55%) and Software Engineering (53%) expect a salary increase in 2026 &ndash; all significantly higher than those in cyber security, where only 45% expect a pay rise.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The Harvey Nash report also found that almost half (48%) of cyber security professionals in the UK are looking to move jobs in the next twelve months, above the UK average (45%) and the 7th highest job role to plan a move.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">However, despite almost half of cybersecurity professionals getting itchy feet, it doesn&rsquo;t seem to be because of the threat of AI taking their job, rising workloads, or how under-resourced they expect their team to be this year. In fact, 61% of cybersecurity professionals don&rsquo;t feel threatened by AI taking their job, the second highest behind Technology Leaders (64%).</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The top three tech roles feeling under most threat from AI in the UK are:</p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;">QA/Testing</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Data/BI/Analytics</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Product Management</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Ankur Anand, CIO of Harvey Nash, said:</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>&ldquo;The data should be a wake-up call. We&rsquo;re asking cybersecurity teams to stand on the front line of business risk, yet too often we&rsquo;re not matching that responsibility with the reward, progression and operating environment that keeps people in the profession. When pay lags the market, workload keeps rising, and the role is seen as a blocker rather than an enabler, it&rsquo;s no surprise that attrition starts to look like the path of least resistance.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>If organisations want to reduce exposure and respond faster when incidents happen, they need to treat cyber talent as a strategic capability: valued, visible and supported by leadership. The organisations that get this right won&rsquo;t just retain their best people &ndash; they&rsquo;ll build trust with customers, regulators and their own boards.&rdquo;</em></p>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Across the 1,394 UK technologists surveyed, the Harvey Nash Tech Talent Report also found the following:</h3>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Push and pull factors for technologists:</h4>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Push factors &ndash;</strong>&nbsp;For over half (56%) of UK technologists, pay retains its top position as the primary reason for considering leaving their role, with career progression continuing to come second (38%) and organisational culture not far behind (30%).</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Pull factors &ndash;</strong> UK technologists take a wide-ranging approach to what makes their next assignment an attractive one. Three-quarters (75%) follow the money, but the opportunity to work from anywhere is also important (41%). More than half of respondents in the UK (52%) said that they would not be prepared to accept a role that didn&rsquo;t offer hybrid working, and 39% are prepared to take a lower salary to work from home more often.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>The most important pull factors for men and women &ndash;</strong> Female technologists in the UK are slightly more concerned with factors such as working on impactful, meaningful and interesting projects&nbsp;and flexible working hours than their male peers. In turn, men are more interested in health care plans and opportunities to travel.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>The well-being effect &ndash;</strong> Hybrid working is also viewed as a well-being factor, with the top two benefits identified as reduced commuting times providing better use of personal time and increased productivity (84%), and improved work-life balance (81%).</li>
</ul>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Reskilling and upskilling in AI:</h4>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Experimenting in AI &ndash;</strong> Three-quarters (76%) report being given access to AI tools and platforms, and 36% are given dedicated time to experiment and learn.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Waiting for training or left to self-learn &ndash;</strong> While almost a third (32%) of UK-based organisations are investing in AI upskilling, one in five technologists are expected to self-learn, and over a quarter (26%) are waiting on formal training.</li>
</ul>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Good tech leadership:</h4>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Great leaders &ndash; </strong>When it comes to defining what makes a great tech leader, more than half (57%) of UK respondents say that great communication remains key, and 55% value their leader&rsquo;s ability to create a positive culture within the team.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Deep understanding of tech &ndash;</strong>&nbsp;Almost half (44%) of technologists continue to value their leaders having a deep understanding of technology. Around a fifth (18%) feel that a lack of technology understanding amongst leaders is a huge barrier to delivering their tech goals, with almost a third (30%) rating it as a significant issue.</li>
</ul>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">The Inclusive Workplace:</h4>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>UK Tech sector not doing enough &ndash; </strong>While just under a half (48%) of global respondents think the tech sector is doing enough to support female participation in technology, this drops to just over a third (39%) in the UK. Furthermore, almost twice as many female respondents in the UK (25%) compared to their male counterparts (14%) believe that the tech sector is not doing enough.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Decrease in focus and investment in DEI &ndash;</strong> Although almost all (84%) think their organisation does enough to support diversity in the workplace, 1 in 10 technologists report a decrease in focus and investment in DEI over the last two years.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Sense of purpose v DEI &ndash; </strong>Almost all (87%) tech professionals in the UK stated that an organisation&rsquo;s sense of purpose is important when selecting a new role, but only 63% think their approach to DEI holds the same weight. This rises to 79% when the respondent is female and 68% when the respondent identifies as any ethnicity other than white; 52% of white males agree.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Simon Crichton, CEO of Harvey Nash, concluded:</strong></p>
<p><em>&ldquo;With technology moving so fast, and AI beginning to change the game, technology leaders have many plates to spin. Tech professionals are looking to their leaders with an expectation of clear strategic direction, fair reward, flexible approaches to working, and a supportive environment in which they can build fulfilling careers. A standout feature this year is tech team members&rsquo; concern that IT strategy should be clear. There are undercurrents of worry about the impact of AI &ndash; even if it also presents career opportunities. The best technology leaders are those that integrate the development and deployment of AI into a coherent overall strategy that continues to have the skills and abilities of tech professionals at its heart.&rdquo;</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;" align="center">-ENDS-</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>About the report</strong></p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026">Harvey Nash Global Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report</a> is based on a survey of over 3,646 technology professionals globally (including 1,394 in the UK and 629 in the US). The survey took place between 4th November 2025 and 26th January 2026. This report is part of a suite of reports and surveys that Harvey Nash publish annually, including its highly respected Digital Leadership Report, which was launched in 1998 and is the world&rsquo;s largest and longest running survey of senior technology leaders.&nbsp;</p>
<p>To request a full copy of the results, please visit <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026">https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026</a>.</p>
<p><strong>About Harvey Nash</strong></p>
<p>Harvey Nash is a specialist global technology recruitment firm that connects the world's most innovative companies with the technology talent they need to succeed. For over 35 years, Harvey Nash has been a pioneer and leading voice in the global technology space, having long-term strategic partnerships with blue-chip customers. With offices across multiple continents, including North America, the UK. Europe and Asia, Harvey Nash is experienced in partnering with organisations on their specialised technology talent requirements, including Cyber, DevOps, AI &amp; Automation, Data, Cloud and Software Engineering.</p>
<p>For further information, visit: <a href="http://www.harveynash.co.uk">www.harveynash.co.uk</a>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Media Contacts:<br>David Pippett</p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">ProServ PR</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US"><a href="mailto:david@proservpr.com">david@proservpr.com</a></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">+44 (0) 7899 798197</span>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Michelle Thomas</p>
<p>Harvey Nash</p>
<p><span lang="EN-US"><a href="mailto:michelle.thomas@harveynash.com"><span lang="EN-GB">michelle.thomas@harveynash.com</span></a></span></p>
<p>+44 (20) 7333 2677</p>

After high profile attacks on some of the UK’s leading companies, 77% of cyber security professionals miss out on pay rises

<p>DevOps has changed significantly over the past decade. What began as a cultural movement focused on collaboration and automation has matured into a highly specialised discipline, closely tied to cloud platforms, security, and developer productivity.</p>
<p>For engineers thinking about their next move, the question is no longer whether DevOps skills are in demand, but which capabilities will matter most to organisations in 2026.</p>
<p>We spoke with <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/james-constantinou" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Constantinou</a>, an experienced DevOps and cloud recruitment specialist, to explore the key skills and trends shaping the sector.</p>
<h1>From DevOps culture to cloud capability</h1>
<p>Originally, DevOps was never intended to be a job title. It was a way of working, shared ownership between development and operations, fewer handovers, and more automation. Over time, as cloud platforms became central to how software is built and deployed, DevOps evolved into a defined engineering role.</p>
<p>Today, employers expect DevOps professionals to take ownership of cloud infrastructure, automation, and delivery pipelines. As James Constantinou, DevOps and cloud recruitment specialist, explains: &ldquo;DevOps started as a culture, not a role. Now it&rsquo;s the person who automates, builds cloud infrastructure, and gets platforms into production.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Cloud adoption has accelerated this shift. Organisations increasingly rely on dedicated DevOps engineers to design, manage, and optimise environments across AWS, Azure, or GCP.</p>
<h1>The core technical skills employers expect</h1>
<p>While tools and platforms will continue to evolve, several technical capabilities have become baseline expectations rather than differentiators.</p>
<h2>Cloud platforms and infrastructure ownership</h2>
<p>Experience with at least one major cloud platform is now essential. AWS remains widely used, while Azure and GCP are particularly common in enterprise and regulated environments.</p>
<p>Beyond familiarity, employers want engineers who understand how cloud environments operate at scale, including identity management, networking, cost control, and governance.</p>
<p>As James puts it, &ldquo;In regulated industries especially, cloud isn&rsquo;t just about spinning things up. You have to understand governance, identity, and how everything fits together.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Containerisation and orchestration</h2>
<p>Containerisation has become standard practice, with orchestration platforms underpinning most modern delivery environments. Engineers are expected to deploy, manage, and troubleshoot containerised workloads confidently.</p>
<p>Kubernetes, in particular, has become a core skill for DevOps roles that sit within cloud-native teams or large-scale platforms.</p>
<h2>Infrastructure as code</h2>
<p>As cloud environments grow in size and complexity, managing infrastructure manually no longer scales. That&rsquo;s why infrastructure as code has become a core part of modern DevOps practice, enabling consistency, repeatability, and faster delivery. Tools like Terraform are widely used to define and manage infrastructure across environments.</p>
<p>James explains: &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re managing cloud platforms properly, infrastructure as code isn&rsquo;t optional; this is how it&rsquo;s done. It ensures things are reliable, repeatable, and easier to maintain at scale.&rdquo;</p>
<p>For candidates, hands-on experience with infrastructure as code in real-world projects is increasingly in demand. It&rsquo;s not just a nice-to-have, but what employers expect from engineers working in cloud environments today.</p>
<h2>Security is no longer optional</h2>
<p>Security has moved from a specialist function to a core DevOps responsibility. Employers increasingly expect engineers to build secure platforms by default, rather than relying on security teams to fix issues later.</p>
<p>This includes understanding access control, network security, compliance requirements, and secure deployment practices. James notes that many organisations are adopting &ldquo;shift-left&rdquo; approaches, embedding security earlier in the development lifecycle.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Every engineer building in the cloud has to think about security first. If you don&rsquo;t, everything else is at risk.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Frameworks that focus on security, reliability, and operational best practices are often used as reference points, reinforcing the expectation that DevOps engineers take responsibility for platform resilience and risk.</p>
<h2>Communication still matters</h2>
<p>Despite the technical nature of DevOps, soft skills remain a key differentiator. DevOps professionals frequently sit between development teams, operations, security, and the wider business.</p>
<p>The ability to explain technical decisions clearly, contribute to design discussions, and collaborate across teams is highly valued, particularly in senior or lead roles.</p>
<p>In some organisations, this extends into client-facing or commercial responsibilities, where DevOps engineers contribute to solution design, architecture discussions, or pre-sales conversations.</p>
<p>James adds, &ldquo;The hardest people to find are those who understand the tech and can also explain it clearly to non-technical stakeholders.&rdquo;</p>
<h1>Emerging skills: architecture, pre-sales, and DevX</h1>
<p>As DevOps roles mature, some of the most in-demand skills sit beyond day-to-day delivery.</p>
<h2>Architecture and design thinking</h2>
<p>Employers increasingly value engineers who can think beyond implementation and contribute to platform design, scalability, and long-term technical strategy.</p>
<h2>Pre-sales and discovery</h2>
<p>In consultancy and services environments, engineers who can support discovery calls and solution design are especially valuable. These hybrid roles blend technical depth with commercial awareness.</p>
<h2>Developer experience (DevX)</h2>
<p>Developer experience is gaining attention as organisations look to improve productivity and reduce friction for engineering teams. DevX focuses on tooling, workflows, and automation that help developers move faster and more reliably.</p>
<p>James explains, &ldquo;DevX is about enabling developers to be as productive as possible. It&rsquo;s very close to DevOps, but with a sharper focus on the developer journey.&rdquo;</p>
<p>For DevOps professionals, experience improving CI/CD pipelines, reducing manual steps, and streamlining onboarding can be a strong differentiator over the next few years.</p>
<h1>What this means for DevOps professionals</h1>
<p>DevOps in 2026 is not about chasing every new tool or trend. Employers are looking for engineers who combine strong foundations with applied, real-world capability.</p>
<p>Those best positioned for the future tend to demonstrate:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Solid cloud and infrastructure knowledge</li>
<li>Practical experience with containers and infrastructure as code</li>
<li>Security-first thinking</li>
<li>Clear communication and collaboration</li>
<li>An interest in improving developer productivity and platform usability</li>
</ul>
<p>As the role continues to evolve, DevOps professionals who broaden their impact, from delivery to architecture, security, or developer experience, will find themselves with more opportunities.</p>
<p>The fundamentals still matter. But how you apply them is increasingly what sets you apart.</p>
<p>Explore our latest <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/jobs/#/devops" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DevOps opportunities</a>, spanning platform, DevSecOps, and cloud-focused roles.</p>

The DevOps skills employers are looking for in 2026

<p><em>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Are-tech-leaders-risking-a-cyber-resourcing-crisis">ComputerWeekly.com</a> and includes insights from Ankur Anand, Chief Information Officer at Harvey Nash.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>If you ask any technology leader, they will tell you that cybersecurity has become a higher priority than ever, with sophisticated cyberattacks causing numerous high-profile incidents around the world. According to data from the World Economic Forum, the global cost of cybercrime is forecast to reach USD $12.2 trillion by 2031, placing the scale of cybercriminal operations on a par with some of the world's largest economies.</p>
<p>But are tech leaders risking a cyber resourcing crisis by not sufficiently rewarding their security teams?</p>
<h1>Cyber professionals showing signs of discontent</h1>
<p>New research in Harvey Nash&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-talent-and-salary-report-2026">Tech Talent &amp; Salary Report 2026</a>, taking in the views of over 3,600 tech professionals from around the world, should be a wake-up call. A run-down of the findings in relation to cybersecurity makes sobering reading:</p>
<ul>
<li>Cybersecurity professionals are the least likely in the whole tech workforce to have received a pay rise in the last year &ndash; only 29% have done so, only around half the proportion of those working in DevOps (56%) and Product Management (51%)</li>
<li>Cybersecurity professionals are amongst the unhappiest in the tech workforce &ndash; just behind those working in QA/Testing and Infrastructure/Support</li>
<li>Those working in cyber are less confident than the average that they will get a pay rise in the coming year &ndash; only 40% expecting this, compared to 44%</li>
<li>Almost half (49%) of cybersecurity professionals are looking to move jobs in the next twelve months, well above the global average across roles (39%) and the fourth highest amongst all job roles</li>
</ul>
<p>All of this is despite the fact that cyber skills are the third most in-demand tech skillset across the world. Leaders know that cybersecurity is crucial but appear to be running a gauntlet of losing disillusioned team members looking to transition into other roles.</p>
<h1>The risks of under-reward</h1>
<p>What seems clear from these findings is that businesses are frequently asking cybersecurity teams to stand on the front line of business risk, yet too often they are not matching that responsibility with the reward, progression and operating environment that keeps people in the profession. When pay lags the market, workload keeps rising, and the role is seen as a blocker rather than an enabler, it&rsquo;s no surprise that attrition starts to look like the path of least resistance.</p>
<p>A useful way to frame this challenge is through the lens of &ldquo;risk debt&rdquo;. Like technical debt, it accumulates quietly over time when organisations underinvest in people, capability and tooling, even as the threat surface expands. Under‑rewarded teams, persistent vacancies, rising alert volumes and outdated operating models all defer risk rather than remove it. The balance sheet looks fine in the short term, but the liabilities compound beneath the surface. When an incident eventually occurs, the cost is rarely limited to remediation alone; it shows up in slower response times, greater operational disruption, regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage. Cyber risk debt is therefore not an abstract concept &ndash; it is the delayed cost of treating security as an overhead rather than a strategic investment.</p>
<h1>Investing in cyber teams</h1>
<p>What solutions are there to this problem? Compensation matters, of course &ndash; particularly for scarce skills &ndash; so evidently tech leaders need to ensure that cyber teams are being appropriately rewarded as far as it&rsquo;s in their remit (and budget) to do so.</p>
<p>But pay is rarely the only lever. CIOs, CISOs and other leaders need to ensure they are investing in sustainable cyber operating models: clear career pathways from analyst to engineer to architect, funded time for training and certification, and modern tooling and automation that reduce burnout and let teams focus on high-value work. Just as importantly, security has to be embedded into product and engineering ways of working, so teams spend less time firefighting late-stage issues and more time shaping secure-by-design outcomes.</p>
<h1>Opportunities created by AI</h1>
<p>At the same time, the situation is not all negative: in fact, I believe that the greenfield of AI is opening up significant opportunities for cyber professionals. AI and the agentic approach are strategically key to businesses across sectors now &ndash; and who better than cyber professionals to take a lead role in responsible AI and governance? Ensuring that there are robust controls and guardrails in place so that agents don&rsquo;t &lsquo;go rogue&rsquo; is both operationally and reputationally critical.</p>
<p>Traditionally, technology teams are split into two halves: operational technology (including cyber) on one side and IT (doing the more &lsquo;creative&rsquo; and value adding work like engineering and development) on the other. But in my view, AI is beginning to narrow the gap between OT and IT. Certainly, I believe that it should do: OT needs to be right at the table when assessing the potential threats (and solutions) created by AI. In this way, AI can open up new career paths. Cyber professionals can take advantage of this and, in doing so, increase their job satisfaction and reward.</p>
<h1>Keeping cyber in the boardroom</h1>
<p>Ultimately, cyber resourcing is a resilience question. If organisations want to reduce exposure and respond faster when incidents happen, they need to treat cyber talent as a strategic capability: valued, visible and supported by leadership. There is also an onus on CISOs (and CIOs) to make sure that they are fully communicating the value of the work being done by the cyber team to the Board &ndash; expressing this in business language the Board understands rather than just technical terms. It is one of the challenges of working in a domain like cyber that much of the value delivered goes unseen: all of the threats blocked and the risks mitigated may not be fully appreciated in the boardroom for the very reason that they have been successfully headed off. Communicating this value will build the business case for appropriate reward and recognition.</p>
<p>The organisations that get this right won&rsquo;t just retain their best people &ndash; they&rsquo;ll build trust with customers, regulators and their own boards. Cybersecurity is too important to be taken for granted, especially when the threats are rapidly escalating due to new AI-based attack tools. Let&rsquo;s not leave it to chance: the industry needs to properly value its cyber professionals and ensure that security remains a rewarding and fulfilling technology career path.</p>

Are tech leaders risking a cyber resourcing crisis?

