The age of “talking” to your computer is over; 2026 is the era of “doing.” By evolving beyond simple chatbots into agentic workflows, SMEs can finally link their Microsoft 365 suites with robust document management systems, creating a seamless digital environment where software handles the administration while humans reclaim the strategy.
You don’t need specialist developers or a major IT overhaul to introduce straightforward, intelligent automation in Microsoft 365; everyday teams can manage it themselves. By using familiar tools such as Outlook for email, OneDrive and SharePoint for storing documents, and Power Automate to link everything together, you can quietly strip out much of the dull, repetitive work from people’s daily tasks.
Over the next decade, AI will become a normal everyday part of how small and medium UK businesses, particularly manufacturers plan work, run factories and compete, rather than a specialist add‑on reserved for large organisations. Those that treat AI as a practical tool for productivity, quality and resilience, rather than a science project or a rocket-scientist level pursuit will see higher margins, better delivery performance and stronger customer relationships.
Small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in the UK will face a lot of challenges over the next few years however we believe that the five key ones will be skills shortages, financial constraints, technological complexity, cybersecurity concerns, and supply chain disruptions.
As we slowly emerge into 2025 and we cast a look back over our shoulders at the last 12 months it’s evident to us that artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are set to further revolutionise document management systems (DMS) throughout 2025 with some exciting innovations set to make a serious play for corporate and local government pockets.
Staying ahead of the competition in any business sector and especially manufacturing requires more than just efficient production lines – it demands a seamless flow of information across all departments, from the shop floor to the boardroom.
McKinney Haarcourt are pleased to announce our membership of the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce. As a company born […]
As a digitalisation and business transformation consultancy, a common theme of the discussions we have with organisations is around the […]
We have worked with quite a few BI and dashboard products over the years and, in our opinion, one of the emerging powerhouses over the last two years is a company called OQLIS. Based in South Africa but with a growing presence globally and in the UK , OQLIS approach to working with data in a way that offers immediate value and results, without a long drawn out process.
AI is expected to have a significant impact on the automotive manufacturing industry over the next 7–10 years.