As a founder or product lead, you may have noticed how crowded the obvious markets are, leaving you with massive market opportunities that large corporations often overlook. Changing demographics, cultural shifts, and greater public awareness have created unmet needs that agile startups can service in various ways.
Raising the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) often sparks debates about job losses and automation replacing humans, and this can be the case in hospitality, but in my view, in an industry built on personal connection, a different story is unfolding. In hospitality, AI isn’t replacing people – it’s empowering them. The next frontier of automation is human-centred, using technology to amplify empathy, not erase it. I believe everyone in hospitality needs AI.
Government leaders across the globe have adopted different negotiation tactics to the sweeping trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, with varying degrees of success. The approach taken by the UK Government to secure a deal early on appears to be supported by UK Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).
When National Australia Bank (NAB) recently disclosed it faces a staggering AUSD 130 million in costs due to historical payroll underpayments, some dating back more than a decade, it was headline news. However, while reports tend to focus on the scale of such mistakes made by large institutions, the underlying message should resonate deeply with organisations of every size: payroll errors are a serious issue, and can lead to significant financial, regulatory, and reputational consequences, for organisations of any size.
The Adecco Group has announced the release of its sixth annual Global Workforce of the Future report, titled Humanity at work: How to thrive in the AI era. The report uncovers how AI, purpose, and human connection are reshaping work – and what leaders should do to keep pace amid workforce transformation.
We’re living in a moment when technology cycles no longer stretch across decades, they compress into single-digit years. Cloud went mainstream in less than a generation, mobile rewrote consumer behaviour almost overnight, and generative AI stormed the enterprise in record time. But speed hasn’t equalled success. Scratch beneath the headlines and a sobering fact emerges: according to MIT, 95% of enterprise GenAI initiatives have yet to deliver measurable impact.
Since the global financial crisis of 2008, successive governments have placed high-growth companies at the heart of the UK’s economic strategy. The goal is to create an environment where innovative startups can grow into globally competitive businesses such as the fintech giants Revolut, Wise, Monzo, and Ebury.
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 posed unprecedented challenges to the nation’s startup ecosystem. Yet, against all odds, Ukrainian entrepreneurs have demonstrated remarkable resilience and innovation. From navigating funding shortages to adapting business models and entering international markets, Ukrainian startups have not only survived but thrived.
In an exciting move for attendees of the world’s most innovative pro AV and systems integration event, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) has secured Sol Rashidi as a Keynote Speaker for ISE 2026. Sol will take the stage at 13:00 on Wednesday, 4 February. Her participation perfectly mirrors ISE’s 2026 theme, ‘Push Beyond,’ inviting the industry to explore every opportunity and redefine what’s possible.