<p>Access global insights into pay, hiring trends, AI and the future of tech careers.</p>

Tech Talent & Salary Report 2026

<h1 class="MsoNormal">The state of UK cloud hiring in 2026</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cloud hiring remains strong in 2026, but it&rsquo;s no longer the fast-moving, reactive market many professionals experienced a few years ago. Instead, employers are taking a more measured and deliberate approach.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To understand what&rsquo;s really shaping cloud careers right now, we spoke with our cloud recruitment specialist, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/jenny-collin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jenny Collin</a>, who works closely with employers across the UK market.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>&ldquo;Demand is still strong across the UK, but it&rsquo;s definitely more measured than a couple of years ago. Companies are hiring with a lot more intent now,&rdquo;</em> Jenny explains.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That shift towards intentional hiring is influencing everything from role design to interview processes. Employers are looking for professionals who can deliver meaningful impact, such as optimising costs, modernising environments and contributing to long-term business goals, rather than simply supporting migrations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Demand remains broad across industries. Financial services, FinTech and SaaS continue to drive consistent hiring, while retail and e-commerce are investing again, particularly where cloud supports data and AI initiatives. The public sector and healthcare are also active, with large-scale transformation programmes underway.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alongside this, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) remain a steady source of opportunity, hiring to support multiple client environments and ongoing cloud projects.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">The roles employers are prioritising</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">The core roles haven&rsquo;t changed dramatically, with cloud engineers, DevOps engineers, platform engineers and cloud architects remaining in demand, with DevOps now forming a core part of how modern cloud environments are built and operated. But what has changed is the expectation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These roles are no longer just about building and maintaining infrastructure. Employers are looking for professionals who can take ownership, improve systems and think beyond day-to-day delivery.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There&rsquo;s also a noticeable shift towards more specialised areas. Platform engineering is continuing to grow, while cost-focused roles like FinOps are gaining traction. Even where these titles aren&rsquo;t formally defined, the underlying skills are becoming more important.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the senior end, the gap is even clearer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>&ldquo;Senior cloud architects who can actually engage with stakeholders and translate technical design into business value are hard to find,&rdquo;</em> says Jenny.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That ability to connect technical decisions to real outcomes is now one of the most in-demand skills in the market.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">What actually defines top cloud talent in 2026</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you&rsquo;re trying to benchmark yourself in 2026, the biggest misconception is that more tools equal more value. In reality, employers are prioritising depth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>Jenny explained, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never really worked a role where a client would want both Azure and AWS&rdquo;</em>. Despite the rise of multi-cloud strategies, most companies still hire for expertise in one platform. Azure is particularly prominent in regulated environments, while AWS remains strong across SaaS and FinTech.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But technical depth alone won&rsquo;t set you apart. The candidates who stand out are the ones who can clearly explain their impact, as Jenny cited, <em>&ldquo;the strongest candidates can explain what they built, why they built it, the challenges they faced, and the outcome&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That shift is subtle but important. It&rsquo;s no longer about listing technologies, but instead it&rsquo;s about showing how you&rsquo;ve used them to solve real problems. And then there&rsquo;s communication. <em>&ldquo;You can get a cloud engineer that&rsquo;s really technical&hellip; but has trouble communicating effectively&rdquo;</em>, Jenny says.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In today&rsquo;s market, communication is a dealbreaker. Employers want people who can explain decisions, work with stakeholders and understand how cloud fits into the wider business. The purely technical specialist is becoming less common and less in demand.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">How AI is influencing cloud careers</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">AI is shaping the direction of cloud, but not always in obvious ways. For many organisations, deep AI expertise isn&rsquo;t yet a hiring requirement.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not particularly high in demand, but they want candidates to understand AI more so,&rdquo;</em> Jenny explains.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That means you don&rsquo;t need to be building models to stay relevant. But you do need to understand how cloud infrastructure supports AI, from data pipelines to scalability.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Behind the scenes, AI is already influencing hiring priorities. It&rsquo;s driving demand for more scalable environments, better performance and more efficient infrastructure. It&rsquo;s also contributing to the rise of hybrid roles that blend cloud, data and AI capabilities.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The takeaway here is that you don&rsquo;t need to pivot your career overnight, but you do need to stay curious.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">How to stand out in a more competitive market</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">As hiring becomes more selective, the way you present yourself matters just as much as your experience. One of the most common mistakes candidates make is focusing too heavily on technology without explaining context.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;They focus on listing tech rather than explaining how they&rsquo;ve made an impact,&rdquo; Jenny says. What employers want instead is clarity. They want to understand how you&rsquo;ve improved systems, reduced costs or solved problems, not just what tools you&rsquo;ve used.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jenny&rsquo;s advice is simple, but telling:&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;If I had one piece of advice for 2026, it&rsquo;s to think beyond infrastructure.&rdquo;</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That means stepping back and understanding the bigger picture. How does your work affect the business? Where are you adding value? What&rsquo;s the outcome?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those are the questions employers are really asking.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Stand out, step forward and shape what&rsquo;s next in cloud</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cloud hiring in 2026 is about standing out.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The professionals in highest demand aren&rsquo;t the ones with the longest list of tools, but those who can apply their expertise in ways that deliver measurable business value.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And increasingly, that comes down to one thing: &ldquo;The most successful cloud professionals understand how their work impacts the wider business,&rdquo; Jenny says.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Get that right, and you won&rsquo;t just keep pace with the market, you&rsquo;ll position yourself at the forefront of it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>If you&rsquo;re ready to take that next step, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/jobs/#/cloud-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explore our latest cloud roles</a> and see where your skills can make the biggest impact.</strong></p>

What UK employers really want from cloud professionals in 2026

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/4139885/how-cios-can-use-ai-to-overcome-ma-integration-headaches.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CIO.com</a> and includes insights from Ankur Anand, Chief Information Officer at Nash Squared.</p>
<hr>
<p class="content-subheadline">Many digital leaders believe gen AI can transform M&amp;A processes. Some pioneers already use emerging technology to integrate systems and data, but wider adoption means overcoming significant obstacles.</p>
<p class="content-subheadline">One of the hardest parts of M&amp;A activity is integrating systems and data, and inheriting a company&rsquo;s IT architecture means absorbing a complex array of platforms and processes. However, research suggests growth-focused companies can use targeted AI to overcome M&amp;A challenges.</p>
<p class="content-subheadline"><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/gen-ai-in-m-and-a-from-theory-to-practice-to-high-performance" rel="nofollow">McKinsey reported last year</a> that 42% of business leaders believe gen AI has the potential to transform the deal-making process. Survey respondents using gen AI in their M&amp;A activities reported average cost reductions of roughly 20%, and 40% said gen AI enabled up to 50% faster deal cycles.</p>
<p class="content-subheadline">McKinsey further suggests the next era of M&amp;A will be defined by teams that ride gen AI rather than wait on the sidelines. Brett Wilson, partner at the firm, says two paths are emerging. First, some firms use AI as an alternative to traditional system integration.</p>
<p class="content-subheadline">&ldquo;They bridge the gaps so they can answer key business questions without forcing everything onto a single platform,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;This approach takes the place of expensive multi-year system consolidation programs, and brings value-driving insights to the forefront much earlier at typically a much lower cost.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="1611" data-end="1932">The second path, where full-scale integration is the goal, uses AI to accelerate work by mapping data across systems, building interfaces, generating system tests, and reducing manual effort. AI is also used to create an initial integration plan or project roadmap much faster than teams could do previously on their own.</p>
<p data-start="1934" data-end="2198">&ldquo;When paired together, these incremental improvements are starting to add up to real-time savings in the process,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;In practice, the potential impact across both paths isn&rsquo;t just defining the integrated systems landscape, but also a faster path to value.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="2200" data-end="2459">CIOs are also considering how AI can help overcome M&amp;A challenges, with pioneering digital leaders using emerging technology to integrate systems and data. However, there are obstacles along the way, and CIOs should take heed of crucial best-practice lessons.</p>
<h1 data-start="2200" data-end="2459">Finding a better way to integrate data</h1>
<p data-start="2504" data-end="2841">Mark Davis, VP at business transformation consultancy Egremont Group, recognises the scale of the M&amp;A situation. Post-acquisition, CIOs are expected to integrate systems and data at pace, often while the organisation forms a view on strategy, governance, and operations. AI can add value by supporting decision-making during integration.</p>
<p data-start="2843" data-end="3233">&ldquo;Rather than simply mapping systems, organisations are using AI to synthesise large volumes of fragmented information from operating models, and process documentation into performance data,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;This approach is helping leadership teams, including CIOs, build clearer pictures of how work gets done across both organisations, and where the real points of friction and dependency sit.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="3235" data-end="3641">Richard Corbridge, CIO at property specialist Segro, recognises the potential for AI to assist with the M&amp;A process. The direction of travel for transformation at his firm is threefold: joining up point solutions, making the most of enterprise data assets, and implementing new technology alongside trusted partners. While Corbridge hasn&rsquo;t explored AI for managing M&amp;A activities, he can see the potential.</p>
<p data-start="3643" data-end="4005">&ldquo;I think this idea that you have to go away and fix all your data before you can plug AI in isn&rsquo;t true,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I think you can work out which bits you need. AI is a good tool for bringing organisations together, and we look at how we can use it to bring our disparate geographical data sets together, so it feels logical that the same could be said for M&amp;A.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="4007" data-end="4362">Nick Pearson, CIO at Ricoh Europe, has gained M&amp;A experience in his current role and earlier positions at major blue-chip companies such as PepsiCo and Vodafone. He says a lift-and-shift approach is the traditional model for post-merger system integration. Now, instead of standardising ERP data across a six-month schedule, companies have an alternative.</p>
<p data-start="4364" data-end="4687">&ldquo;AI is the magic dust on top,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re starting to see a change, and it&rsquo;s not an IT change but a change in the mindset. Instead of waiting six or 12 months, people are recognising they can potentially use AI to access data more quickly. So it&rsquo;s a shift in the integration team logic as well as an AI shift.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="4689" data-end="5041">Barry Panayi, group chief data officer at insurance firm Howden, is another digital leader who believes AI can be a crucial ally in the M&amp;A process. The firm employs about 23,000 people, up from about 10,000 five years ago, and data and technology sit at the heart of the company&rsquo;s growth agenda, including integrating systems with emerging technology.</p>
<p data-start="5043" data-end="5450">&ldquo;Buying companies and growing should be a competitive advantage, not a liability, because we&rsquo;ve now got all this data to ingest, and it&rsquo;s all very hard,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;AI should be seen as a brilliant opportunity, because every new bit of data we get can be triangulated, and that means using knowledge graphs and thinking about generating insight, as opposed to how to smash data together in a data warehouse.&rdquo;</p>
<h1 data-start="5043" data-end="5450">Using AI in the M&amp;A process</h1>
<p data-start="5594" data-end="5923">Ankur Anand, CIO at technology and talent solutions provider Nash Squared, has helped his company integrate data and systems post-integration. In 2022, the company acquired Het Flexhuis, a managed service provider of talent and recruitment services. A year later, Nash Squared purchased cloud and data solutions provider Knoldus.</p>
<p data-start="5925" data-end="6279">One of the major issues was bringing together disparate finance and CRM systems. Each firm had its own operating model, with associated platforms, taxonomies, and security policies. These models fostered an internal culture that wasn&rsquo;t necessarily commensurate with the host business. Anand had to integrate systems and processes to benefit Nash Squared.</p>
<p data-start="6281" data-end="6511">Using BlueGecko, an AI-enabled data management platform from technology specialist Nextgenlytics, Anand&rsquo;s team automated time-consuming data-mapping processes. The system helped reduce the effort and created more accurate results.</p>
<p data-start="6513" data-end="6799">&ldquo;The technology understands the systems with some AI inputs,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And through that approach, BlueGecko completes about 80% of our data mapping. My team then reviews the output, agrees with it, and that process reduces the traditional effort on the data-mapping side by about 30%.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="6801" data-end="7228">Joel Hron, CTO at business information services specialist Thomson Reuters, is another digital leader who helps his growth-focused firm integrate systems and data. He says it&rsquo;s important to be aggressive about security and compliance gaps, and addressing those concerns in the early days of the acquisition is crucial because it&rsquo;s harder to tackle gaps later, especially when joined-up firms start to roll out new capabilities.</p>
<p data-start="7230" data-end="7545">To help smooth post-merger processes, Hron says Thomson Reuters&rsquo; corporate development teams are developing an AI system to assist with due diligence. The tool, which will work with the firm&rsquo;s HighQ productivity platform, will drive consistency in how employees evaluate deals, uncover risks, and mitigate concerns.</p>
<p data-start="7547" data-end="7843">&ldquo;As you might expect, in various parts of the business, there can be different ways of evaluating M&amp;A across the teams managing the process,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;If you can drive more consistency and better assessment and mitigation of risk, you do better deals, so we&rsquo;re excited about what they&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo;</p>
<h1 data-section-id="q2v8bz" data-start="7845" data-end="7885">Best-practice lessons for applying AI</h1>
<p data-start="7887" data-end="8253">As McKinsey&rsquo;s Wilson suggests, there isn&rsquo;t yet a single AI-enabled solution for end-to-end integration. Instead, companies report gradual improvements using existing tools, often in specific parts of the process. While the improvements are real, they don&rsquo;t translate into clear headline outcomes, such as closing a deal faster or being ready to operate from day one.</p>
<p data-start="8255" data-end="8674">&ldquo;As a result, many organisations aren&rsquo;t yet making wholesale improvements to how they integrate, or how work gets done,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Instead, they&rsquo;re capturing incremental efficiency gains within existing processes, rather than redesigning those processes around AI&rsquo;s full potential. This limits impact to small gains from existing technology, rather than enabling a true step change in integration planning performance.&rdquo;</p>
<p data-start="8676" data-end="8958">McKinsey&rsquo;s research suggests just 30% of respondents engage with gen AI at moderate to high levels. Wilson says successful adoption of AI for M&amp;A activities requires pausing to rethink workflows, align teams on new ways of working, and build confidence before running at full speed.</p>
<p data-start="8960" data-end="9607">As an executive who&rsquo;s delivered results in these high-pressure situations, Nash Squared&rsquo;s Anand offers crucial advice to other digital leaders aiming to apply AI to M&amp;A processes. First, define the operating model. Technology consolidation will only succeed when governance, security policies, and KPI definitions are fully aligned. Second, invest in data standardisation and harmonisation. Taxonomies must be clear and consistent across organisations. Third, focus on data cleansing. Important stumbling blocks, such as duplicate client details, can be missed if you don&rsquo;t use a team of cross-business experts to ensure AI tools remove anomalies.</p>
<p data-start="9609" data-end="9958">He also says employees of an acquired company can struggle to understand weighty documentation detailing internal policies and processes, but AI can be an assistant here. Nash Squared uses Microsoft Copilot to summarise rules and regulations. In short, suggests Anand, inserting AI into an M&amp;A requires a focus on progression, processes, and people.</p>
<p data-start="9960" data-end="10260">&ldquo;Try to avoid a Big Bang integration,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Define a sequence based on standards, where you appreciate the complexity and the security, and through that, you migrate the technology. That approach is important because you need to carry the people along with you, not just integrate the business.&rdquo;</p>

How is AI helping CIOs tackle M&A challenges?

