Perspectives on technology,
product, and business
Practical thinking from the work we do. No fluff, no thought leadership for the sake of it: just what we've learned building products and solving problems for real businesses.
AI agents are going into production. Integration is where they die
Agentic AI adoption has surged in 2026, yet 95% of IT leaders report integration issues. Why plumbing, not models, decides whether agents pay off.
Why your systems don't talk to each other (and what fixing it involves)
Why SME software tools end up disconnected, what integration really involves, and how to reach single entry so data typed once appears everywhere.
The government wants to be your CTO. Here is what it's actually offering
The UK's SME Digital Adoption Taskforce is offering CTO-style guidance, funding and training. What is worth taking, and where the free advice runs out.
How to choose a software partner without getting burned
The questions to ask any developer or agency before you sign, the red flags that predict a hostage situation, and what price really tells you.
The Google lawsuits are renegotiating the web. Your website strategy should notice
Penske Media's case against Google over AI Overviews signals a renegotiation of the web's traffic deal. What UK small businesses should change now.
Who actually owns your website? Check before it matters
Your domain, hosting, code, content and third-party accounts all have owners. How to check who controls each one before a fallout, sale or rebrand.
Your analytics are lying to you about AI traffic
Around 70.6% of AI assistant referrals never show up in GA4, and AI traffic is undercounted by 3-4x. How to spot the channel your dashboards hide.
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is coming. Here is what it means for SMEs
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will not regulate most SMEs directly, but the pressure will reach you through your customers. Here is how to prepare.
Why your website is invisible to ChatGPT (and how to fix it)
Most websites cannot be read by ChatGPT, Perplexity or Claude. Here is the technical reason why, and what it takes to get your business cited in AI answers.
What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation), and does your business need it?
GEO is the practice of getting your business cited in AI answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. Here is what it is and whether you need it.
Do you need a fractional CTO? A guide for UK founders and SMEs
What a fractional CTO does, what it costs in the UK, and how to tell whether your business needs one, or outsourced technology leadership instead.
The technical co-founder alternative: what non-technical founders actually need
Struggling to find a technical co-founder? What non-technical founders really need to ship a product, and the faster fractional CTO and development-partner routes.
AI website builders vs custom development: which does your business need?
AI website builders are fast and cheap, but they hit a ceiling. Here is how to tell whether your business needs an AI builder or proper custom development.
What does it cost to build a web app or MVP in the UK? (2026)
An honest breakdown of what it costs to build a web app or MVP in the UK in 2026, why quotes vary so wildly, and how to budget sensibly without getting burned.
Build vs buy: should you build custom software or use an existing tool?
How to decide whether to build custom software or buy an off-the-shelf tool, covering cost, control, scale and the long-term trade-offs UK businesses face.
The cloud bill rebellion: why workloads are coming home in 2026
86% of CIOs plan to move workloads out of public cloud in 2026. What the repatriation wave means for SMEs paying hyperscaler prices for steady work.
AI agents are doing the shopping now. Can they see your business?
AI shopping agents drove 393% more retail referral traffic in Q1 2026, and they convert. What SMEs must do to stay visible when AI does the buying.
What Django 6 quietly teaches about choosing software that lasts
Django 6.0's release rhythm shows what two decades of security maturity looks like, and why patch cadence should shape how you choose software.
89% of small businesses "use AI". So why does almost nothing change?
Surveys say 89% of small businesses use AI, yet production use sits under 20%. The 70-point gap between dabbling and embedding is the real opportunity.
43% of UK businesses were breached last year. "Too small to target" is over
The Cyber Security Breaches Survey found 43% of UK businesses were attacked last year, most of them small firms. Size is no defence. Your basics are.
The zero-click web: why owning your audience now beats renting Google's
58% of searches end without a click. Why SMEs should stop renting Google's audience and start owning their own with email, tools and pages that convert.
Rails 8 and the case for the one-person framework
Rails 8 replaced Redis with database-backed defaults and cut the ops burden. Why the one-person framework is exactly what SME web applications need.
Vibe coding's security debt is coming due
New research shows AI-generated code carries 2.74x more security flaws. What vibe coding means for SMEs shipping unreviewed code into production.
Do you need a new website, or can this one be fixed?
An honest diagnostic for owners of ageing websites. The signs that point to a fix, the signs that point to a rebuild, and how to tell the difference.
Google traffic to websites is collapsing. Here is what to do about it
Google referrals to publishers fell 33% in a year and AI links replace almost none of it. What UK SMEs should do as free search traffic dries up.
How to choose a web framework in 2026 (hint: choose boring)
Most businesses never ask what their software will be built with. They should. The case for mature, boring frameworks like Rails and Django in 2026.
"AI doesn't apply to my business" and other expensive assumptions
77% of SMEs that have not adopted AI say no use case applies to their business. The data says otherwise. How to find your first real AI use case.
The day your spreadsheet stops being free
Spreadsheets are the right tool at the start, but the hidden costs grow with headcount. The signals it is time to move, and what replacement really looks like.
What AI actually delivers for SMEs in 2026
A practical look at where AI creates measurable value for small and medium-sized businesses in 2026, and where it is still just noise.
From idea to product: how we built Planiit
The full story of taking a gifting platform from market research to live transactions. Decisions, mistakes, and what we'd do differently.
The real cost of platform lock-in
Why owning your infrastructure matters more than convenience, and what it actually costs to migrate when you need to.