With the UK poised to take a more formal stance on AI oversight, innovation is essential for businesses, but so is compliance.
The UK stands to benefit from AI investment opportunities, realising economic growth by unlocking business potential via new technologies. However, while expectations for compliance rise, many organisations in the field of finance, legal and healthcare are still struggling with the process of IT modernisation without compromising regulatory obligations, and risk being left behind entirely.
For those industries that are more heavily regulated, the path forward lies in a compliance-led transformation, where technology is deployed not only for efficiency but also for resilience and regulatory compliance.
“While digital transformation has accelerated across all industries, there is still a cohort of businesses across sectors like finance, legal and healthcare that are being left behind,” says Ritchie Puckey, Head of Compliance at Espria. “It’s a choice between innovation and risking non-compliance or staying compliant and risking obsolescence. This problem is rooted in how IT and tech approach compliance-heavy sectors.”
“Too many businesses lead with a technology-first mindset, prioritising the latest cloud solution or AI tool and treating compliance and security as features to bolt on after. This only hinders proper business regulation. For businesses in these compliance-heavy sectors, regulatory requirements cannot be just a checkbox – they must be the foundation of their entire business.
“Embedding any new technology upgrade must start with asking whether it fits into existing compliance frameworks, without opening these businesses to significant regulatory risks.”
Puckey highlights that in highly regulated industries, security is even more important due to higher stakes.
“For an e-commerce business, a lapse in security is bad for business. For a financial services firm, a legal practice or a healthcare provider, it can be catastrophic. The consequences of mishandling information aren’t just financial penalties, they can also lead to the revocation of licenses and professional censure, regardless of any additional reputational damage.
“Additionally, when upgrade projects fail on critical compliance points, particularly for data sovereignty, this means extra work and further costs in re-architecting a solution to fix such issues. Solutions must be business-first, which in these sectors means compliance-first, providing a healthy balance between technology and regulation.”
“For example, when businesses need to achieve Cyber Essentials Plus or ISO 27001 certifications, this means ensuring that the process of configuration meets specific conditions to pass audits. It’s about taking the risk out of innovation and building a foundation of compliance, understanding the risks as a strategic partner rather than just selling products.”
Puckey continues by discussing compliance challenges in relation to rising technologies like AI.
“Businesses need not avoid AI completely due to its perceived complexity for compliance. Instead, it’s more important to approach it with open eyes, understanding its risks for data privacy and transparency. Before investing in AI-powered tools, mapping functionality against regulatory landscapes, and asking the hard questions on exactly where data is processed and how decisions can be audited and explained is important.”
“By undertaking due diligence upfront with a strategic services partner, businesses need not be afraid of new technologies and instead can feel safer harnessing its power.”
Puckey concludes, “Starting these conversations is the first step, especially with an initial assessment. This needs to be a discussion across the business, including the compliance and IT leadership of an organisation, whilst allowing uniform transparency across the C-suite for the major decisions taking place. With the right strategic provider, businesses can then begin to map where their organisational gaps lie, between current technology and future goals, creating a safe starting point in the journey towards regulated digital transformation.”
