Engineering and construction
Technology leadership for UK engineering and construction firms
Technology risk is one of the biggest risks in your business, and it's growing every month: inside your own systems, your supply chain and your IT providers. Does anybody on your board own it? Get control before it gets out of control.
For mid-sized UK construction and engineering firms. Fractional CIO, interim CIO or transformation lead.
Four situations, four ways in
Where the work starts.
-
No strategic view of IT
IT runs, but nobody senior steers it against the plan.
What it costs Spend and projects drift away from what the business needs.
£7k Strategy Alignment → -
IT investment or rescue
A major system is about to be funded, or is already in trouble.
What it costs A tier-one contractor's ERP budget tripled from £30m to £90m, and £7.3m of it was later written off (Construction News, Oct 2019).
Transformation Health Review or interim transformation lead → -
Unmanaged cyber, privacy or compliance risk
The board carries it but can't see it.
What it costs Several UK contractors, including a tier-one group, have been hit by ransomware or cyber attacks since 2020; one was fined £4.4m by the ICO.
Fractional CIO → -
AI: where to start
People are already using it; the firm has no starting point.
What it costs 71% of UK employees have used unapproved AI tools (Microsoft UK, Oct 2025; vendor, economy-wide). Do you know what your people are putting into AI tools?
Strategy Alignment, then Fractional CIO →
Why it lands on the board now
Cyber, client assurance, regulation and AI now land on the board, not the IT team.
Peers being exposed too doesn't reduce your exposure: clients and insurers judge you on yours.
- Only about one in four construction firms have anyone on the board who owns cyber (DSIT, Apr 2026).
- In our screen, 104 of 106 UK construction and engineering firms below about £1bn turnover had no dedicated technology director on the board; the other 2 are unconfirmed (Companies House, Oct 2026).
How these two figures differ: the DSIT figure counts anyone on the board with cyber in their remit, across firms of all sizes (mostly small). Our screen counts a dedicated technology director, at mid-sized firms. Both point the same way: cyber is rarely anyone's main job at board level.
So who owns it at your table?
Published figures
- Only 13% of UK contractors over £50m have real-time cost visibility; only 30% fully trust their cost-to-date mid-project (Xpedeon Construction Systems Census 2026, vendor, 500 senior staff).
- 1 in 5 (21%) UK contractors over £50m has lost or been marked down on a tender because compliance documents couldn't be produced (Xpedeon Construction Systems Census 2026, vendor, n=500).
- UK construction needs an average of 41,200 extra workers a year from 2026 to 2030 (CITB).
Who you'd work with
Advising boards and executive teams since 2010. 25+ years in technology and business roles.
Ian Bester led technology for a national engineering and construction group from October 2021 to March 2026.
Now he takes that seat part-time or interim, for the decisions that matter.
Also on this site
Related reading
The RICS responsible-AI standard · The cost of error in UK construction
Construction scorecard
Is technology under board control?
21–24 short questions for engineering and construction MDs, under 5 minutes. You get your level, your data-chain view, your top three priorities and the questions to take to your board.
Questions for your next board meeting
- Who owns technology and AI risk at board level?
- How often does the board see a report on technology and cyber risk?
- What is the firm's position on AI tools?
Do you replace our IT manager or head of IT?
No. Your IT team keeps running IT. We take the board-level layer above it: the investment plan, core-system decisions, supplier and cyber risk, and the board's questions on AI. We work with your IT manager or head of IT, not instead of them.
Sources
- 24% board cyber owner — DSIT/Home Office CSBS 2025/26, 30 Apr 2026. gov.uk
- 104 of 106 firms — Progressive Grounds screen, Companies House officer records, Oct 2026. find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
- ERP overrun — Construction News, 24 Oct 2019. constructionnews.co.uk
- 71% unapproved AI — Microsoft UK, Oct 2025 (vendor). ukstories.microsoft.com
- Cost visibility and tender evidence — Xpedeon Construction Systems Census 2026 (vendor). xpedeon.com
- Extra workers — CITB Construction Workforce Outlook 2026–2030. citb.co.uk