New data, published by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the AI-driven Enterprise Institute, shows that 57% of engineering and technology companies in the UK are not adopting productivity-improving technologies, including AI, robotics, and wearables.
The study, which assesses more than 9,000 companies representing engineering and technology, looks at variations in adoption across UK regions, as well as across 10 different technologies. It is the first systematic measurement of tech adoption at scale across the engineering and technology economy.
In spite of efforts to drive uptake of technology in industry, more than a third (36%) of companies studied are only working with one, whereas adoption of a broader range of technologies is needed to drive improvements in productivity.
“The pace of change in technology is incredibly fast, so for an SME that’s trying to grow, increase sales, or enter new markets, it can be a massive challenge. Many companies that are small and lean have a lower capacity to absorb new technologies quickly. On the other hand, the proliferation of support in this space can also be overwhelming, which is where we believe that independent, expert networks in organisations like the Academy can help to support their leaders and help clarify the opportunities for tech adoption out there. It’s an opportunity for UK SMEs to deliver measurable returns in productivity and revenue that are currently being missed out on,” Gillian Gregg, Associate Director, Regional Engagement at the Royal Academy of Engineering told Electronic Specifier.
The data highlights that the transition from early adoption of AI to mainstream use in industry has barely begun. AI and cognitive learning was the technology with the biggest variation in use, with 45% of high-tech industries deploying it, compared to just 10.5% of low-tech industries. In total, just 19% of companies are using AI and cognitive learning in a way that will drive significant productivity gains.
Robotics and automation are the most adopted technologies across all companies, whereas mobile and wearables is the least.
The data shows significant regional variations reflecting the distinct industry profile of the UK’s regional economies:
- London leads in AI and big data adoption, with 24% and 26% of companies embedding those technologies, but ranks last in use of robotics, and mobile and wearables
- The South East and West Midlands are joint leaders in robotics, used by 30% of companies in those regions
- Northern Ireland leads in industrial cybersecurity (16%) and AR/VR/MR adoption (7.5%)
- South West leads in the use of Digital Twins (19.5%)
- The North East leads adoption of mobile and wearable technologies (6%)
- The South East shows the highest overall adoption of all technologies, whereas Scotland has the lowest overall adoption. However, Scotland stands out as the only nation or region where the dominant technology is Data & Systems Integration
- No single region excels across all technologies
The study concludes that cost and complexity are not the only barriers to uptake: many firms do not recognise the tools they need already exist and can deliver measurable returns of investment within months.
“The responsibility to increase awareness about these tools … needs to be a consistent message from across the engineering and tech ecosystem. Peer networks have a significant role to play here, as creating neutral spaces that provide a safe and supportive environment can give CEOs time to absorb information about these technologies and learn from others. The Academy is planning to pilot regional programmes that can curate pathways for SMEs to tap into the expertise that’s out there and support them to meaningfully adopt new tech,” Gregg said.
Paul Cheek, Co-Founder and CEO, AIDE Institute and Senior Lecturer in the MIT Sloan School of Management, said: “The findings of this unprecedented study serve as a critical wake-up call for UK industry. With 57% of engineering and technology companies lacking adoption of a single Industry 4.0 technology – as determined by publicly observable objective data – we are leaving immense productivity, agility, and economic growth on the table.”
The full Technology Adoption Index is the first phase of the Academy’s work to help de-risk and drive the adoption of technology by SMEs across the UK, with the ultimate goal of unlocking widespread productivity gains.
“Having robust, independent data on the scale of the issue nationwide and the different interventions needed regionally is a really important first step to moving the needle as fast as possible, as a lot of the pre-existing data on tech adoption rates has been survey-based or anecdotal. Now that we have this database, we can accurately measure progress on tech adoption rates across the UK and set ambitious targets to boost productivity,” Gregg concluded.
