AI this week for UK SMEs:

infrastructure, public-sector pilots and the supply squeeze

AI headlines this week were less about clever features and more about what sits underneath: chips, data-centres and public-sector pilots. That’s where costs, delivery times and compliance are set. Here’s what changed, why it matters, and what to do now.

1) Chip supply: new routes, same pressure

A major export approval will route large volumes of top-tier Nvidia chips to the Gulf over the next few years. These priority deals can tighten global availability for a while. If you buy or consume GPU-backed services, plan for queues and have acceptable alternatives ready — including previous-generation parts or managed inference for lighter tasks.

2) UK public sector: more structured AI pilots

Councils are moving from talk to delivery. A fresh back-office AI contract shows a clear “pilot-then-scale” pattern with defined outcomes, timelines and governance. Copy that approach: pick one admin process, agree success metrics up front, time-box the pilot and keep a manual fallback.

3) Data-centre buildout: planning shifts + power/cooling kits

Government steps to speed up planning should help selected infrastructure projects, including AI-heavy builds. In parallel, vendors are rolling out modular power, cooling and racks designed for high-density AI. The knock-on for SMEs is better local hosting options and more stable performance over the next 12–24 months.

4) Reality check: many SMEs run AI without the basics

A recent survey shows small firms using AI daily while lacking essentials like structured document storage, access control and analytics. Tidy the base first. Standardised templates, naming, and a shared glossary make AI cheaper, safer and easier to govern.