<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>London, UK &ndash; 15th April, 2026</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; Harvey Nash, a global leader in specialist technology recruitment and talent solutions, is delighted to announce the appointment of <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/matt-holmes">Matt Holmes</a> as Managing Director of Harvey Nash UK and Ireland, <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">and member of the Global Executive Committee. The appointment marks a significant step in Harvey Nash&rsquo;s renewed focus on growth, innovation, and deeper specialisation across the technology talent landscape.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Holmes joins with a distinguished track record spanning more than 20 years in specialist technology recruitment. He has held senior leadership roles across both major PLCs and high growth private organisations, including Experis (ManpowerGroup), Impellam, and&nbsp;Oscar. Throughout his career, he has&nbsp;transformed and&nbsp;scaled technology&nbsp;businesses&nbsp;across Contract, Permanent, Managed Services, and Statement of Work &ndash; consistently building high performing teams and delivering strong commercial results.</span>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This breadth of experience positions him perfectly to help lead and accelerate the delivery of the company&rsquo;s strategy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; line-height: 107%;"><strong><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Yu Gothic'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Simon Crichton, CEO of Harvey Nash, said:</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; line-height: 107%;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Yu Gothic'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">&ldquo;Matt brings exceptional experience across every part of the specialist technology recruitment market that matters to Harvey Nash. Just as importantly, he&rsquo;s known for building high trust, high performance cultures where people thrive. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for our UK business, and I&rsquo;m excited about the momentum we can create together as we continue to strengthen and grow.&rdquo;</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Yu Gothic'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">&nbsp;</span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; line-height: 107%;">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; line-height: 107%;"><strong><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Yu Gothic'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Matt Holmes, Managing Director of Harvey Nash UK added:</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; line-height: 107%;"><em><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Yu Gothic'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">&ldquo;</span></em><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Yu Gothic'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><em>I&rsquo;ve long admired Harvey Nash&rsquo;s heritage, influence, and credibility in the technology community &ndash; from its 35‑year legacy and impressive client portfolio to the Digital Leadership Report, Tech Talks and Tech Flix, and its deep network of technology leaders. To join at a moment of transformation and renewed ambition is incredibly exciting. I&rsquo;m looking forward to building on the strong foundations already in place, scaling our capabilities, and creating an environment where our people, our clients, and our contractors can truly thrive.</em>&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; line-height: 107%;">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>About Harvey Nash</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Harvey Nash is a specialist global technology recruitment firm that connects the world's most innovative companies with the technology talent they need to succeed. Over the past 35 years, Harvey Nash has been a pioneer and leading voice in the global technology space, having long term strategic partnerships with blue chip customers. With offices across multiple continents, including North America, the UK and Germany, Harvey Nash specialises in contract recruitment for specialised technology talent requirements including Cyber, AI and Data.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk">www.harveynash.co.uk</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Media &amp; Investor Contact:</strong>&nbsp;Rachel Watts, Global Marketing Director, Email:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="mailto:rachel.watts@harveynash.com">rachel.watts@harveynash.com</a></p>

Harvey Nash appoints Matt Holmes as Managing Director, UK

<p>In today&rsquo;s AI-driven business environment, data is more than just a by-product of operations; it&rsquo;s the fuel that makes decision-making easier and drives competitive advantage.</p>
<p>But as organisations look to harness AI, simply collecting data isn&rsquo;t enough. To turn raw information into actionable insights, digital leaders must build a data team with the right mix of technical expertise and soft skills.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/jack-capel">Jack Capel, UK South Director</a> at Harvey Nash, was quoted in a recent <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/How-to-build-a-data-dream-team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Computer Weekly article</a>, emphasising that getting this mix right is critical. From engineers who structure and manage data flows, to analysts who uncover insights, to translators who bridge the gap between tech and business, the capabilities of your team determine whether AI initiatives succeed or fall short.</p>
<p>This article outlines the top technical and soft skills in demand that every digital leader should prioritise when assembling a modern, AI-ready data team.</p>
<h1>Making data AI-ready</h1>
<p>Before organisations can realise the full potential of AI, they must ensure their data is structured, accurate, and accessible. This begins with assembling a team with the right technical capabilities:</p>
<p><strong>SQL and data engineering:</strong> Data engineers are the architects of the organisation&rsquo;s information infrastructure. By establishing processes to collect, store, and manage data, they lay the foundations for reliable, AI-ready datasets. Proficiency in SQL and strong data governance practices are essential to ensure that data is accurate, secure, and fit for advanced analytics.</p>
<p><strong>Python and advanced analytics:</strong> Data scientists and analysts transform raw data into actionable insights. Expertise in Python enables teams to build predictive models, apply machine learning techniques, and automate analysis, helping the business make smarter, data-driven decisions.</p>
<p><strong>Cloud infrastructure:</strong> Modern data teams must be fluent in cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP. Cloud expertise ensures data flows are scalable, resilient, and aligned with evolving business needs, providing a flexible foundation for AI initiatives.</p>
<p><strong>Data architecture and scalability:</strong> Data architects ensure that connections between systems align with business objectives and can be scaled as the organisation grows. This role ensures that the technical framework can support both current analytics requirements and future AI ambitions.</p>
<h1>Translating insights into action</h1>
<p>While technical expertise is essential, Jack Capel, UK South Director, emphasises that data alone does not generate value. Organisations increasingly recognise the importance of roles that bridge the gap between technical teams and the business:</p>
<p><strong>Storytelling and communication:</strong> The ability to translate complex datasets into clear, actionable insights is vital. Data translators, sometimes referred to as data solutions engineers, combine technical knowledge with communication skills to ensure insights are understood and applied effectively across the organisation.</p>
<p><strong>Business acumen and collaboration:</strong> Successful data teams understand the organisation&rsquo;s strategic goals and work closely with stakeholders to deliver real-world value. Cultural fit, collaborative working, and the ability to connect analytics to business outcomes are just as critical as technical prowess.</p>
<p>Capel also highlights that building a high-performing data team is not a one-off exercise. Recruitment challenges, particularly in areas such as data analytics and engineering, mean that team development is an organic process, often taking 12 - 18 months to mature.</p>
<h1>Leadership and universal data literacy</h1>
<p>Leadership support is key to embedding a data-driven culture. Capel suggests that organisations should consider placing their Head of Data or Chief Data Officer on a par with heads of technology and product, ideally with a seat in the boardroom. This ensures data priorities are recognised strategically and resourced appropriately.</p>
<p>Equally important is fostering data literacy across the business. Everyone in the organisation is a data user, and providing training and resources empowers employees to make informed decisions, increasing the return on investment in data infrastructure and AI initiatives.</p>
<h1>Prioritising skills for sustainable success</h1>
<p>Building a modern data team is a strategic investment, not just a hiring exercise. Organisations that prioritise both technical skills and soft skills are best placed to unlock the full potential of their data.</p>
<p>Given the competitive market for data professionals, securing the right talent can be challenging, but it is essential for AI readiness and long-term business success. Capel&rsquo;s insights make it clear that a successful data team is about more than just technology; it&rsquo;s about people, process, and culture working together to transform data into actionable intelligence.</p>
<p>If your looking to strengthen your data capabilities, Harvey Nash can support in sourcing and recruiting the professionals needed to build high-performing, AI-ready teams.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/submit-vacancy/" target="_new">Submit a vacancy today</a> or contact us directly and take the first step toward assembling the data team that will drive your business forward.</p>

What skills do modern data teams need to be AI-ready?

<p>David Savage explores how AI is transforming work, education and regional economies, and asks a critical question: are we preparing people for the future, or leaving them behind?&nbsp;Filmed across Leeds and London,&nbsp;<em>The AI Skills Paradox</em> delves into conversations with industry leaders, educators, policymakers and young people, to uncover a striking contradiction, demand for AI skills has surged by more than eighty per cent, yet over half of organisations invest little or nothing in training their people.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Please discover the full Tech Flix landing page <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-flix-the-ai-paradox">here.</a></p>

Tech Flix: The AI Skills Paradox 

<p>After soaring levels of investment, there is real pressure mounting on technology leaders to make AI work. However, as the <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report</a> and our latest Tech Flix documentary <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-flix-the-ai-paradox?utm_source=Article&amp;utm_medium=5+AI+conversations+every+digital+leader+needs+to+have&amp;utm_campaign=TechFlix" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&lsquo;The AI Paradox: AI is Scaling, Skills are Not&rsquo;</a> explore, the vast majority of organisations are overlooking a vital success factor in not upskilling people in AI skills. So, as a digital leader, what are the conversations you should be having with your peers to better harness the huge potential in these tools?</p>
<p>2025 was meant to be the year organisations unlocked real return on investment, but data from our Digital Leadership Report pointed to just 33% of organisations reporting &ldquo;demonstrable ROI beyond initial piloting&rdquo;.</p>
<p>That lack of ROI isn&rsquo;t dampening enthusiasm. In fact, quite the reverse, as the demand for AI skills jumped by 82% year-on-year, the biggest jump in any skills scarcity we&rsquo;ve ever seen.</p>
<p>But what do we mean by AI skills?&nbsp;</p>
<p>We know vibe coding is a growing phenomenon that is widening technology&rsquo;s already broad church, blurring the lines of what skills we&rsquo;d consider part of the DNA of an engineer. Frankly, who doesn&rsquo;t use AI in their day-to-day work in some capacity?</p>
<p>Pressure to deliver and soaring expectations have led to technology and digital leaders finding themselves crippled by indecision. The landscape is more complex, more nuanced, and changing quicker than ever.</p>
<p>So in this climate, what do digital leaders need to talk about?&nbsp;</p>
<h1>1. The conversation when managing-up</h1>
<h2>"Slow down and get specific.&rdquo;</h2>
<p>Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is placing immense pressure on digital leaders, and simply telling them the strategy should be to &ldquo;do AI&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t helping. As basic as that sounds, it&rsquo;s the lived experience of many. The challenge for the leader is to push back against vague adoption and demand that there is a focus on specific business pinch-points.</p>
<p>In our Tech Flix documentary, Phil White, MD of Audacia, argues that organisations should actually slow down rather than speed up. He warns that FOMO will leave too many getting &ldquo;on this AI bandwagon without actually realising what it is, what it can achieve, what it can do&rdquo;.</p>
<p>Josh Nesbitt, CTO at Genio, lends weight to this rationale by adding that AI is too broad a term to actually be useful in conversation. Instead of talking about AI generally, leaders need to start talking about it in relation to specific problem-solving.</p>
<p>Laura Gilbert, the Senior Director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute, expands on the challenge with a vital additional consideration. Because there is so much pressure to move now, and because we are terrible at predicting the future, leaders run the risk of building inflexible systems based on current hype.</p>
<p>Laura argues the conversation should centre on flexible systems rather than betting on a specific outcome, giving you much more room to adapt as an organisation.&nbsp;</p>
<h1>2. The conversation with fellow executives</h1>
<h2>&ldquo;Have you tried AI for yourself?&rdquo;</h2>
<p>When AI succeeds or fails, it&rsquo;s the digital leader who is held accountable. But what&rsquo;s been clear for some time now is that they are far from being the only accountable figure when it comes to the implementation of new tools. That&rsquo;s problematic because non-technical executive colleagues lack the proper understanding of what&rsquo;s technically realistic, leading to poor decision-making.</p>
<p>There is also the practicality of understanding what you&rsquo;re being sold. Every vendor will have baked AI into their pitch, and with FOMO so dominant, it&rsquo;s important to understand if you&rsquo;re being sold something useful, or as Laura Gilbert puts it in our latest Tech Flix documentary, &ldquo;entirely wrong at a terrible price&rdquo;.</p>
<p>Laura argues that things go wrong when leadership doesn&rsquo;t use the tech themselves. Her advice is to ambush colleagues and &ldquo;shove a phone in their hand&rdquo;, telling them that you&rsquo;ve made them an account and to give it a go themselves.</p>
<p>For Josh Nesbitt, it&rsquo;s not just a technical issue, but a cultural one. Similarly to Laura, he feels leadership must be hands-on, and &ldquo;model usage&rdquo;, so that the wider organisation also feel there is permission to experiment and fail.</p>
<h1>3. The conversation with your L&amp;D Manager</h1>
<h2>&ldquo;Most people know how to start the engine, but do you know where to apply the brakes?&rdquo;</h2>
<p>As our recent documentary explores, there is real confusion over what we actually mean by AI skills and what upskilling involves. An engineering function might have one perspective on AI and its function, but AI means anybody can now build tools and products regardless of their ability to code. Professionals across an organisation (sitting outside the technology) can learn prompt skills that unlock opportunity, but with little awareness of the potential risks.</p>
<p>Nicky Danino, Leeds Trinity University&rsquo;s Head of School of Computing and Creative Industries, uses a Formula One analogy. Whilst the vast majority of us can be AI &lsquo;drivers&rsquo;, you will still need a small team of engineers who can &ldquo;get under the hood&rdquo;. Our conversation with Philip White, Managing Director at Audacia, helps to further advance what a driver really does. It&rsquo;s about understanding the application of AI. Drivers need to understand what AI is good at (forecasting and analysing data, etc.), and more importantly, what it&rsquo;s bad at. That&rsquo;s far more valuable to an organisation than theoretical knowledge.</p>
<p>I&rsquo;ve also been told that the government hopes to give foundational knowledge to millions across the United Kingdom with courses lasting two and a half hours. Will Abbey, Chief Commercial Officer at Arm, challenges that idea. To unlock true productivity, you can&rsquo;t gloss over basics like data manipulation, even if you&rsquo;re not actually writing code yourself.</p>
<p>What we&rsquo;re saying is that making the car go (like driving) is only half the challenge. A good driver also needs good road awareness, and that experience cannot be faked. Without it, accidents are highly likely.</p>
<h1>4. The Conversation with HR</h1>
<h2>&ldquo;We might be efficient today, but we&rsquo;re building a capability crisis for tomorrow.&rdquo;</h2>
<p>The drive to find efficiency has pushed organisations to automate a range of traditionally entry-level tasks such as coding, copywriting, and admin. It&rsquo;s widely reported that in sectors like professional and financial services and legal, the number of junior roles is reducing. In the short term, organisations only feel economic upside, but the medium to long-term might look very different as they intentionally break their own talent pipeline.</p>
<p>Using technology as an example, Nicky Danino stresses the fact that if AI does take over entry-level programming, &ldquo;there is nobody to then check that AI is doing it properly&rdquo;. A human in the loop is the handbrake we widely talk about as being critical in the implementation and adoption of AI. But as fewer people hold the necessary skills to query AI&rsquo;s work, that will naturally get harder.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Phil White also points to the structure of an organisation shifting, moving from a triangle to a diamond-shaped organisation, where there are increasingly disproportionate numbers of staff in leadership roles, and a lack of mid-to-senior talent being developed.</p>
<p>Over a Genio, Josh Nesbitt is using these trends to their advantage. He&rsquo;s not cutting back on the number of junior hires, but instead focusing on using AI to augment them to do more. In his opinion, the conversation has to be about output, not reducing headcount.</p>
<p>Whilst the temptation might be to scale back, the long-term competitive advantage will probably be gained by leaders brave enough to move in the opposite direction.</p>
<h1>5. The Conversation with your people</h1>
<h2>&ldquo;We want to remove friction, not meaning and purpose.&rdquo;</h2>
<p>Finally, no surprises, we have to address the fear among staff that AI is there to take jobs, which in turn makes them suspicious and hinders adoption. The common refrain is AI won&rsquo;t take your job; the person sitting next to you who uses AI will take your job. But even that isn&rsquo;t helpful if we&rsquo;re looking to build positive sentiment towards these tools. We want to foster collaboration, not competition.</p>
<p>Will Abbey told us that at Arm, AI is being used to review documentation and do debugging tasks, the sort of routine work that can take up to 30 or 40% of an engineer&rsquo;s time. That time can be given back to design and working on new ideas and solutions, essential to an engineer&rsquo;s overall job satisfaction, given it&rsquo;s inherently creative. In their sales teams, AI can be used to generate quotes for customers. That means Arm&rsquo;s staff spend more quality time actually engaging with their customers, and are again more likely to come up with ideas that can benefit Arm and the customer.</p>
<p>One note of caution. It&rsquo;s often assumed that AI simply removes monotony, but that isn&rsquo;t always the case. If part of someone&rsquo;s role is creating a document, and they find that process engaging and creatively satisfying, replacing it with editing AI-generated drafts may not feel like an upgrade.</p>
<p>Technology leaders need to take a more nuanced view of what actually motivates their people. Not every manual task is meaningless, and not every automated task increases job satisfaction. The impact of AI on engagement will depend on how thoughtfully it&rsquo;s implemented, not just how efficiently it performs.</p>
<h1>What does success look like after you&rsquo;ve positioned AI with your colleagues and stakeholders?</h1>
<p>The underlying themes of our Tech Flix documentary point to a few key principles. Rather than being a transactional leader buying tools, you are instrumental in helping shape the culture of your organisation, far beyond the boundaries of a traditional CIO or CTO.&nbsp;</p>
<p>I started this article talking about crippling indecision. What I hope is that through our conversations, we&rsquo;re able to point to examples of clear thinking that can help leaders move debate to action.&nbsp;</p>
<p>If you stop vague discussions about &lsquo;AI skills&rsquo; taking place, start talking about problem solving, if you can get your peers to actually engage with the tools themselves, and protect your talent pipeline, then, rather than being caught in a spin by the complex environment we&rsquo;re all operating in, you can remain a competitive and innovative organisation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you&rsquo;re serious about moving from AI ambition to AI outcomes, it starts with talent. <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/specialisms/ai-and-machine-learning">Explore how we help find the best AI talent and support your organisation in building high-performing AI and ML teams.</a></p>

