OneAdvanced has released the first major update wave for its IQ software platform, adding sector-specific tools for organisations in healthcare, government, education, legal, housing and commercial markets.

The update is the first large-scale expansion of IQ since its launch earlier this year. It introduces artificial intelligence-based automation, workflow and operational intelligence features for organisations in regulated sectors.

Healthcare users will receive clinical documentation tools and patient self-triage functions. Government and housing organisations are getting financial planning, procurement, scheduling and workflow tools to support service delivery and compliance.

Education customers are being given learner management, coaching and compliance functions, while legal users will see workflow automation, compliance monitoring and other operational tools. Commercial customers, including wholesale and logistics businesses, are receiving forecasting, procurement automation and reporting features.

The new functions are designed to sit within existing operational workflows rather than as separate standalone artificial intelligence tools. OneAdvanced positions IQ as a platform that combines data governance, workflow software and sector-specific functions.

The release comes as software suppliers try to move artificial intelligence products beyond pilot projects and into day-to-day business use. In public services and other regulated industries, that shift has increasingly centred on administrative tasks, compliance monitoring and operational planning.

OneAdvanced is one of the larger UK software suppliers focused on sector-specific software-as-a-service markets. Based in Birmingham, it sells products used by public sector bodies, healthcare providers, schools and colleges, legal firms, housing organisations and commercial operators.

Sector focus

The latest release reflects that market structure. Rather than introducing a single set of generic tools, OneAdvanced has grouped the update around the operational needs of each vertical market, with healthcare and public sector functions prominent in the rollout.

That includes clinical tools for primary, urgent and private care, alongside planning and procurement functions for public bodies and housing providers. In education, the emphasis is on learner visibility and administrative processes, while in legal services the focus is on matter management and regulatory oversight.

For commercial users, the additions target finance and supply chain oversight. Forecasting, procurement and operational reporting are among the areas covered for wholesale and logistics organisations.

Customers can now access the updated features. OneAdvanced also said further programmes in payroll, human resources, purchasing and workflow automation are being prepared in private preview.

Marko Perisic, Chief Product Officer at OneAdvanced, outlined the company’s view of how artificial intelligence is being adopted in business software.

“We are only at the beginning of what will be a transformational shift as AI becomes increasingly embedded into everyday work,” said Marko Perisic, Chief Product Officer at OneAdvanced.

“IQ was designed to sit at the centre of that transition, giving organisations across mission-critical sectors an intelligent, connected and trusted system of work, built with the governance and operational resilience our customers already expect from OneAdvanced,” Perisic said.

“We are pleased to be launching this latest release wave and look forward to supporting customers as they unlock productivity, reduce complexity and improve how work gets done,” he added.

Altnets has published a white paper on the infrastructure demands created by artificial intelligence, arguing that connectivity is becoming a key constraint alongside computing power.

Rapid growth in AI use, data centre construction and digital traffic is increasing pressure on fibre networks, backhaul links and supply chains, according to the report. It frames the shift as a practical issue for integrators that design, source and deploy communications infrastructure.

Among the figures cited, global active data centre capacity is forecast to rise from 24.4GW in 2025 to 147.1GW in 2035, based on ABI Research data. The paper also cites JLL estimates that AI workloads could account for about half of total global data centre capacity by the end of the decade.

Mobile traffic is another part of the picture. Citing the Ericsson Mobility Report, the white paper says global mobile data traffic is expected to more than double by 2031 to about 310 exabytes a month, rising to 482 exabytes a month when fixed wireless access traffic is included.

The UK energy system also features heavily in the analysis. Proposed AI-related data centre projects currently seeking grid connections in the UK could require around 50GW of electricity capacity, the report says, exceeding Great Britain’s current peak demand.

Infrastructure strain

This combination of higher computing demand, rising traffic volumes and greater electricity needs is shifting attention beyond chips and servers. Future growth will depend on the availability of fibre routes, optical connectivity, backhaul architecture and supply chains able to support larger, more complex deployment programmes, the paper argues.

Altnets describes the publication as the second paper in a wider series on changes in the connectivity market. The first examined fibre shortages and ways to reduce supply disruption; the new edition focuses on AI as a driver of network demand and infrastructure planning.

The argument comes as governments and businesses place greater weight on digital infrastructure as a factor in economic competitiveness. Data centre growth has already prompted debate in the UK and elsewhere over land use, power supply, planning delays and the role of telecoms networks in supporting increasingly data-heavy applications.

