UK firms losing over £100K a year due to software deployment delays

This issue is exacerbated by a critical shortage of skilled IT professionals and underinvestment in automation tools, leading to inefficiencies and increased operational costs.

“The current landscape underscores the critical need for investing in skilled IT personnel and advanced automation tools,” said Spencer Pickett, Chief Technology Officer at Software Development UK.

“At Software Development UK, we've observed that bridging the skills gap and enhancing automation not only accelerates deployment timelines but also significantly reduces operational costs for our clients.”

Manual Deployments Still Commonplace

The analysis found that over 60% of firms lack proper automated testing infrastructure, and nearly half are still relying on manual deployment methods, despite the well-documented risks of errors and inconsistencies.

Only a quarter of businesses surveyed had made meaningful investments in automation technologies—a figure that reflects an ongoing reluctance to modernise IT operations, even as digital transformation becomes mission-critical.

The Cost of Inaction

Delays of this scale are having a profound financial impact. According to projections, these inefficiencies are costing the UK economy billions each year—with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) particularly hard-hit. Late releases, development bottlenecks, and fragile testing environments are slowing product delivery and placing added strain on in-house teams.

Modernisation Is Non-Negotiable

“The companies that will thrive over the next decade are those that treat automation as a core infrastructure investment, not a luxury,” added Pickett. “Digital bottlenecks are no longer just a technical challenge—they’re a business risk.”

Software Development UK is now calling for greater investment in skills development, automated CI/CD pipelines, and modern DevOps practices to help businesses overcome these barriers and bring their products to market faster.