5 AI conversations every digital leader needs to have

<h1>How to protect skills pipelines in the age of AI</h1>
<p>In our sixth <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-flix" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Flix</a> documentary <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-flix-the-ai-paradox?utm_source=Article&amp;utm_medium=Building+the+digital+team+of+the+future&amp;utm_campaign=TechFlix">&lsquo;The AI Paradox: AI is Scaling, Skills are Not&rsquo;</a>, we explored the growing tension inside organisations as AI adoption accelerates and raises important questions about what happens to the future of tech teams that digital transformation depends on.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s a question moving quickly up the agenda for digital leaders. Because while AI is scaling productivity across engineering, data and platform teams, it&rsquo;s also reshaping how technologists learn, develop and progress.</p>
<p>To bring a frontline leadership lens to this shift, we spoke with Nash Squared&rsquo;s CIO, Ankur Anand. His perspective reflects both the opportunity, and the structural workforce questions leaders must now address.</p>
<h1>Are junior roles really at risk?</h1>
<p>Much of the AI debate centres on entry-level disruption. In sectors where repeatable processes are being automated, from customer service to back-office functions, headlines suggest junior roles are first in line for impact.</p>
<p>In our latest Tech Flix film, Josh Nesbitt, CTO at Genio, recognises that concern. As AI becomes embedded into workflows, organisations inevitably question how many early-career roles they need.</p>
<p>But in technology teams, he sees a more nuanced picture. At Genio, junior hiring has not slowed. He argues that reducing entry pathways would weaken the long-term skills pipeline, creating future capability gaps rather than solving short-term efficiency pressures.</p>
<p>The disruption narrative may hold true in some sectors where AI replaces high-volume, repeatable tasks. But in technology teams specifically, the picture is more complex, and Ankur&rsquo;s perspective on this suggests something different is happening.</p>
<h1>The productivity surge reshaping tech delivery</h1>
<p>AI is already reshaping how technology teams operate, from the way products are conceptualised to how they are built and deployed. Development copilots, automation tools and enhanced access to internal data are compressing delivery timelines and enabling smaller teams to achieve faster outcomes.</p>
<p>Ankur points to recent initiatives delivered by technologists with less than a year of experience, including platforms launched in just a few months. These projects were AI-enabled from day one and were never meant to follow a traditional learning curve.</p>
<p>As Ankur explains, AI is dramatically boosting early-career productivity. &ldquo;The impact of AI on fresh talent is very high. Their productivity is now almost as good as people with three to five years of experience.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Access to internal data, coding support and automation tools allows junior engineers to interpret tasks, build solutions and contribute meaningful outputs far earlier than before.</p>
<p>In effect, AI is compressing the gap between entry-level and mid-level capability and redefining what early-career talent can achieve.</p>
<h1>The real pressure point: mid-level roles</h1>
<p>While much of the external narrative focuses on AI threatening junior roles, Ankur sees the structural shift falling heaviest on the mid-experience layer.</p>
<p>As junior engineers accelerate upward and senior leaders augment decision-making with AI insight, work traditionally <a>handled by those in the 2&ndash;5 year experience</a>&nbsp;bracket is being redistributed. Smaller, AI-enabled teams can now deliver the same throughput that once required larger delivery layers.</p>
<p>As Ankur explains, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s creating more risk for the people with mid-level experience as compared to the more experienced people versus the juniors.&rdquo;</p>
<p>This doesn&rsquo;t signal a reduction in technology careers, but it does signal role evolution.</p>
<p>Mid-career technologists must increasingly upskill into higher-value domains such as architecture, security, enterprise platforms and AI governance. In practice, this is creating two distinct skill trajectories across technology teams.</p>
<h1>Two future capability pathways</h1>
<p>AI is not simply accelerating productivity. It is also reshaping the kinds of capability technology teams depend on.</p>
<p>Two distinct skill trajectories are emerging.</p>
<h3>1. AI-enabled engineering environments</h3>
<p>These are high-automation development settings where engineers work alongside AI to accelerate delivery.</p>
<p>Developers increasingly rely on AI for:</p>
<ul>
<li>Code generation</li>
<li>Documentation</li>
<li>Test creation</li>
<li>Rapid prototyping</li>
</ul>
<p>In these environments, output scales quickly and early-career engineers can contribute far sooner than traditional development models allowed.</p>
<h3>2. Experience-led, high-judgement environments</h3>
<p>Other domains continue to depend heavily on deep human expertise and accountability, particularly where risk, architecture and long-term system integrity are involved.</p>
<p>These include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Systems architecture</li>
<li>Platform engineering</li>
<li>Security and threat modelling</li>
<li>Data governance and lineage</li>
<li>Resilience and reliability engineering</li>
</ul>
<p>Here, AI can accelerate analysis and assist decision-making, but it cannot replace professional judgement or operational responsibility.</p>
<h1>AI-native talent vs experience-led delivery</h1>
<p>Another dynamic emerging inside tech teams is generational adoption. Younger technologists, having trained in AI-enabled environments, are often more fluent and experimental in their usage.</p>
<p>More experienced engineers, by contrast, may rely more heavily on established delivery approaches. Ankur sees this gap narrowing quickly, not because experience loses value, but because AI becomes native across the workforce.</p>
<p>As AI adoption deepens, experienced technologists will be required to integrate it into decision-making, design and oversight.</p>
<h1>How technical skills development is evolving</h1>
<p>AI&rsquo;s impact on skills development is not uniform across the technology estate. While some environments are now built with AI deeply embedded in development workflows, many organisations will continue operating complex legacy platforms for years to come.</p>
<p>As Ankur explains, this creates different patterns of AI adoption across teams.</p>
<p>In modern product and platform environments, AI is accelerating coding, testing and documentation, allowing teams to deliver new capabilities faster.</p>
<p>In legacy environments, where systems are tightly integrated and risk-sensitive, AI is more commonly used to support testing, documentation and code analysis rather than core engineering.</p>
<p>For digital leaders, this means capability must develop across two technology realities, one in AI-enabled product delivery and the other in long-term stewardship of legacy platforms.</p>
<h1>Governance: the safeguard against capability risk</h1>
<p>As AI becomes embedded across technology delivery, governance is expanding beyond traditional code oversight into a broader enterprise risk discipline.</p>
<p>AI can accelerate development and unlock significant value, but it also introduces new operational, regulatory and reputational risks if adoption moves faster than oversight.</p>
<p>For technology leaders, governance now spans multiple areas of responsibility, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Model lifecycle oversight</li>
<li>Data lineage, privacy and consent frameworks</li>
<li>EU AI Act and UK regulatory compliance</li>
<li>Vendor and model provider risk management</li>
<li>Hallucination, Bias and Factual reliability controls</li>
</ul>
<p>In this environment, governance is no longer a supporting function. It is a core capability that ensures AI-enabled delivery remains secure, compliant and resilient.</p>
<p>AI may increase the speed and value of technology delivery, but without strong governance frameworks it can also increase systemic risk.</p>
<h1>Rethinking tech operating models</h1>
<p>As AI embeds further, technology workforce structures are set to evolve. In our recent <a>Tech Flix film</a>&nbsp;, some digital leaders reflected on the possibility of an &ldquo;inverted pyramid&rdquo; workforce shape emerging as AI adoption scales across organisations.</p>
<p>For technology teams specifically, Ankur <a>does not personally see this model </a>fully materialising. While AI is increasing the output and impact of early-career talent, factors such as tooling investment, governance demands and architectural complexity still require experienced oversight.</p>
<p>He expects organisations to move toward more blended operating models that bring together:</p>
<ul>
<li>AI-enabled early talent</li>
<li>Experienced engineers</li>
<li>Governance and risk capability</li>
<li>Data and platform expertise</li>
</ul>
<p>Rather than flattening teams entirely, Ankur predicts AI is more likely to redistribute where value is created, shifting how different layers contribute rather than removing the need for structure and senior accountability.</p>
<h1>Protecting the future skills pipeline</h1>
<p>For digital leaders, the question is not whether AI changes how capability is built. It is how to ensure the skills pipeline keeps pace with the technology reshaping delivery.</p>
<p>Ankur doesn&rsquo;t see AI weakening long-term technology capability. He sees it changing how it develops.</p>
<p>AI is accelerating early-career contribution. Junior engineers can now deliver meaningful outputs far sooner, supported by AI agents, automation tooling and access to organisational knowledge. The distance between entry-level and mid-level productivity is compressing.</p>
<p>But capability is not formed through output alone.</p>
<p>Senior technologists remain essential for architectural design, governance, risk accountability and platform resilience. Their role is also evolving to guide how AI-enabled delivery happens in practice, ensuring speed does not compromise quality or scalability.</p>
<p>The responsibility of leaders is pipeline design. Faster junior productivity must still translate into deep expertise over time. That means creating environments where engineers move beyond AI-assisted execution into ownership, problem-solving and decision-making.</p>
<p>As Ankur emphasises, AI is already embedded in how technology teams operate. The priority now is shaping workforce models that protect long-term capability while unlocking the productivity gains AI enables today.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Protecting your skills pipeline in the age of AI starts with the right talent strategy. <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/specialisms/ai-and-machine-learning">Explore how we help organisations build AI and Machine Learning capability that lasts.</a></p>

Building the digital team of the future

Unlocking Better Learning with AI: Insights from Genio’s Josh Nesbitt

How ARM Is Preparing People for the Future of Work: Insights from Will Abbey

AI, Leadership and Ethical Change: Insights from Laura Gilbert at the Tony Blair Institute

Preparing People for an AI Future: Insights from Nicky Danino from Leeds Trinity University

Understanding AI Beyond the Hype: Insights from Audacia’s Philip White

<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Harvey Nash Director <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/jack-capel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jack Capel</a> shares his expert advice on how to create a CV that stands out in today's AI-driven recruitment process.</span></p>
<hr>
<h2><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Why the human touch matters more than</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto"> ever</span></h2>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">I have worked in recruitment for over a decade, from consultant to director level, and in that time, I have seen hiring transform dramatically. But nothing</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto"> has shifted the CV screening process quite like AI.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"><img src="e741ad1b-b500-4051-b1c1-892cced1a2dd" alt=""></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Today, your CV is likely being reviewed by AI before a human ever sees it. It is embedded across the hiring process, from screening and shortlisting to interview scheduling and skills assessment. That creates both opportunity and risk for candidates.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">AI can help level the playing field. But it also introduces a new layer of competition. Employers are using it to filter applications at scale, while candidates are increasingly using AI tools to write and polish their CVs.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">So how do you stand out when both sides are AI-enabled?</span></p>
<h2><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">How is AI changing CV screening?</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></h2>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">AI is now playing&nbsp;a central role&nbsp;in how CVs are reviewed and shortlisted. In many cases, it sits between&nbsp;submitting&nbsp;an application and it ever reaching a human recruiter or hiring manager.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">However, there is still a wide spectrum in&nbsp;how AI is being used&nbsp;across&nbsp;recruitment. Some organisations continue to rely on simple keyword searches, while others are using more advanced screening models to assess role depth and outcomes.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">For candidates, that lack of consistency&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">presents&nbsp;a real challenge</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">. Your CV needs to perform effectively in both environments.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Based on what I am seeing firsthand, here are five ways candidates can stand out.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<h3><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">1. Focus on the &ldquo;how&rdquo;, not just the &ldquo;what&rdquo;</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></h3>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Listing responsibilities&nbsp;alone&nbsp;is no longer enough.&nbsp;The strongest CVs I</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;see</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;explain how work gets done,&nbsp;go beyond&nbsp;surface-level&nbsp;duties and describe thinking, process</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">,</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">collaboration</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;and the impact.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">For example, do not just say you built a product or platform. Explain:</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">How it was built</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">What technologies were used</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">What challenges were solved</span></p>
</li>
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Who you worked with</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Context matters</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">, and balancing technical keywords with delivery detail is what makes a CV effective in an AI screening process.&nbsp;</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">You still need the&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">core skills and technology terms that show your area of expertis</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">e</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">,&nbsp;but depth is what differentiates you.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<div>
<div>
<h3><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">2. Make your CV&nbsp;AI-readable</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Formatting&nbsp;is one of the most overlooked issues I&nbsp;encounter, and it&nbsp;can make or break&nbsp;whether your CV is read properly or not.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Many candidates&nbsp;submit&nbsp;CVs as flattened PDFs or image files to prevent editing</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">. However, this creates a potential problem as&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">many screening tools cannot read text embedded in images</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;or&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">flattened&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">PDF files</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">, and&nbsp;I have seen CVs come through screening systems completely blank as a result.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Other risky formats include:</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Two-column&nbsp;layouts</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Overly designed templates</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Text placed inside graphics</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Some AI tools read&nbsp;the&nbsp;left column top to bottom, then&nbsp;the&nbsp;right column top to bottom, which scrambles context entirely.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">The safest format&nbsp;to use to ensure your CV gets in the hands of a human&nbsp;is to keep the format simple and accessible.&nbsp;Use a standard Word document or&nbsp;PDF, stick to a single-column layout, and opt for clean, minimal formatting.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Clarity always beats creativity when AI is involved.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<h3><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">3. Show business impact, not just technical skill</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Technical excellence alone will not make you stand out.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Employers are increasingly looking for commercial awareness and measurable outcomes alongside technical capability.&nbsp;It&rsquo;s&nbsp;one thing to build something impressive;&nbsp;it&rsquo;s&nbsp;another to understand how it scales, saves cost, drives&nbsp;revenue&nbsp;or improves efficiency.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Strong CVs connect delivery to business value, so your CV needs to include key metrics&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">such as&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">revenue generated, costs reduced, time saved, adoption growth, and operational efficiencies</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;to prove this</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Detailing both what&nbsp;you&rsquo;ve&nbsp;built and the value it created makes your experience more compelling to both AI screening tools and hiring managers.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<h3><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">4. Use AI to enhance, not replace, your voice</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">AI CV tools can be incredibly useful when used correctly.&nbsp;I see real value in them, particularly for candidates who may struggle with articulation or written communication,&nbsp;as&nbsp;they can help structure experience and clarify language.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">But it is also&nbsp;very obvious&nbsp;when a CV has been entirely&nbsp;AI-generated.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Some common giveaways include:</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">American spelling in UK CVs</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Mixed&nbsp;first and third person&nbsp;language</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Repetitive role summaries</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul role="list">
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="5" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Identical formatting across every job</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Often, each role reads the same, with no individuality in achievements or challenges solved.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">My advice is to use AI to support you by proofreading, refining wording and improving structure,&nbsp;not necessarily to write the whole thing for you.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">You also need to&nbsp;ensure every role reflects your personal accomplishments, and remember, the person on the CV should be the same person who shows up&nbsp;to&nbsp;the interview.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<h3><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">5. Bring the human connection back in</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">With AI standardising so much of the hiring process, individuality matters more than ever.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Remember that your CV is only the starting point, and one of the simplest but most effective tactics I recommend is proactive outreach.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">If you apply for a role, connect with the recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn with a short, personalised note.&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">It shows&nbsp;you&rsquo;ve&nbsp;taken the time to do your research,&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">that&nbsp;you&rsquo;re&nbsp;motivated, intentional in your applications, and serious about the opportunity</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">,</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;not just applying at volume.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">When roles attract hundreds of applications,&nbsp;technology can help us manage that volume, but&nbsp;those small human touches&nbsp;show initiative and&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">wi</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">ll</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">increase your&nbsp;visibility.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<h2><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Standing out in an AI-enabled job market</span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">AI is transforming recruitment,&nbsp;but&nbsp;human connection will always sit at the heart of recruitment. It&nbsp;hasn&rsquo;t&nbsp;removed the need for authenticity,&nbsp;clarity&nbsp;and individuality, and if anything, it has amplified them.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Technology may shape the shortlist. But hiring decisions remain human, and the CVs that resonate most are the ones that feel genuine.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Ready to put these tips into practice? </span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">If you are actively exploring your next move, now is the time to apply these principles in practice.&nbsp;Explore&nbsp;<a href="https://harvey-nash-uk.sites.sourceflow.co.uk/jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our&nbsp;latest&nbsp;tech vacancies</a>&nbsp;and discover roles where your skills and experience can truly stand out.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
</div>

