Business & Technology
Software Improvement Group sets out AI governance guide
Software Improvement Group has published its AI Maturity Guide 2026, a handbook outlining 20 steps for senior leaders to manage AI use across their organisations.
The guide is aimed at board members, chief technology officers, chief information security officers, and governance, risk and compliance leaders. It follows the company’s earlier AI Readiness Guide, shifting the focus from experimentation to formal oversight.
Many businesses have already adopted AI in at least one function, but few have put in place a consistent framework to govern it, according to Software Improvement Group. Leadership teams still struggle to identify where AI is being used, which systems are critical to operations, and whether the associated risks are under control.
The publication comes as companies face tighter scrutiny over AI governance and security. In material released alongside the guide, Software Improvement Group pointed to new regulations and a steady flow of cyber incidents involving AI-related systems and development practices.
Among the findings it highlights are signs of weak control over AI use in large organisations. The company says 20% of firms use AI coding tools against policy, creating what it describes as shadow AI risk.
It also says 72% of enterprise AI systems fall below industry standards. The material further claims that productivity gains from AI can fade in larger codebases, with up to 60% of those gains lost once software reaches about 100,000 lines of code, as AI tools struggle with more complex architecture.
Role-based steps
The guide breaks its recommendations down by seniority and function. For boards, the emphasis is on improving understanding of AI, setting direction, requiring transparency, and weighing trade-offs between speed, risk and value.
For governance, risk and compliance teams, the focus is on turning evolving regulation and standards into a practical system for internal AI oversight. Security leaders are urged to extend existing resilience and security practices to cover AI-assisted development and AI systems in production.
Technology and engineering leaders are given a separate set of actions for building and operating AI-enabled software in a measurable way. That section also covers governance of AI-assisted and agentic development.
The company defines a mature organisation as one that can identify its AI footprint, govern AI as part of its wider software portfolio, control risk, and measure value. That framing reflects a broader market shift as companies move away from isolated pilots and towards integrating AI into mainstream systems and processes.
Boardroom pressure
The guide also reflects a tension many executives face as they try to show returns from AI investments while avoiding operational, legal and security failures. Rather than treating AI as a separate workstream, the company argues that businesses need to manage software and AI together.
That approach is linked to its broader research on what it describes as a gap between executive ambition and operational reality. The handbook is intended to offer a more practical route for leadership teams that already accept the strategic importance of AI but are still developing internal controls.
Amsterdam-based Software Improvement Group focuses on software governance and portfolio analysis. Its platform analyses more than 400 billion lines of code across more than 30,000 systems and over 300 technologies, according to the company.
It also noted its involvement in standards work, including co-developing ISO/IEC 5338, which it describes as a global standard for AI lifecycle management. That background is relevant as businesses seek clearer benchmarks for AI oversight and implementation.
Rob van der Veer, chief AI officer at Software Improvement Group, said the guide is aimed at executives responsible for making AI work in practice.
“This guide is written for those who lead in making AI work in practice. You might be the one pushing for faster innovation under pressure from competitors and shareholders. You might be the one accountable when things go wrong. In either case, AI maturity will not come from a single project, pilot, or purchase. It will come from a steady, deliberate shift in how you govern your software and AI as one portfolio,” he said.
Ryan Harrison, founder of Harrisons Fish & Chips in Elms Parade, Botley, has been named a finalist in the 2026 Alicia Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
Known as the ‘Grammys of entrepreneurship’, the awards were set up in 2012 to celebrate the most exceptional and inspiring business stories across the UK, recognising entrepreneurs from every nation and region for their innovation, impact and resilience.
READ MORE: Pricing row as Deliveroo and Oxford fish and chip shop part
Specifically Mr Harrison has been named in the Consumer Entrepreneur of the Year category.
He said: “5 years ago I didn’t think I would be where I am today.
“Through fish and chips it has changed my life and given me so many exciting opportunities!”
2026 has already been a successful year for the fish and chip shop boss, as his business won the Menu Innovation category at the National Fish & Chip Awards and was listed in the Top 10 in the Takeaway of the Year category,
READ MORE: Oxford fish and chip shop scoops top prize at UK awards
Frankie James, founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, said: “This year’s cohort represents billions in turnover and tens of thousands of jobs, but what I’m proudest of is the determination behind those numbers.
“These are founders who have stuck with it through every kind of year, and championing them is exactly why we do this.”
Conrad Ford, of chief sponsor Allica Bank, added: “What stands out this year is the optimism and ambition that continue to define the UK’s established business community.”
