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What’ s preventing adoption
Cost is the most obvious barrier, but it’ s often misunderstood. Mid-market leaders aren’ t asking for AI to be free, but they are asking for it to be honestly priced for their scale. Too many AI software tools are architected and priced for enterprises with dedicated implementation teams and six-figure change budgets. That’ s not sustainable adoption for mid-market businesses or even large businesses.
Integration is the less visible but equally corrosive problem. Mid-market companies have typically built up a decade or more of‘ good enough’ systems patched with a CRM here, a helpdesk there, or a finance package that nobody wants to touch because it just about works. Real AI adoption is a full-scale renovation project on a house that’ s still fully occupied. If medium-sized businesses are being encouraged to adopt AI successfully there needs to be an understanding for meeting existing systems where they are.
Then there’ s skills issues of both shortages of technical IT specialists and of confidence. Many mid-market leadership teams are experienced, commercially sharp operators but have never had a reason to build deep in-house technology expertise. Increasing AI adoption on a national scale asks them to make significant decisions in an area where they may reasonably feel out of their depth. And again, for many mediumsized and mid-market businesses, that is often without the peer network or vendor relationships that larger enterprises use to derisk those decisions.
What needs to happen
Musidora Jorgensen, UK & Ireland Country Leader, Freshworks
If the UK wants AI adoption to be a success and a genuine driver of economic growth, the conversation needs to move beyond headline investment announcements and focus on execution. With the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, planning to take spending power to regional authorities and creating a new Minister of State for AI, Britain’ s adoption may become more accessible across the UK. As Burnham looks to deliver change early on, a tangible win would be to ensure AI solutions for this unique market are easy to deploy, quick to realise value and designed to work with the systems businesses already have in place.
While much of the UK’ s new AI growth strategy will be shaped in policy rooms in the north and in the boardrooms of the country’ s largest companies, delivering Britain’ s AI adoption ambitions will depend on whether growing businesses across the country receive the right support. If the UK is serious about becoming an AI-powered economy, technology needs to be designed and priced with these businesses in mind. �
Intelligent SME. tech
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