5 ways to make your CV stand out in an age of AI

<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">On the&nbsp;26</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto"><span data-fontsize="12">t</span><span data-fontsize="12">h</span><span data-fontsize="12">&nbsp;</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">February,&nbsp;legal firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mills-reeve.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mills &amp; Reeve</a>&nbsp;welcomed the Harvey Nash Leeds team to their offices as we screened our latest &lsquo;Tech Flix&rsquo; documentary, &lsquo;The AI Skills Paradox: AI is Scaling, Skills are Not&rsquo;&nbsp;for the first time.&nbsp;</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">The sixth&nbsp;edition of&nbsp;our documentary series explores&nbsp;a paradox at the heart of the tech sector,&nbsp;where,&nbsp;despite surging demand,&nbsp;we&rsquo;re&nbsp;seeing&nbsp;relatively little&nbsp;evidence of organisations upskilling their own staff.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">According to the latest edition of the Harvey Nash&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Leadership Report</a>,&nbsp;there has been an 83% year-on-year&nbsp;rise&nbsp;in the level of demand&nbsp;for&nbsp;professionals with AI skills. This is the single biggest rise in any skill set&nbsp;we&rsquo;ve&nbsp;ever reported.&nbsp;At its core, the documentary examines what those skills&nbsp;actually are&nbsp;and the impact this pressure is having on the decisions made by organisations and their leaders.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<h2><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">From documentary to debate</span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">The documentary has a run-time of 30-minutes,&nbsp;and&nbsp;whilst it gathers insights from the likes of Arm,&nbsp;Genio,&nbsp;Audacia, and the Tony Blair Institute, there is still a huge amount of room left for debate.&nbsp;</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">After screening the film,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/david-savage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Savage</a> (Harvey Nash Technology Evangelist) was joined by Iain Murdoch (Mills &amp; Reeve), Hannah Bruce (Lloyds Banking Group), and Jennifer Anderson (National Wealth Fund) to explore what strategies and actions are key to ensuring people harness AI and use it to a positive effect.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">The debate was lively with regular questions and perspectives</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">from the audience. Leadership was brought&nbsp;into&nbsp;sharp focus, primarily the role of leaders in being seen to embrace and use new AI tools themselves. Top-down sponsorship is not a new concept, but it does seem to carry significant importance where the successful adoption of AI tooling is concerned.&nbsp;The panel stressed the importance of creating real permission to experiment, making it clear where AI can be used, setting guardrails, and reassuring teams&nbsp;they&rsquo;re&nbsp;supported to test and learn without fear of getting it wrong.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">In a week where reports have&nbsp;emerged&nbsp;that Accenture is tying promotion to the use of AI, it was put to the panel that they might also consider a move to ensure AI is used across their&nbsp;organisation. Whilst Lloyds do have mandatory AI training for all employees, all three leaders stopped short of making AI&nbsp;part&nbsp;of the promotion process,&nbsp;calling the approach absolutist.&nbsp;Encouraging AI adoption is&nbsp;critical, but&nbsp;mandating it too rigidly was seen as potentially creating the wrong behaviours.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<h2><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Risk, responsibility and cautious optimism</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Whilst questions on the failure rates of AI and its inherent sexism also came from the floor, the panel&nbsp;sought&nbsp;to create a positive narrative.&nbsp;Whilst acknowledging the issues, there was recognition of the pace of change and the need to build flexibility into policies and systems. The industry</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&rsquo;s</span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;response may not have been perfect, but leaders are adapting,&nbsp;and the opportunities are too significant to ignore.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Iain Murdoch cited the creation of new roles and the approach of Mills &amp; Reeve to experiment with AI for good within its own organisation as reasons to remain optimistic.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">With &lsquo;Big Tech&rsquo; and &lsquo;Tech Bros&rsquo; receiving criticism from the floor, Alex Newman (Partner at Mills &amp; Reeve) used his closing remarks to remind the room that &ldquo;the tool isn&rsquo;t the problem&rdquo; and that&nbsp;it&nbsp;was important to keep persevering with the implementation and use of AI.&nbsp;</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">There was also a note of caution for individuals, that&nbsp;if you&nbsp;don&rsquo;t&nbsp;keep learning&nbsp;and adapting,&nbsp;someone else will. Whilst organisations have a responsibility to their employees, self-determined continuous learning was seen as crucial.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Although this is a challenging and frantic period to navigate, the overall feeling in the room was one of cautious optimism, balanced with a healthy dose of accountability.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">Watch &lsquo;The AI Skills Paradox: AI is Scaling, Skills are not&rsquo; from March 9th <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-flix-the-ai-paradox">here.</a></span><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-flix-the-ai-paradox"><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></a></p>
</div>

Tech Flix: The AI Skills Paradox - Leeds Premiere

<p class="MsoNormal">Artificial intelligence is reshaping how organisations operate, but the reality behind the AI conversation is more nuanced than the headlines suggest. Many businesses are racing to be seen as &ldquo;AI organisations&rdquo;, often before they have a fully formed AI strategy in place. What they do know, however, is that AI capability has become a differentiator and data professionals sit at the centre of making it work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to the Nash Squared/Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report, 65% of digital leaders are increasingly prioritising AI capability over years of expe<a style="mso-comment-reference: RW_1; mso-comment-date: 20260202T1311;">rience when hiring.</a><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> In practice, this doesn&rsquo;t mean every data role is suddenly an AI role, but candidates who can demonstrate real experience working with AI<span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span>, even alongside core data skills, are moving through hiring processes faster.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;If you&rsquo;ve got AI skills on top of your data experience, you&rsquo;ll get interviews quicker. Time to hire is definitely shorter.&rdquo;<br><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/daniel-neaves" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Daniel Neaves, AI &amp; Data Recruitment Specialist</em></a></p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">The opportunity for data professionals</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nash Squared/Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report</a> found that demand for AI skills has created the sharpest technology skills shortage seen in 16 years, while demand for data skills remains consistently high. Big data, analytics, and data engineering sit just behind AI as the most in-demand capabilities across the technology sector.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In fact, the report also suggests that organisations most advanced in large-scale AI adoption are more likely to be increasing technology headcount, particularly across AI and data roles. AI is not replacing data talent. Instead, it&rsquo;s increasing its importance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, market conditions are creating an unusual dynamic. While demand for data professionals remains strong, fewer people are moving roles. Economic uncertainty, salary stagnation and risk aversion are leading many data professionals to stay put.</p>
<p>This reluctance to move is quietly reducing competition. And with fewer candidates per role, faster recruitment processes and a greater willingness from employers to engage candidates who already show AI experience, there is a real opportunity for those willing to make a move, either into an AI-adjacent role, a hybrid position, or a role that expands their current responsibilities.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span>As Daniel Neaves, AI &amp; Data Recruitment Specialist, explains, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m seeing far fewer applications per role than last year. People are staying put, which actually gives strong candidates a real advantage.&rdquo;</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">What employers are really looking for</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Employers are no longer impressed by theoretical knowledge of AI alone. What matters is applied capability, the ability to use and work with AI tools within real data environments to deliver outcomes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Crucially, expectations differ by role.</p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">Data engineers</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal">For data engineers, AI is not about building models. It is about enabling them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Organisations are looking for engineers who can build robust, scalable data foundations, clean pipelines, reliable infrastructure and well-structured data environments. Without this, AI initiatives fail to get off the ground.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Every AI role is ultimately bound by the state of the data. If the data isn&rsquo;t mature, the AI won&rsquo;t work, no matter how good the model is.&rdquo;<br><em>Daniel Neaves, AI &amp; Data Recruitment Specialist</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">GenAI tools increasingly support engineers through automation, code assistance and documentation, but getting the data right remains the core enabler.</p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">Data scientists</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-hansi-font-family: Aptos; mso-bidi-font-family: Aptos;">While data scientists have long worked with machine learning and automation, expectations are changing. The focus is shifting from technical model building alone to applying AI responsibly and translating results into measurable business impact.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This includes deeper profiling, more sophisticated modelling, and greater focus on how outputs influence revenue, efficiency or customer behaviour.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Companies aren&rsquo;t interested in data scientists who just enjoy building models anymore. They want outcomes, revenue impact, ROI and business change.&rdquo; <em>Daniel Neaves, AI &amp; Data Recruitment Specialist</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Governance, bias and explainability matter most in regulated or mature environments, but outcome-led thinking now cuts across every sector.</p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">Data analysts</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal">AI expectations for analysts are more pragmatic. Most employers want strong core skills, SQL, Python, data preparation, combined with the ability to use AI-enabled tools to automate reporting, accelerate insight and prepare data for downstream use.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Analysts don&rsquo;t necessarily need deep machine learning skills. They need to organise, structure and prepare data so it&rsquo;s ready for the next step.&rdquo; <em>Daniel Neaves, AI &amp; Data Recruitment Specialist</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For many, analyst roles remain a stepping stone into more advanced data or AI-focused positions.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Why data quality matters</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Across every data role, the success of an AI project ultimately depends on data quality. Whether enabling models, generating insight or driving business decisions, AI can only perform as well as the data it is built on.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Organisations that struggle to scale AI are rarely held back by a lack of tools or ambition. More often, the constraint is fragmented data, weak governance or poorly defined data foundations that limit how effectively AI can be applied in real-world environments.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Strong architecture and governance provide the framework, but it is the everyday work of data teams, designing pipelines, maintaining standards and ensuring consistency, that determines whether AI delivers meaningful outcomes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;If the information isn&rsquo;t captured properly, filtered properly or detailed enough, you simply can&rsquo;t generate value from it, AI or not.&rdquo; <em>Daniel Neaves, AI &amp; Data Recruitment Specialist</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This reinforces a clear message for data professionals. As AI becomes embedded across roles, foundational data skills are not being replaced. They are becoming even more important.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Why AI skills get you hired faster</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">AI skills do not automatically command a salary premium, but they do significantly improve employability.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Candidates with AI exposure:</p>
<ul>
<li>Move through hiring processes faster</li>
<li>Generate more recruiter and client interest</li>
<li>Secure interviews more consistently</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-hansi-font-family: Aptos; mso-bidi-font-family: Aptos;">If you&rsquo;re eyeing your next data role, AI experience can give you the edge that gets you noticed.</span></p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Salary expectations (UK, London-based)</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">While salaries have stabilised, demand remains strong across core data roles:</p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Data analysts:</strong> &pound;50k&ndash;&pound;65k</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Data engineers:</strong> &pound;75k&ndash;&pound;90k (lead/principal &pound;100k+)</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Data scientists:</strong> &pound;75k&ndash;&pound;90k (lead/principal &pound;105k&ndash;&pound;120k)</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Data architects:</strong> &pound;80k&ndash;&pound;100k</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Head of Data:</strong> &pound;120k&ndash;&pound;160k</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>* Salary ranges are based on London market rates.</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Despite increased skill requirements, many organisations are asking more from candidates without necessarily increasing pay. In fact, anyone looking to change roles should view AI skills and experience as a key to securing their short and long-term employability.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Where AI meets your next data role</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">The message from both the Digital Leadership Report and the market is clear. Data jobs remain in high demand, but the fastest-moving candidates are those who combine strong data foundations with applied AI experience.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With fewer professionals willing to change roles, those prepared to step up into hybrid roles that combine data and applied AI responsibilities, AI-adjacent projects or broader responsibilities face less competition and more opportunity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">AI skills may not rewrite salary bands overnight. But they are already reshaping who gets hired, how quickly, and who gets the chance to progress next.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ready to accelerate your data career? <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/jobs/#/data-analytics">Explore our Data &amp; Analytics jobs</a>.</p>

Why your next data role demands AI skills

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.computing.co.uk/opinion/2026/ai-s-challenge-for-entry-level-roles">Computing.com</a> and includes insights from Bev White, Executive Chair, and Andrew Neal, Chief People Officer, at Nash Squared.</p>
<div><hr></div>
<h1>&lsquo;AI is killing junior jobs&rsquo; misses important nuance &ndash; but you still need a strategy</h1>
<div>AI is challenging conventional models as organisations strive to integrate it for a range of operational and performance gains.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The impact of AI on human roles is an area of particularly live debate &ndash; especially at entry level. With AI&rsquo;s ability to handle many repeatable, admin-based tasks, will it lead to the removal of whole swathes of beginner roles that are the traditional entry point for young talent into a wide range of careers?</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>There is no doubt that AI is already having some impact. Big Tech firms have pointed to AI when strimming back areas of their workforce; professional services firms are reducing their entry level intakes in some instances; in technology, there have been reports of demand for junior coders softening due to AI as the job transitions more to an oversight role.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>However, the situation is actually nuanced as there are multiple factors at play in these changes, including economic cycles and market conditions: it is by no means only about AI.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>For instance, management consulting revenues (a large part of the professional services sector) contracted in the UK in 2024 and only experienced very modest growth in the past 12 months after a post-pandemic boom. Large professional services firms, such as the Big Four, are naturally going to react to these market conditions by offering fewer graduate/entry level roles.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Nevertheless, it is clear that as AI continues to rapidly develop and becomes integrated more widely into businesses&rsquo; systems and processes, the impact on human roles will increase &ndash; and this may be most pronounced at entry level, where much of what people do is ripe for automation.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>In this, we can include our own industry of recruitment. Consultants at the start of their career journeys traditionally spend a lot of their time on manual tasks such as sourcing roles that need to be filled, researching market information, compiling lists of potential candidates and sifting through/shortlisting applications. The requirement for people to do this will fall as AI solutions are developed.</div>
<h1>Shifting the focus to skills</h1>
<div>The crucial point is that AI will change what businesses look to people to do &ndash; not remove the need for them. We will still need entry level talent in recruitment, just as they will be needed in technology, professional services and other industries, even if there may be some +/- movement around the edges. But the emphasis will shift &ndash; from a focus on learning tasks and processes to developing the human skills and attributes that make great professionals and leaders: commerciality, critical thinking, ethical and moral considerations, stakeholder engagement, and communication.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>At the same time, individuals&rsquo; ability to understand and interpret what AI is telling them will be key. Businesses will start looking for talent that can accelerate faster into these human skills &ndash; the baseline will move up, given that most Gen Zers are already quite proficient in using AI platforms like ChatGPT and Copilot.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>From this, it follows that AI will open up opportunities for the best talent to move into more senior and remunerative roles faster. With AI tools supporting them, bright and capable professionals may be able to perform a role that currently typically requires three years of experience after only one year, for example.</div>
<h1>Filling the experience gap</h1>
<div>However, there is an &lsquo;elephant in the room&rsquo;. We all know &ndash; thinking back to our own personal experiences &ndash; that learning on the job in the early days, painstakingly building up the know-how, making mistakes and reflecting on them, seeking counsel and guidance from others, is a key part of how anyone becomes proficient in their field. It is the lived and learned experience that makes great professionals and leaders.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The question arises, therefore, of how young talent will develop that essential on-the-job knowledge if AI is helping them to leapfrog forward. This is something that has also become more complicated due to the rise of hybrid working, which has reduced the facetime with colleagues and line managers that is a critical part of the learning and teaching curve for young joiners.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>This is an issue that businesses need to be really alive to right now, thinking ahead to prevent a capability vacuum, including at a leadership level, in the years to come. One of the key ways to tackle it is sure to lie in training and development. There will need to be a shift in training for young talent, moving the focus from tasks and processes to experiences and skills.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Technology itself can play a huge role here, with the potential to create situation-based simulated experiences for trainees that take them through a &lsquo;live&rsquo; scenario with AI playing the role of a client or other stakeholder, helping them develop that learned experience.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>A parallel here is rookie Formula One drivers, who spend a lot of time in a simulator &ndash; a safe space to learn, push themselves and crash if necessary.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The notion of metaverse-style virtual reality training may seem extreme, but it&rsquo;s something that we can expect more and more organisations to start exploring. Companies won&rsquo;t have to go to those lengths, but it&rsquo;s a certainty that any organisation that wants to thrive in the future will need to devise training and development mechanisms that help entry level talent build up their skills-based muscle and baseline expertise - rather than simply teach them how to do process X or Y.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<h1>Taking ownership in the boardroom</h1>
<div>The implications of this are far-reaching, and it should be a priority issue for boards around the world. There needs to be discussion and clarity in the boardroom over what roles the business needs people to perform including at entry level; what skills and attributes are needed to execute them; how AI supports and facilitates in this; and then how the business is hiring, assessing and developing current and future talent. Once the strategy has been formed, it is critical that each part of the business executes it in relation to its own area.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Every industrial revolution redesigns the workforce, and the AI revolution is no different. Put these issues on your executive agenda if they&rsquo;re not there already. Doing nothing is not an option. Change is all around us, and the most successful organisations will be those who take early action to anticipate and respond now.</div>

AI’s challenge for entry level roles: all change?