JOSEPH GABRIEL LAGONSIN
News Editor
Pulsant has completed a GBP £2 million investment programme across its UK data centre network, covering eight sites and focusing on upgraded facilities for customers, visitors and staff.
Delivered over the past two years, the programme covered sites in Croydon, Edinburgh, Maidenhead, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Reading and Rotherham. Further upgrades are under way at Pulsant’s recently acquired Birmingham and Fareham locations.
The refurbishment focused on customer-facing and operational areas inside the facilities. Changes included new layouts and signage, meeting rooms with AV technology and guest Wi-Fi, breakout areas, electric vehicle charging points, upgraded build rooms and revised access processes.
The work followed a pilot project at Pulsant’s Croydon site, where customer groups were used to assess how people use its data centres in practice. Feedback pointed to demand for more efficient and more welcoming on-site spaces for IT teams and technicians.
More than 500 UK businesses use Pulsant’s colocation services, placing their own servers and IT systems in the company’s facilities. Background information accompanying the announcement said Pulsant serves about 700 clients across its wider digital infrastructure estate.
Site changes
Pulsant introduced a zonal layout and updated signage to help engineers move around sites more quickly. It also created dedicated build bays with tools, test power distribution units and equipment so hardware can be prepared outside the data hall before installation.
Security and access were also part of the overhaul, with site access processes improved to reduce bottlenecks at busy periods while maintaining existing security standards.
Other additions included boardrooms, breakout rooms, rest areas and complimentary drinks. Post-upgrade feedback from clients and contractors highlighted those features alongside site security.
Customer feedback
Pulsant said client advocacy more than doubled after the changes, with a 33-point rise in Net Promoter Score among those who said they would recommend the company to industry peers looking for colocation services.
Ben Cranham, chief operating officer at Pulsant, said the project was designed to shift attention towards the people working in and visiting the facilities, alongside the underlying infrastructure.
“Data centres are often designed primarily around the infrastructure, rather than the people who work in them every day,” Cranham said.
He said the company used feedback from regular site users to guide the redesign.
“From the outset, our goal has been to create spaces where everyone – clients, partners, visitors and our team – feels welcome, supported and happy to be there. We’ve listened to the people who spend time in our data centres to shape environments that reflect how they work, now and in the future.
“By paying close attention to details, we’re delivering spaces that not only enhance wellbeing and productivity but also help us stand apart in the market,” Cranham said.
Pulsant operates 14 data centres around the UK and positions its network around regional connectivity and access to cloud, connectivity and compute services. The latest investment reflects a wider push by data centre operators to improve working environments at facilities regularly used by customer engineers, contractors, suppliers and in-house teams.
The British supermarket chain Iceland closed its high street shop in Sheep Street, Bicester, in 2024.
Since the company’s Food Warehouse stores opened in the nearby Launton Road Retail Park, the site has remained vacant.
Now, Allen Planning Limited, acting on behalf of an applicant, wants to alter the front of the ground floor shop front to attract a new commercial tenant.
It submitted plans to Cherwell District Council, the planning authority seeking what it called the creation of ‘minor external alterations’ which would ‘not adversely impact the design of the building or the wider visual amenities of the area’.
READ MORE:
Amendments include a white render band in place of signage, slimline aluminium windows, a glazed fanlight, a new aluminium double door with fanlight, and a separate aluminium entrance door to the first floor, as previously approved under plans.
Changes to the two upper floors have already been approved, including installing replacement windows and five new infill panels.
The site sits within the Bicester Conservation Area, which is also within the newly pedestrianised ‘Sheep Street’ character area, which is characterised by predominantly three-storey buildings facing onto the main shopping street.
Comments are due until July 2 and the planning authority is set to make a decision by July 24.
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoRyan Bridge speaks of London arrest after Oxford incident
-
Oxford News3 weeks agoOxfordshire families invited to free day of fun in Bicester
-
UK News4 weeks agoRussian threats against Baltics ‘unacceptable’ and danger to ‘our entire union’, EU’s von der Leyen says – Europe live | Europe
-
Crime & Safety3 weeks agoPhotos as 1979 Pontiac Firebird ‘bursts in flames’ at Tesco
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoNew ‘high-quality’ mushroom business launched in Oxford
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoNew video call system to help domestic abuse victims
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoNHS IT outages disrupt 274,620 patient interactions
-
Oxford News4 weeks agoOxfordshire Lib Dems lose another councillor amid ‘serious concerns’