For integrators, the challenge is widening from component procurement to designing networks that can scale over the longer term, the report suggests. Organisations will need to focus on resilience and deployment planning as demand for interconnection and transport capacity rises.

A standalone line in the document sums up the company’s position: “The AI boom is not just a computer story; it is a connectivity story,” said Andy Ainsley, Commercial Director, Altnets.

Supply chain focus

The paper also highlights supply chain resilience as a factor in how the market responds. As more infrastructure is needed to connect data centres, mobile networks and fixed networks, the availability of fibre products and related equipment could become more important to delivery times and costs.

Its intended audience includes organisations involved in building and expanding communications networks, from independent internet service providers to large data centre operators. Altnets is based in Brighton and works with European manufacturers on telecoms infrastructure products.

Ainsley’s background spans telecoms and law enforcement. He studied Manufacturing Engineering at Nottingham Trent University, began his telecoms career at AFL, later worked in UK law enforcement, and then returned to the sector in senior sales and business development roles at AFL, Neos Networks and Hexatronic before joining Altnets.

The report reflects a wider shift in industry discussion around AI. Much of the public debate has focused on semiconductors, model training and the energy intensity of large-scale computing, but network operators and infrastructure suppliers have increasingly highlighted the less visible systems needed to carry growing traffic between users, data centres and cloud platforms.

That includes long-haul fibre, metro links, campus interconnects and backhaul networks connecting distributed sites to core infrastructure. If AI applications continue to spread across consumer services, enterprise systems and mobile networks, demand on those links is likely to rise with them.

In the paper’s closing argument, Ainsley links current investment decisions to longer-term network readiness. “The industry is moving into a new era where network resilience and infrastructure readiness are becoming just as important as capacity itself. Organisations that invest in scalable connectivity and long-term infrastructure strategy today will be better positioned to support the demands of tomorrow’s AI-driven economy,” he said.

Clare Martin has taken over the position of centre director from Brendan Hatton who has moved on in the business after 25 years.

Mrs Martin has been at the Westgate since 2018, working in various roles including the deputy to the former boss.

An Oxfordshire local, she brings a wealth of experience in the retail, food and beverage, and leisure sectors to the role.

Westgate (Image: Westgate)

Speaking exclusively to this newspaper in her new role, Mrs Martin emphasised the importance of the Westgate being a “destination” rather than the traditional shopping centre.

“For Westgate, it’s about making it relevant to everybody,” she said.

“We have got a really broad retail offer, and that includes things like lifestyle and leisure – we’re a big destination.

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“And we’ve also got really unique USP here at Westgate such as the roof terrace, an extensive leisure offer. We’re building a really strong family offer like Lego which is thriving.”

Mrs Martin has been credited with being instrumental in bringing brands such as Sephora, The Beefy Boys and Flight Club to the city.

Clare Martin, Westgate’s new centre director (Image: Westgate)

Sephora, Lego, The Beefy Boys and Fight Club are all first venues in the city and Oxfordshire, with the new centre director aiming for the Westgate to bring “first-in-region offers”.

“You have got to come to Westgate to shop this sort of offer,” she added.

“They are unique and they’re good for the city because they bring people to Oxford who wouldn’t come otherwise.”

Community is also a focus for the new boss where “everyone is welcome”, she said, including hosting Pride, Sobell House Hospice’s 50th anniversary and the full takeover for Dancing Oxford.

Westgate also works with Aspire for accessibility, it supports local charities, sponsoring the Oxford Climate Awards and raising £1.7m in social value.

Over the decades, the Westgate has seen some significant change, not least the £440m facelift in 2017.

And Mrs Martin is hoping to make her own mark on the centre after 25 years of the former boss.

She said: “The centre is in a different position.

“Brendan saw it through a massive transition and a huge redevelopment phase, so that was his legacy.

“This is now my opportunity to drive it through that next future, and that is definitely about bringing world‑class brands to Oxford as well as to Westgate, definitely about delivering those big goals.

“I think we’re already better than Bicester Village, but we’re different to Bicester Village.

“And we have to have – a bit like the Covered Market or Gloucester Green – our unique identities and reasons for people to visit us.

“We don’t have to necessarily crossover. We can all celebrate success by being individual. I think that’s really important for a place like Oxford.”