<p>This article was originally published by <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Tech-recruitment-outlook-High-demand-for-specialist-skills-will-drive-the-market-in-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ComputerWeekly.com</a>&nbsp;and features insights from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/simon-crichton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simon Crichton</a>, CEO, Harvey Nash.</p>
<hr>
<h2 class="main-article-subtitle">Rising IT spending in 2026 will create openings for data architects, data engineers and data scientists, cybersecurity specialists and platform engineers, while demand for generic IT skills remains flat.</h2>
<p>As we move into 2026, some clear trends will crystallise in the UK tech recruitment and talent market. The seeds of this were sown in 2025 - against a subdued economic backdrop and rising labour and other costs, businesses took a cautious approach to hiring &ndash; but there were demand hotspots for specialist tech skills and roles including AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security.</p>
<p>Tech is fundamental to modern enterprise, which insulates it more than other sectors from economic highs and lows. Gartner&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-10-22-gartner-forecasts-worldwide-it-spending-to-grow-9-point-8-percent-in-2026-exceeding-6-trillion-dollars-for-the-first-time">predicts</a> that global IT spend will increase by nearly 10% in 2026 &ndash; far exceeding GDP growth in most major economies. This increased spend will fuel aspects of tech hiring, too.</p>
<h2 class="section-title">Data is key to the AI &lsquo;iceberg&rsquo;</h2>
<p>AI will be top of the agenda. However, the success of AI relies on a number of other contributing skills and specialisms, which will therefore be critical. A useful analogy here is an iceberg. AI is the visible tip &ndash; but there is essential work going on below the waterline.</p>
<p>Most crucial of all is data. It used to be said that we are all technology companies, but it&rsquo;s truer to say that we are all data companies now. You can&rsquo;t make AI work without good data &ndash; the focus has to be on how businesses acquire, organise, structure and secure data so that AI can turn it into meaningful insights. For that reason, we expect to see strong and growing demand for data roles (architects, engineers, scientists) as well as related areas, including cybersecurity (data security being critical) and platform engineering.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the market for generalist tech skills and roles will most likely remain flat or see very modest growth, similar to 2025. The traditional staples of the IT workforce &ndash; testers, Java developers, routine coders &ndash; essentially perform repeatable tasks that are increasingly being outsourced or offshored, or indeed replaced by AI itself (checked and supervised by members of the human team).</p>
<p>However, on the positive side, there are some encouraging signs from the US, where there has been a pick-up in tech hiring volumes in the second half of 2025. With the UK and other economies generally following the US trend on around a six-month time lag, this could bode well for the market in 2026.</p>
<p>Against all of this, there remain some significant unknowns. There will come a tipping point around AI, a pivotal moment when, in one or more sectors, an organisation makes a significant breakthrough that enables them to truly supercharge their business. This will spark a domino effect among competitors scrambling to keep up, galvanising the tech recruitment market across the piece &ndash; somewhat akin to the e-commerce boom of the 1990s and 2000s, perhaps.</p>
<p>When this will happen is impossible to know - it could be during 2026, or it could be later. But at some stage, the market will shift and shift quickly.</p>
<h2 class="section-title">Upskilling and reskilling</h2>
<p>A key part of an organisation&rsquo;s AI journey is having the talent needed both to develop/deploy it and to actually use it effectively. The fundamental realisation here is that AI is not a whole skillset in itself &ndash; rather, it is an add-on to other existing skills, such as engineering, data, cloud, and so on.</p>
<p>Therefore, it isn&rsquo;t a question of mass-recruitment of "AI professionals" - who largely don&rsquo;t exist anyway - but rather a case of upskilling and reskilling all the good talent you already have. This can be done through encouraging staff to safely test and experiment themselves, making formal and informal AI-related training and learning resources available, and knowledge augmentation and skills transfer from contractors who come into the business.</p>
<p>This should be a case of pushing at an open door, with tech staff highly motivated to upskill themselves, given AI&rsquo;s key importance. I expect that many hiring processes will include testing for AI proficiency and certifications in the coming years.</p>
<p>However, this is an area where Harvey Nash&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025">research shows businesses need to do more</a>. AI is the biggest area of skills shortage, but over half of the respondents of our 2025 leadership report admitted they have no or only limited AI upskilling programmes in place.</p>
<h2 class="section-title">Talent-sourcing models</h2>
<p>With such rapid shifts in the tech industry, companies&rsquo; talent and resourcing models are changing too. Traditional permanent and contractor hiring of technology talent is still the backbone, but more strategic and flexible solutions are also coming into play &ndash; recruiting firms must rise to this challenge. Instead of reactive hiring programmes, there is significant growth in "statement of work" agreements where recruiting firms take a real stake in processes, and "hire-train-deploy" programmes that deliver workplace-ready talent.</p>
<p>Organisations&rsquo; tech skill needs are evolving faster than we have ever seen before - the speed of change is only going to increase. The challenge for businesses is how they keep pace and ensure they have the right skills in the right place at the right time. It&rsquo;s going to be another fast-moving and exciting year.</p>

Tech recruitment outlook: high demand for specialist skills will drive the market in 2026

<p data-start="127" data-end="438">In a recent article for <a href="https://diginomica.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diginomica</a>, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/peter-birch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Birch</a>, Director of Technology &amp; Digital Executive Search at Harvey Nash,&nbsp;comments on the findings of diginomica&rsquo;s 2025 Digital Careers Report, focusing on how digital leaders are experiencing the current job market.</p>
<p data-start="544" data-end="849">Birch explains that while much of 2025 was marked by caution and longer hiring cycles, there are growing signs of momentum returning, particularly towards the end of 2025. For senior digital leaders, opportunities are re-emerging as organisations restart strategic hiring that had previously been paused.</p>
<p data-start="851" data-end="1096">He highlights that AI skills are playing a defining role in this shift. Digital leaders with strong AI understanding and the ability to link technology to commercial outcomes are seeing increased demand, even as overall hiring remains selective.</p>
<p data-start="1098" data-end="1377">Birch suggests this should reassure senior technology professionals in 2026 who may have found the market challenging in the earlier stages of 2025. While competition remains high, organisations are increasingly focused on securing leaders who can drive transformation, not just manage technology.</p>
<p data-start="1416" data-end="1499" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">For the full insight from Peter Birch, <a href="https://diginomica.com/diginomicas-2025-digital-careers-report-cautious-hiring-gives-way-year-end-momentum-ai-skills-drive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read the article on diginomica</a>.</p>

Digital leaders begin to see renewed job opportunities

<p class="MsoNormal">The UK software engineering and development market can best be described as competitive. Towards the end of 2025, there has been an increase in job opportunities in some areas; however, the type of skills now being sought is not being matched by an increase in skilled candidates, and skills shortages continue to limit hiring.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The current market has become increasingly senior-driven, with fewer junior roles available and employers expecting even entry-level candidates to have all the skills to hit the ground running.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With more candidates available as a result of well-documented layoffs and reduced investment in early-career hiring, employers now have greater choice, allowing them to be more selective about the skills they require. For developers, this has created additional pressure to demonstrate not only depth in their core expertise, but also a broader, more adaptable skill set.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This article looks at how that shift happened, and what it means for the year ahead.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">A market that&rsquo;s flipped</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">A few years ago, software engineering was very much a candidate-driven market. Skills requirements were lighter, and developers could easily move roles. Now, the balance has shifted. Employers are looking for candidates with stronger, broader technical expertise and are less willing to compromise. While cloud knowledge remains a must-have, businesses are also increasingly seeking full-stack engineers who can handle both back-end and front-end work, reflecting a need for versatility across modern tech stacks.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">The AI effect on hiring</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">While demand for AI engineering roles is rising, they still make up only a small part of the wider tech market. Most organisations continue to prioritise traditional software engineers who can use AI tools to enhance coding efficiency, rather than hiring dedicated specialists to build AI models.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, AI-assisted development is changing how teams are structured. Senior developers who can work effectively with AI tools can often deliver the same output that previously required additional junior support.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This has led to fewer opportunities at the graduate and junior levels, creating concerns about the future talent pipeline. Junior developers are often less confident in core coding fundamentals, relying on AI tools instead of developing critical thinking and foundational skills.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Businesses now face a twofold challenge, with fewer juniors entering the market, and those who do require more training to meet core standards.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">What&rsquo;s driving demand</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Much of today&rsquo;s demand for software engineering is being driven by AI-focused start-ups, which rely heavily on traditional software engineers to build the platforms, APIs, backend services, user interfaces, and cloud infrastructure that make their products function at scale. These engineers turn AI concepts into real, customer-ready applications and ensure products can be reliably scaled, all of which depend on strong, foundational software engineering skills.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As well as AI start-ups, many established industries such as finance, banking, retail, gambling and gaming continue to recruit steadily, driven by ongoing investment in core digital platforms. Their focus is on modernising legacy systems, maintaining secure and compliant technology environments, and supporting high-volume, customer-facing applications that are central to day-to-day operations. The scale and criticality of this work often translate into higher salaries for software engineers.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">What employers value most</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Technical ability remains the top priority when it comes to hiring software developers. While soft skills become more important at the leadership level, hiring decisions for most developers are still driven by technical capability. Employers are looking for people who are hands-on and confident with modern tech stacks.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The most in-demand languages and frameworks include:</p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">.NET (particularly .NET Core)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Java</li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Python (especially within financial services)</li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">TypeScript and React for front-end development</li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Swift and Kotlin for native mobile development</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cloud expertise is another must-have for software developers. Today, most businesses expect candidates to have hands-on experience with Azure, with AWS also in demand depending on the environment.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hiring a software professional who already knows the ins and outs of cloud platforms means teams don&rsquo;t have to spend time or resources on training, allowing new hires to contribute from day one, a crucial advantage in a market where budgets are tight, and every developer needs to hit the ground running</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Salary ranges and seniority</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">The biggest concentration of demand is at the senior level. While job titles vary, sometimes wildly, the hierarchy of junior, mid-level, and senior remains consistent across the industry.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Typical UK salary ranges are:</p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Junior: &pound;35,000&ndash;&pound;40,000</li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Mid-level: &pound;40,000&ndash;&pound;60,000</li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo8; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Senior: &pound;60,000&ndash;&pound;80,000+</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">Salaries in London tend to be around 20% higher for software developers, and roles in industries such as gambling, gaming, and finance typically pay more than average.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Setting up for success</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">For employers looking to scale their software teams in the year ahead, preparation makes all the difference. Make sure your current team is settled, and your hiring process is clear before going to market. Long or unclear interview stages can put off top candidates who will likely be in demand elsewhere.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It&rsquo;s also worth speaking to a specialist recruiter who understands the market and can help shape a hiring process and advise on current talent pool availability and candidate expectations. Taking time to get that right upfront saves a lot of time and helps deliver the right talent quickly.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">How can Harvey Nash support?</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">At Harvey Nash, we focus on delivering quality over quantity. Each of our clients works with a specialist who knows their market inside out, ensuring every shortlisted candidate has been properly vetted and matched. We use advanced tools and shared national networks to connect clients with the best software and engineering talent across the UK.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We&rsquo;re also transparent in how we work, both with candidates and clients, helping build lasting trust and long-term partnerships.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you&rsquo;re looking to scale your software engineering or development team in 2026, our specialist consultants can help you shape an effective hiring strategy, attract the right candidates, and build a team that lasts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And if you&rsquo;re a software engineer or developer exploring your next move, we partner with some of the UK&rsquo;s most innovative organisations across multiple industries.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/jobs/#/software-engineering" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Browse our latest software engineering and development roles.</a>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/morgan-fox" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Morgan Fox - Software Engineering &amp; Development Specialist</strong></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>

Software trends in the year ahead: A UK hiring outlook 

<p data-start="235" data-end="531"><strong data-start="235" data-end="264">November 19, 2025</strong>&nbsp;- Harvey Nash is delighted to announce that we have been awarded the <a href="https://www.allegisglobalsolutions.com/en-gb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Allegis Global Solutions</a> <em>Rising Star Award</em> for the EMEA region, recognising our strong performance, positive trajectory, and growing impact as a strategic talent partner.</p>
<p data-start="533" data-end="843">This year, Harvey Nash was recognised for the strength of our delivery across Allegis programmes and the consistency of our partnership approach.</p>
<p data-start="845" data-end="1153">The achievement follows similar recognition for our US business earlier in the year, highlighting the global scale and alignment of our efforts across regions. Together, these milestones reflect the dedication of our teams, whose commitment to excellence continues to strengthen our partnership with Allegis.</p>
<p data-start="845" data-end="1153"><strong data-start="783" data-end="885"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/rhodri-hughes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rhodri Hughes, Director - Enterprise Clients, Workforce Solutions &amp; Financial Services</a>, commented:</strong><br data-start="885" data-end="888"><em data-start="888" data-end="1251">&ldquo;We are delighted to be recognised by Allegis Group with the Rising Star Award for 2025. This reflects the excellent delivery and partnership our teams have demonstrated across multiple enterprise clients over the past year. We&rsquo;re proud to be a strategic partner to Allegis and look forward to strengthening our collaboration even further as we move into 2026.&rdquo;</em></p>
<p data-start="1155" data-end="1423">We are honoured to receive this award and proud of our colleagues whose hard work made it possible. Harvey Nash looks forward to building on this success as we continue to deliver high-quality talent solutions and deepening collaboration with Allegis Global Solutions.</p>

Harvey Nash awarded Allegis Rising Star Award for the EMEA region

<p data-start="209" data-end="519">In a recent opinion piece for <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Computer Weekly</a>, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/jack-capel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jack Capel</a>, UK South Director, expresses that organisations must get their data foundation right before diving into AI.</p>
<p data-start="521" data-end="755">They emphasise that for AI to deliver reliable insights, data needs to be &ldquo;AI‑ready&rdquo;, properly tagged, governed, curated and managed. Without this, even the most advanced AI systems can struggle to interpret information accurately.</p>
<p data-start="757" data-end="1211">Capel explains that assembling the right team is just as critical as managing the data itself. A high-performing data team combines technical experts such as data engineers, architects, scientists and analysts with emerging roles like &ldquo;data translators&rdquo; who bridge the gap between business and technology. Success depends not only on skills but also on cultural fit, collaboration, and the ability to turn data into actionable business value.</p>
<p data-start="1213" data-end="1482">He also notes the importance of leadership and that a Head of Data or Chief Data Officer should have board-level visibility to ensure data strategy aligns with organisational priorities, and data literacy should extend across the company to unlock its full potential.</p>
<p data-start="1484" data-end="1657"><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/How-to-build-a-data-dream-team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the full piece on Computer Weekly.</a></p>

