Relentless pursuit of clarity
30 years of experience. One simple philosophy.
Simplicity comes from understanding complexity
AIK Advisory is not here to blind you with science or frighten you with everything that could go wrong. Our job is to understand the complexity of data and technology and the context of your business so that we can make clear what really matters for you.
Because when you understand what matters, you can be confident. About the choices you make. That you are operating safely. That you're making the most of opportunities. And that your investment in time, money and effort is worth it.
It’s a philosophy grounded in knowing what’s genuinely complex – and what’s just been made needlessly complicated.
We always promise:
No fear mongering
Risk matters. Frightening you into unnecessary actions and investments doesn't help you manage it.
Proportionality is everything.
No unnecessary jargon
There is a language of our industry, but you shouldn’t need to speak it to understand what matters.
Simplicity puts you back in control.
No technology for technology's sake
The right answer for your business is not necessarily the newest, biggest or most sophisticated. It might be.
But what's right depends on your business, your priorities and the trade-offs you're making – not how much you could possibly do.
Clarity takes experience
AIK Advisory founder Alan Paterson brings more than 30 years’ experience solving complex business and technology challenges. He has led technical and data strategy, security and transformation, held the role of Data Protection Officer, and spent much of his career working directly with organisations as both a consultant and senior leader.
His experience ranges from small growing companies to major global organisations, across highly regulated industries and beyond.
That breadth of experience means Alan is as comfortable understanding the technical detail as he is interpreting what it means commercially – helping leadership teams understand what matters and technical teams understand what the business needs.
“As Technical Director at Jaywing Plc, Alan ran some of our biggest client technical projects, providing consultancy on their technical infrastructure. He also oversaw the development of our suite of software products and conducted technical due diligence on our acquisitions. He has a very collaborative style and is quite simply one of the best people I have ever worked with.”
Martin Boddy, Portfolio Chair/NED, former CEO and Executive Chairman, Jaywing plc
Our partners
We also work with other independent specialists with complementary expertise.
Speaking engagements
Alan brings a calm, pragmatic perspective to subjects that can feel technical, intimidating or unnecessarily complicated.
Drawing on practical experience and real-world examples, his talks cut through technical language, hype and received wisdom to explore what happens when good intentions meet operational reality – and help audiences understand what really matters, the questions worth asking and the choices they need to make.
His subjects span AI, data and information, technology strategy, governance, risk and resilience – always bringing the conversation back to the business.
His speaking topics include:
Who says you're behind on AI?
How to make sense of AI without getting caught up in the race.
About this talk →It seemed like a good idea at the time: when good technology goes bad.
How individually sensible technology choices create an unintended tangle – and what to do about it.
About this talk →How many systems does it take to run a business? One more than you think. One less than you have.
How to decide what technology you actually need – and what you don’t.
About this talk →Everything's under control. On paper.
Why data and technology policies aren't enough – even when people follow them.
About this talk →It ain't broke, but you still need to fix it.
How yesterday's data and technology choices can hold back the business you've become.
About this talk →All that data. And you're still guessing.
Why great data makes things happen.
About this talk →Are you ready for a really bad day?
How not to waste a good crisis (ideally not yours).
About this talk →
Talk to Alan about your event
“Alan tackles things with a sense of calm determination to deliver, when you add in his ability to read the room and context, you have an asset to any data programme.”
Ade Lingard, NED/Advisor & Executive Coach, North Peak Consulting
Our thinking
Ideas, observations and perspectives on data, technology and the business decisions around them.
Let’s make things clearer
Tell us what’s on your mind and let’s see where the conversation takes us.