Building a data‑dream team

<p class="MsoNormal">On 19 November, our Scotland team, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/graeme-mcnaull" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Graeme McNaull</a>, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/craig-ross" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Craig Ross</a>, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/lewis-wright" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lewis Wright</a>, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/alan-o-mahony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alan <span data-teams="true">O'Mahony</span></a> and <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/fiona-macleod" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fiona Macleod</a>, attended <a href="https://futurescot.com/futurescot-conferences/digitalscotland-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DigitalScotland 2025</a>, an event that marked a significant milestone for the country&rsquo;s digital future.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, the conference coincided with the launch of Scotland&rsquo;s refreshed national digital strategy, setting the tone for a year focused on real delivery and meaningful progress.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From the opening discussions, it was clear the message across government and public-sector leadership was consistent that the foundations laid in 2021 are strong, now it&rsquo;s about execution, and doing it at pace.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Turning strategy into action</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Senior voices from across Scottish Government and Local Government took to the stage, including Minister Ivan McKee, Permanent Secretary Joe Griffin, Digital Director Geoff Huggins, and CDO for Local Government Martyn Wallace. Together, they set out what the next phase of Scotland&rsquo;s digital journey must look like.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Key themes throughout the day included:</p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Connected public services that are easier for the public to access and navigate</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Clear accountability across departments and delivery teams</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Strong data flows and the use of reusable digital components</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Modular, flexible procurement to accelerate innovation</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Shared talent pools and less internal competition</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Leadership mindset is the true differentiator</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">Transparency, speed, and tangible delivery are what the public expects, and what Scotland now aims to deliver.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">A strategy shaped by collaboration</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">The event also highlighted Scotland&rsquo;s growing international influence in digital public services. Denmark&rsquo;s Ambassador to the UK, Kristina Miskowiak Beckvard, shared examples of ongoing collaboration and the strengthening digital partnership between the two countries.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We also heard from Theo Blackwell MBE, Chief Digital Officer for London&rsquo;s public services, who spoke about how Scotland&rsquo;s model, particularly the work led by Martyn Wallace and the Digital Office, has directly inspired approaches in London, Liverpool and even Tokyo.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was a reminder that Scotland is no longer just following global best practice, it&rsquo;s helping to set it.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">How we support Scotland&rsquo;s journey</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">For our team at Harvey Nash, DigitalScotland 2025 was a powerful reminder of just how critical the right talent is to delivering on the country&rsquo;s refreshed digital strategy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We work closely with public-sector organisations across Scotland to help them build the teams, skills and leadership needed to turn big ambitions into real outcomes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From digital transformation to data modernisation, Scotland&rsquo;s next phase of delivery will depend on attracting, developing and retaining exceptional tech talent. That&rsquo;s where we come in by supporting organisations to scale effectively while helping candidates find meaningful, impactful roles within the sector.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you're interested in shaping Scotland&rsquo;s digital future, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/jobs/#/scotland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explore our latest opportunities in Scotland</a>.</p>

Reflections from DigitalScotland 2025

Computer Weekly/Harvey Nash Diversity in Tech Conference 2025: Highlights

<p data-start="109" data-end="1214">In a recent piece for <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Computer Weekly</a>, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/simon-crichton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simon Crichton</a>, Harvey Nash CEO, argues that the U.S. decision to hike visa fees for skilled workers may mark an inflection point in the global competition for AI talent.</p>
<p data-start="109" data-end="1214">He points out that while the U.S. has long drawn top data and AI professionals, this policy shift could create openings for other markets, including the UK and Europe, to strengthen their talent ecosystems. Crichton emphasises that attracting global talent is only one part of the answer; building domestic pipelines through up-skilling and reskilling is equally vital.</p>
<p data-start="109" data-end="1214">He suggests organisations should treat this moment as a wake-up call: if access to skilled professionals is going to separate winners and losers in the AI race, then the ability to source, develop and retain that talent becomes a strategic priority.</p>
<p data-start="109" data-end="1214">Finally, he urges business leaders and policymakers alike to act, not just to monitor talent flows, but to proactively shape them, so their organisations aren&rsquo;t left behind.</p>
<p data-start="109" data-end="1214">For the full insight from Simon Crichton, you can read the article on Computer Weekly <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/US-tariff-on-skilled-workers-could-create-an-inflection-point-in-the-war-for-AI-talent" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-start="1335" data-end="1468">here</a>.</p>

A turning point in the AI talent race

<p>Nash Squared, the global leader in technology and talent solutions, today announced the integration of the Spinks brand into Harvey Nash, its specialist technology recruitment firm. This strategic move is designed to simplify engagement and unlock even greater opportunities for clients and candidates across the UK and globally.</p>
<p>For over 30 years, Harvey Nash and Spinks have supported thousands of organisations and technology professionals, driving innovation and growth at every stage of the business lifecycle. As part of Nash Squared for more than a decade, the two teams have developed a close partnership rooted in shared values of innovation, service excellence, and long-term collaboration. This integration marks the next natural step in their journey together, enabling the combined business to deliver even greater value to clients and candidates.</p>
<p>By bringing together Spinks&rsquo; deep expertise and entrepreneurial spirit with the scale, resources, and legacy of Harvey Nash, the company is able to offer an even stronger proposition to the market. Clients will find it easier to engage and will benefit from access to a broader, more diverse pool of technology talent. Candidates will enjoy greater opportunities, leveraging Harvey Nash&rsquo;s market-leading position and global reach.</p>
<p>Harvey Nash has a strong legacy of supporting start-up and scale-up companies in the UK and internationally. By combining forces with Spinks, the business is strengthening its ability to deliver tailored solutions for organisations at every stage of their growth journey.</p>

Nash Squared Announces Integration of Spinks Brand into Harvey Nash

<p class="MsoNormal">Harvey Nash proudly represented the intersection of talent, technology, and sustainability at <a href="https://websummit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Web Summit Lisbon 2025</a>. Nash Squared&rsquo;s Group Technology Evangelist, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/david-savage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Savage</a>, hosted two pivotal sessions on 11<sup>th</sup> November, bringing critical discussions on the environmental footprint of AI and the essential perspectives of young innovators to the forefront.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">David Savage, who is also a filmmaker, podcaster, and host of <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Talks</a>, delivered a keynote on the crisis of computational power and moderated a vital panel that explored how established organisations can better engage with and support the next generation of tech leaders.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Hidden data, visible cost</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">David Savage&rsquo;s keynote, titled &ldquo;Hidden data, visible cost: The alternative approach to tackling technology&rsquo;s green blind spot&rdquo;, was held on Stage 7 as part of the New Energy Summit, where he showcased the latest <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-flix" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Flix</a> film, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/videos/tech-flix-data-untold-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Data's Untold Story'</a>.</p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">The crisis of power and scalability</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">The keynote focused on the urgent challenge that AI&rsquo;s accelerating opportunity is colliding head-on with a physical force: power. David emphasised that every prompt typed, every token generated, and every model trained consumes real, finite power. This is not merely a climate discussion but fundamentally a scalability issue. If the power problem remains unsolved, the significant opportunities AI presents across healthcare, education, and society will not be realised.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Key data points highlighted the severity of the infrastructure stress:</p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">The global data sphere is projected to hit 175 zettabytes by 2025.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">AI data centres demand vastly more power, requiring 150+ kilowatts per rack, compared with traditional cloud data centres, which typically need only 10&ndash;20 kW per rack.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">To meet the peak load of just 90 new AI data centres being built in Ohio, the estimated power requirements equate to that of 21 million households.</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">The digital landfill and unseen emissions</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">David argued that the problem is invisible, making it difficult for people to grasp the full scale of the impact. A central focus was the &ldquo;digital landfill&rdquo;: a staggering 68% of the data currently stored is single-use, never utilised again.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This unused data poses a major environmental risk, with the emissions it creates typically exceeding those produced by the entire airline industry combined. Despite this reality, research suggests an abdication of responsibility across the industry. Our <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nash Squared/Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report</a> found that only 44% of boards support net zero targets to a great or extreme extent, leaving half of leadership still disengaged. David noted that this overwhelming challenge persists because, unlike a smoking car or plane, the data is invisible, and we &ldquo;forget that it burns&rdquo;.</p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">The call for engineering and accountability</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">To move forward sustainably, David urged the audience to pivot the discussion away from just ethics and ideology, stressing the need to focus on engineering and business goals. The industry must shift its focus from maximising performance to prioritising the minimisation of resource consumption through innovation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Examples of meaningful action were presented, such as a project that detected and deleted 600 billion commercial and promotional emails in a year, which in turn reduced carbon emissions by 6,500 tonnes of CO₂. The concluding message stressed that the industry must implement energy efficiency in designs, demand accountability across policies, and embrace collaborative solutions. Only through these actions can the progress of AI be ensured as sustainable, inclusive, and scalable for everyone.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Young minds, big impact</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Later that afternoon, David Savage moderated the &ldquo;Young minds, big impact&rdquo; panel on Stage 8 as part of the People Summit.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Introducing the next generation of innovators</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The session offered deep insights into how young people are approaching major global problems through technology, featuring three exceptional innovators:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hemanbekele/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heman Bekele</a>, Founder &amp; Researcher, Skin Cancer Treating Soap: Developed an affordable bar of soap intended to treat the early stages of skin cancer. He also founded Care for All, a non-profit focused on providing platforms for young people to make an impact.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/raya-mardani-3b988b307/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raya Mardani</a>, Founder, Lunniva: Creating a period pain belt using Brain&ndash;Computer Interface (BCI) technologies to send electrical signals to the brain to release endorphins, aiming to alleviate pain.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aarav-sharma-/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aarav Sharma</a>, Founder &amp; Researcher, Smart Bin AI &amp; Brain&ndash;Computer Interfaces: Focused on restoring independence for paralysed individuals by using BCI to control an exoskeleton arm through thought.</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">Redefining youth engagement and education</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">A major theme discussed was how established corporations engage with the next generation. The panellists felt that many companies often focus on &ldquo;selling to&rdquo; young people rather than treating them as active participants. Instead, companies should aim to integrate youth, providing them with a seat at the table and enabling the actual implementation of their ideas.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Regarding education, Raya highlighted that programmes like TKS (<a href="https://www.tks.world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Knowledge Society</a>) are vital because they offer long-term, committed project work, which is often missing from traditional education. Aarav proposed decreasing traditional school hours and allocating that time for students to build projects and explore their passions, arguing that the future of work requires complex, applied skills that AI cannot yet master.</p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">Mentorship and the power of indifference</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">The panel addressed the frustration that arises when their ambitious projects are dismissed as mere &ldquo;school projects&rdquo; by older professionals. The consensus was that maturity is far more dependent on the individual than their age.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The panellists stressed that successful engagement requires mentorship. They also emphasised that for allies to be effective, they must be indifferent to age.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">David noted that this generation should be treated like any other professional pitching an idea, with critical feedback and advice, but without letting age shield the interaction. The message was clear that young people are the future, and investing in them is paramount for any company looking to be innovative and competitive.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">About David Savage, Group Technology Evangelist</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/david-savage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Savage</a> is <a href="https://www.careers.nashsquared.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nash Squared</a>&rsquo;s Group Technology Evangelist. He creates podcasts, hosts video debates, and regularly chairs keynote stages at major events. A passionate advocate for technology, he explores both its challenges and opportunities.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Since 2015, David has been the editor and host of <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/tech-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Talks</a>, a leading global podcast on technology and leadership.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He has spoken at top international events, including Web Summit, Collision, IFA Berlin, Web Summit Rio, Unleash World, Unleash Paris, Unbound, Big Data World, and VivaTech.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em>Watch both sessions below to explore these discussions in full. From tackling AI&rsquo;s hidden environmental cost to empowering the next generation of innovators.</em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i7yBHe9YUuQ?si=cPiH8nwzm81VgcrI" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-R3zKNQOGUs?si=9ESg2_8IeMHKz7j6" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></strong></p>

Web Summit Lisbon 2025 Recap

<p data-start="59" data-end="451"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/andy-heyes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andy Heyes</a>, Managing Director UK&amp;I &amp; Central Europe, was recently featured in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.silicon.co.uk/amp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silicon</a> article <a href="https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-management/jobs/from-gap-to-growth-how-enterprises-are-rethinking-talent-in-the-age-of-ai-627338/amp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-start="121" data-end="325"><em data-start="122" data-end="198">From Gap to Growth: How Enterprises Are Rethinking Talent in the Age of AI</em></a>, where he discussed how organisations can better engage global and virtual teams in today&rsquo;s rapidly changing world of work.</p>
<p data-start="453" data-end="838">In the piece, Andy highlights that while global sourcing helps businesses quickly address skills shortages, true success depends on how leaders engage and motivate their distributed teams. He notes that clear objectives, consistent communication and building trust are vital to fostering inclusion and ensuring that everyone feels part of the mission, no matter where they are based.</p>
<p data-start="840" data-end="1269">The wider article explores how enterprises are rethinking their approach to talent in the age of AI, shifting from traditional, qualification-based recruitment to skills-based hiring. It examines how AI is transforming how companies identify and develop talent, both externally and within their existing workforce, while emphasising the ongoing importance of human leadership, culture and inclusion in driving lasting success.</p>
<p data-start="1271" data-end="1448" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">Read the full article on <a href="https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-management/jobs/from-gap-to-growth-how-enterprises-are-rethinking-talent-in-the-age-of-ai-627338/amp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silicon</a>.</p>

Leading global teams in the age of AI

<p data-start="191" data-end="733"><a href="https://futurescot.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FutureScot&rsquo;s</a> recent article, <em data-start="220" data-end="381"><a href="https://futurescot.com/ai-efficiency-and-the-next-wave-of-digital-leadership-in-scotland/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-start="221" data-end="380">AI, efficiency and the next wave of digital leadership in Scotland</a></em>, explores how Scotland&rsquo;s public sector is responding to the growing opportunities and challenges of digital transformation. Drawing on findings from the <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/research-whitepapers/digital-leadership-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2025 Nash Squared / Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report</a>, it highlights how technology leaders across Scotland are shifting their focus towards efficiency, resilience and measurable outcomes.</p>
<p data-start="735" data-end="1269">The piece notes that operational efficiency has become a key boardroom priority, with organisations looking to deliver more impactful, outcome-driven technology investments. However, many leaders continue to face obstacles in the form of persistent skills shortages, particularly across areas such as AI, data, cybersecurity and DevOps. Cyber resilience remains another critical theme, as a significant number of organisations have experienced cyberattacks in the past year, underscoring the urgency of stronger security strategies.</p>
<p data-start="1271" data-end="1659">At the same time, the article points to the growing importance of collaboration and partnerships, with many Scottish digital leaders planning to increase their use of specialist partners and external expertise to scale transformation. Together, these developments suggest a more mature phase of digital leadership in Scotland, one focused on execution, capability and long-term impact.</p>
<p data-start="1661" data-end="1927">As proud sponsors of <a href="https://futurescot.com/futurescot-conferences/digitalscotland-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Scotland 2025</a>, Harvey Nash will be joining Scotland&rsquo;s digital community to discuss exactly these themes, exploring how technology, talent and leadership can work together to deliver meaningful change across the public sector.</p>
<p data-start="1929" data-end="2130">Read the full article on FutureScot:&nbsp;<a class="decorated-link" href="https://futurescot.com/ai-efficiency-and-the-next-wave-of-digital-leadership-in-scotland/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_new" rel="noopener" data-start="1969" data-end="2128">AI, efficiency and the next wave of digital leadership in Scotland</a></p>

Digital leadership in Scotland

<p data-start="54" data-end="303">Data roles are becoming increasingly critical as organisations look to harness AI effectively. The demand for professionals skilled in managing, structuring and interpreting data is rising, with experience in AI-specific roles particularly valued.</p>
<p data-start="305" data-end="829">In an article for<a href="https://www.computing.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Computing.com,</a> Senior Recruitment Consultant at Harvey Nash, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/daniel-neaves" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong data-start="388" data-end="405">Daniel Neaves</strong></a>, explores how data-focused roles underpin the development and deployment of AI. He highlights the importance of building a career that demonstrates both technical expertise and practical experience, specialising in areas where AI and data intersect. Daniel also stresses the value of maintaining up-to-date profiles, targeting applications thoughtfully, and building strong relationships with recruiters and hiring teams.</p>
<p data-start="831" data-end="998">He underlines that while AI can support recruitment processes, personal effort, preparation, and persistence remain key to career success in this competitive market.</p>
<p data-start="1000" data-end="1111">Read the full article on <a href="https://www.computing.co.uk/opinion/2025/data-roles-underpinning-ai" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-start="1025" data-end="1109">Computing.com</a></p>

Why data roles are at the heart of the AI boom

<p class="MsoNormal">Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have moved rapidly from experimental projects to mainstream business priorities in the UK. Organisations across every sector are exploring how automation, predictive models and generative AI can unlock efficiency, innovation and competitive edge.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As adoption accelerates, demand for AI and ML professionals has risen sharply. What was once the domain of research labs and niche tech firms is now a boardroom conversation. Employers aren&rsquo;t just looking for technical experts; they need individuals who can help shape strategy, manage risks, and embed AI capabilities responsibly across the organisation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">2025 feels like a pivotal year. The opportunities are vast, but the competition for talent is intensifying. The challenge for businesses is to secure the right people, with the right skills, to deliver on their AI ambitions.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Why AI and Machine Learning talent are in high demand</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Across the UK, companies are seeking to integrate AI into their operations, often starting with chatbots, automation, or customer-facing applications, but increasingly moving towards deeper transformation projects.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Three main drivers are shaping demand:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Business adoption at scale</strong> &ndash; AI is no longer confined to pilot projects. Retailers are using it for customer personalisation, banks for fraud detection, and healthcare providers for diagnostics.</li>
<li><strong>Generative AI hype and reality</strong> &ndash; the explosion of generative AI tools has prompted many organisations to invest in in-house capability, either to build proprietary models or to adapt existing ones.</li>
<li><strong>Competition and retention</strong> &ndash; talent is scarce and mobile. Many employers are hiring defensively, seeking to retain people before competitors can lure them away.</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">This combination is fuelling one of the most competitive hiring markets we&rsquo;ve seen in years.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Key AI and ML trends shaping the UK in 2025</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">To understand the AI and ML hiring landscape, it&rsquo;s important to look at what&rsquo;s driving the conversation today:</p>
<ul>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong>Generative AI takes centre stage<br></strong>The surge in generative AI adoption has created an increased demand for ML engineers, prompt engineers, and AI product specialists who can operationalise these technologies.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong>Ethics and governance</strong><br>As AI is embedded in business processes, risks around bias, transparency and regulation are rising. Employers are beginning to seek specialists in AI governance and compliance to develop ethical frameworks, ensure accountability in AI decision-making, and align their AI strategies with evolving legal standards.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong>Data foundations are critical</strong><br>Without high-quality, well-structured data, AI projects fail. Companies are therefore investing heavily in data engineering and analytics talent alongside AI hires.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong>Integration into digital transformation</strong><br>AI is no longer a separate initiative; it&rsquo;s becoming part of broader transformation strategies, impacting IT, operations, HR and customer experience.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong>Professional development and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>evolving skills</strong><br><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-hansi-font-family: Aptos; mso-bidi-font-family: Aptos;">Continuous learning and upskilling is essential for all employees, especially technologists and AI or machine learning experts who must evolve as fast as the technology does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span></span></li>
</ul>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">The most in-demand AI and ML roles for 2025</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">The hiring market is being shaped by organisations seeking resilience, innovation and agility. Some of the most in-demand roles include:</p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Machine Learning Engineer</strong> &ndash; building, training and deploying ML models.<br><em>Typical salary: &pound;70,000 &ndash; &pound;110,000*</em></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Data Scientist</strong> &ndash; analysing complex data sets to provide actionable insights.<br><em>Typical salary: &pound;60,000 &ndash; &pound;100,000*</em></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>MLOps Engineer</strong> &ndash; managing the deployment and lifecycle of AI models in production.<br><em>Typical salary: &pound;75,000 &ndash; &pound;115,000*</em></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>AI Product Manager</strong> &ndash; bridging the gap between business strategy and AI delivery.<br><em>Typical salary: &pound;65,000 &ndash; &pound;105,000*</em></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Prompt Engineer / Generative AI Specialist</strong> &ndash; optimising large language models for business use cases.<br><em>Typical salary: &pound;55,000 &ndash; &pound;90,000*</em></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>AI Governance Specialist</strong> &ndash; ensuring ethical, transparent and compliant use of AI.<br><em>Typical salary: &pound;70,000 &ndash; &pound;95,000*</em></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>* Salary ranges are based on London market rates.</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We are also seeing hybrid roles emerge, for example, &ldquo;AI Risk Manager&rdquo; or &ldquo;Applied AI Strategist&rdquo;, reflecting the fact that AI is no longer just a technical discipline, but a strategic business capability.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">The skills employers are prioritising</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Employers are searching for candidates who bring both technical depth and the ability to shape strategy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Core technical skills include:</strong></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Natural Language Processing (NLP)</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Generative AI and LLM fine-tuning</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">MLOps and cloud AI platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Data engineering and governance</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Certifications occasionally requested:</strong></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Cloud AI certifications (AWS, Azure, GCP)</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">AI/ML specialisations from leading universities</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Data science and advanced analytics credentials</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Soft skills are equally vital:</strong></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Strategic thinking and business alignment</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Communication with non-technical stakeholders</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Problem-solving in fast-moving environments</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Collaboration across functions</li>
</ul>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Challenges in hiring AI and ML talent</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">As demand for AI and ML talent grows, organisations face several key challenges:</p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Talent shortages &ndash; </strong>Our 2025 Nash Squared / Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report found that AI has surged to become the most scarce technology skill in the UK.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Competition</strong> &ndash; top candidates often receive multiple offers, driving up salaries and expectations.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Slow processes</strong> &ndash; delays in the hiring process can mean losing talent to faster-moving competitors.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><strong>Capability assessment</strong> &ndash; employers often struggle to test technical and applied skills effectively.</li>
</ul>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Building the future with AI and ML talent</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">AI and machine learning are no longer niche specialisms but central to business growth, innovation and competitiveness. For UK organisations, 2025 represents a critical moment to secure the talent that will define their future.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The organisations that succeed will be those that:</p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Invest early in the right people.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Provide clear strategic direction.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Offer development and retention opportunities.</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">As <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/daniel-neaves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dan Neaves</a> highlights, success in AI hiring starts with the right foundations:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em>&ldquo;Businesses need quality data, a clear AI strategy, and a future plan of what the capability looks like now, in three years, and in five years. Combined with a slick hiring process and professional development opportunities, that&rsquo;s how you attract the best talent in AI.&rdquo;</em><strong> </strong></p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">How Harvey Nash supports AI and ML recruitment</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">At Harvey Nash, we&rsquo;ve spent more than three decades helping businesses navigate technology change. As AI and ML continue to evolve, we&rsquo;re applying that experience to help organisations build the right teams for the future.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is a dynamic and fast-moving area of recruitment. Roles are constantly changing as new tools, frameworks and use cases emerge. That&rsquo;s why we take a consultative approach, understanding each organisation&rsquo;s goals, maturity and culture before connecting them with exceptional talent.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our consultants are deeply embedded in the UK technology community and speak to AI and ML professionals every day. We provide insight on salary benchmarks, in-demand skills and how to position roles to attract and retain the best people.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If your organisation is expanding its AI capability in 2025, Harvey Nash can help you navigate the evolving market, connect with exceptional professionals, and build a team fit for the future.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/contact-us">Get in touch with our team to start the conversation.</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/daniel-neaves" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Daniel Neaves &ndash; AI &amp; Machine Learning Specialist</strong></a></p>

AI and Machine Learning Trends 2025: A UK Hiring Outlook

<p data-start="101" data-end="331"><a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/team/mo-gaibee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mo Gaibee, Associate Consultant</a> at Harvey Nash, was recently featured in a <a href="https://www.csoonline.com/uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CSO Online</a>&nbsp;article exploring how AI is reshaping entry-level cyber hiring and shifting the nature of the cybersecurity skills gap.</p>
<p data-start="333" data-end="666">In the piece, Mo highlights how hiring criteria are evolving; it&rsquo;s no longer just about technical certifications. Organisations are increasingly valuing soft skills such as communication, collaboration, adaptability, and strategic thinking, as cybersecurity now touches many areas of a business, including legal, HR, and marketing.</p>
<p data-start="668" data-end="872">He also notes that while AI is automating more of the repetitive monitoring tasks, it hasn&rsquo;t reduced the need for human talent, instead, it&rsquo;s changing the profile of the skills that are most in demand.</p>
<p data-start="874" data-end="1111" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node=""><a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/4058190/ai-is-altering-entry-level-cyber-hiring-and-the-nature-of-the-skills-gap.html?utm=hybrid_search" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the full article on CSO Online.</a></p>

How is AI reshaping entry-level cybersecurity hiring?

<p class="MsoNormal">This year marked a special milestone for <a href="https://leedsdigitalfestival.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leeds Digital Festival</a>, its 10th anniversary. Over two weeks, the city came alive with events celebrating innovation, collaboration, and creativity across the region&rsquo;s thriving digital community.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As part of the celebrations, the Harvey Nash Leeds team was proud to host a screening of our latest Tech Flix film, <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/videos/tech-flix-data-untold-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Data&rsquo;s Untold Story: The AI Energy Crisis</em></a>. The film explores the growing energy demands of AI and data, and the urgent balance between innovation and sustainability.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It set the tone for a festival full of big ideas, important questions, and inspiring conversations about where technology is heading next.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">The human element in an AI-driven world</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">A recurring theme throughout the festival was clear: while AI is rapidly transforming industries, people remain at the centre of progress.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From cybersecurity discussions highlighting how &ldquo;when AI strikes, humans defend,&rdquo; to debates on where humans belong in an AI-driven future, the message was consistent that although technology may redefine roles, it can&rsquo;t replace the creativity, critical thinking, and ethical judgment that humans bring.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many sessions explored how businesses can harness AI to augment human ability rather than replace it. The conversations touched on responsible innovation, the importance of embedding ethics and sustainability from the outset, and the growing need for frameworks to guide AI&rsquo;s impact across sectors.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Building, innovating, and transforming at speed</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Leeds Digital Festival also showcased just how quickly ideas can move from concept to creation. Live demonstrations, including building a functional app in under 90 minutes, captured the energy and collaboration driving the city&rsquo;s tech scene.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For our team, it was a reminder that in fast-moving environments, having access to people with the right mix of skills and adaptability is just as critical as the tools they use. This reinforces the importance of understanding emerging roles, new skill sets, and the ways organisations are leveraging talent to bring ideas to life quickly.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Laying the foundations for responsible AI</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another standout theme was the strategic role of AI across industries, including the public sector. Sessions highlighted the need for ethics, governance, and trust, as well as the infrastructure, skills, and institutions required to scale AI responsibly.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Discussions explored how governments, public bodies, and major tech players can work together to ensure AI benefits everyone, from fostering innovation and investment to embedding transparency and accountability in deployment.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These insights drove a key message that responsible AI isn&rsquo;t just a technical challenge; it&rsquo;s a collaborative, strategic one.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Data as a force for change</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">The festival also showcased the power of data to drive smarter, more human-centred decision-making. From retail to logistics, data leaders shared how they&rsquo;re turning insights into tangible outcomes, improving customer experiences, streamlining operations, and driving value across organisations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hearing from ASDA&rsquo;s Data Science team offered a glimpse into how large-scale analytics can be both technical and practical, balancing innovation with real-world business impact.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">The evolving landscape of digital innovation in Leeds</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">Across every discussion, Leeds&rsquo; digital community demonstrated why the city continues to lead in tech. From AI ethics and cybersecurity to logistics automation and app innovation, the festival spotlighted a region that&rsquo;s pushing boundaries while staying grounded in purpose.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the Harvey Nash Leeds team, it was a chance to connect, learn, and reflect on the role people, partnerships, and responsible innovation play in shaping the future.</p>
<h1 class="MsoNormal">Looking ahead</h1>
<p class="MsoNormal">As we wrap up this year&rsquo;s festival, one thing stands out: technology will continue to evolve at pace, but it&rsquo;s collaboration, creativity, and conscience that will define its true impact.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A huge thank you to Leeds Digital Festival for an incredible 10th anniversary celebration, and to everyone who made it such an inspiring two weeks for the city&rsquo;s digital community.</p>

Leeds Digital Festival 2025: Round Up

<p data-start="234" data-end="480">On 25th September, we were delighted to host an event as part of <a href="https://leedsdigitalfestival.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leeds Digital Festival</a>&rsquo;s 10th anniversary celebrations,&nbsp;a two-week programme showcasing innovation, collaboration and creativity across the city&rsquo;s thriving digital community.</p>
<p data-start="482" data-end="624">As part of the festival, we screened the latest instalment in our Tech Flix documentary series: <a href="https://www.harveynash.co.uk/videos/tech-flix-data-untold-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em data-start="578" data-end="621">Data&rsquo;s Untold Story: The AI Energy Crisis</em></a>.</p>
<p data-start="626" data-end="968">The film takes a closer look at one of technology&rsquo;s most urgent challenges, the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence and data. Both inspiring and sobering, it highlights the duality of AI: its enormous potential to transform the way we live and work, and the equally significant risks it poses to our planet if left unchecked.</p>
<h1 data-start="970" data-end="1009">A panel with diverse perspectives</h1>
<p data-start="1011" data-end="1111">Following the screening, we welcomed an expert panel to reflect on the film and debate its themes:</p>
<ul>
<li data-start="1115" data-end="1171">Vinny Leach, Portfolio Delivery Manager at Avanade</li>
<li data-start="1174" data-end="1252">Heather Dawe, Chief Data Scientist, UK and Head of Responsible AI at UST</li>
<li data-start="1255" data-end="1315">Arash Rabbani, Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of Leeds</li>
</ul>
<p data-start="1317" data-end="1411">Together, they brought perspectives spanning industry, academia and responsible AI practice.</p>
<h1 data-start="1413" data-end="1447">Sustainability versus profit</h1>
<p data-start="1449" data-end="1513">One of the central questions raised during the discussion was:</p>
<p data-start="1515" data-end="1668"><em data-start="1515" data-end="1666">Are we, as individuals and organisations, truly prioritising the environmental impact of AI, or are we too focused on the profit margins it promises?</em></p>
<p data-start="1670" data-end="1990">This prompted a rich debate. Some argued that the drive for commercial gain too often overshadows the urgent need to address sustainability, while others highlighted the potential for businesses to align profit with positive impact, provided they embed sustainability into their innovation strategies from the outset.</p>
<h1 data-start="1992" data-end="2036">The call for regulation and frameworks</h1>
<p data-start="2038" data-end="2453">Another recurring theme was the pressing need for regulation. As AI adoption accelerates across industries, the panel stressed that without a robust framework to govern its development and deployment, the environmental and ethical risks will only deepen. True progress, they argued, requires collaboration between industry, academia and government to establish clear guardrails and hold organisations accountable.</p>
<h1 data-start="2455" data-end="2483">A moment of reflection</h1>
<p data-start="2485" data-end="2700">As the credits rolled and the conversation continued, it was clear that the event had done more than just spark dialogue &mdash; it had left attendees with important questions to carry back into their own organisations.</p>
<p data-start="2702" data-end="2882">For many of us, one question lingered above all: <em data-start="2751" data-end="2880">are we doing enough, quickly enough, to ensure that AI is not only innovative and profitable, but also ethical and sustainable?</em></p>
<h1 data-start="2884" data-end="2899">Thank you</h1>
<p data-start="2901" data-end="3199">A huge thank you to <a href="https://leedsdigitalfestival.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leeds Digital Festival</a> for welcoming us as part of their milestone 10th anniversary edition, and to everyone who joined us for the session. Most of all, we&rsquo;d like to thank our brilliant panellists for sharing their insight and sparking such a thought-provoking discussion.</p>
<p data-start="3201" data-end="3426">You can now watch <a href="As%20the%20Tech%20Flix%20series%20continues%20its%20tour%20across%20the%20UK,%20you%20can%20now%20watch%20Data&rsquo;s%20Untold%20Story:%20The%20AI%20Energy%20Crisis%20online%20here%20.%20We%20hope%20it%20sparks%20conversation,%20reflection,%20and%20action%20towards%20a%20more%20responsible%20and%20sustainable%20digital%20future." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em data-start="163" data-end="206">Data&rsquo;s Untold Story: The AI Energy Crisis</em> online</a>. We hope it sparks conversation, reflection, and action towards a more responsible and sustainable digital future.</p>

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