businessinfomag.uk magazine software, is a founding partner in a UK Government initiative to give 10 million workers essential AI and tech skills over the next five years. As part of the Plan for Change and the forthcoming Industrial Strategy, it will provide free training materials and access to AI experts. https://www.sas.com/en_gb/insights/ articles/analytics/sas-ai-citiesindex-2026.html … Two-thirds of UK businesses want to switch cloud providers British businesses are paying a costly ‘sovereignty tax’ due to their reliance on US cloud giants but are unable to escape their clutches due to a combination of technical lock-in, migration complexity, contractual barriers and financial friction. So says UK sovereign cloud and AI platform Civo in the 2026 edition of The Digital Sovereignty Revolution based on a survey of 1,000 UK IT leaders. It points out that remaining locked into foreign-owned infrastructure subjects UK firms to a dangerous loss of autonomy, which it likens to handing that will not only maintain but exceed what is already happening.” Examples include the roll-out of ‘MEGA hubs’ by IN4 Group and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to give 3,000 secondary school pupils in Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside and Wigan access to technology and AI learning; and the Future of Work Alliance, a five-year, £5 million initiative offering academic programmes, postgraduate internships and AI-focused scholarships to explore the human-led digital transformation of data-intensive organisations in the AI era. Other feathers in Manchester’s cap include the City Council’s £1 billion-plus budget for infrastructure, development and long-term growth initiatives and the launch of University of Manchester’s Unit M Deep Tech Accelerator to help researchers and founders turn AI and science innovation into commercial businesses. SAS, a global leader in AI and analytics BULLETIN Manchester named UK’s most AI-ready city Manchester has been crowned the UK’s most AI-ready city for the third year in a row, beating Bristol, Glasgow, Oxford and Birmingham to top spot in the SAS AI Cities 2026 Index. Compiled by data and AI company SAS, the annual index (now in its fifth year) evaluates cities outside London across eight criteria such as number of AI businesses, job opportunities, innovation funding, educational opportunities and broadband speed. As well as having the highest number of AI businesses in the index (655), Manchester has one of the highest levels of AI employment outside London, second only to Salford, home to Media City. There is also significant InnovateUK investment in the city, with AI and Data Economy grants averaging more than £279,000 per business. Glyn Townsend, Senior Director of Education Services for EMEA at SAS, said: “Manchester’s retention of the top spot for the third consecutive year is testament to the strength of its AI ecosystem. Our previous research affirmed Manchester as a great place for AI businesses to plant their flags, but moving into 2026, it is clear that the city is actively working to grow its AI offerings and ensure that future and existing talent is educated to a standard 04 Amazon Business launches AI-powered tools for Prime Business members Amazon Business is bringing purchasing insights and AIpowered automation to Prime Business members with the launch of new AI-powered features and enhanced spend management tools. These include an AI assistant, available to Prime Business members at a 20% discount, new look Spend Visibility dashboards and enhancements to the company’s Spend Anomaly Monitoring feature. The Amazon Quick AI assistant connects to thousands of apps and data sources, including local files, Slack and Microsoft Outlook, enabling it to automate manual tasks, conduct deep research in minutes and produce finished deliverables such as spreadsheets and presentations. Prime Business members looking to pressure-test a pricing strategy can leverage Quick to research competitors, pull in relevant cost data and highlight risks that may not have been considered. For those seeking a second opinion on a vendor proposal, Quick will analyse terms against historical agreements and flag areas for negotiation. Céline Vuillequez, VP of Amazon Business Europe, said: “The organisations getting ahead in procurement aren’t just buying more efficiently, they’re buying more intelligently. They’re using data to anticipate demand, AI to eliminate repetitive tasks and analytics to drive smarter spending. That’s the standard we’re building to, giving Prime Business members, regardless of size, the tools to focus less on process and more on the decisions that move their organisation forward.” Prime Business members can also look forward to expanded access to Amazon Business’s Spend Visibility analytics tool which, through ready-to-use dashboards, helps users to visualise purchasing patterns, track savings, evaluate spend with small and local suppliers and compare purchases against company policy, and its Spend Anomaly Monitoring tool, which analyses an account’s purchasing patterns and alerts administrators to unusual purchases, split purchases, abnormal repurchases, non-standard shipping addresses and excessive daily spend. Céline Vuillequez SAS top 10 AI cities 2026 1 Manchester 6 Southampton 2 Bristol 7 Edinburgh 3 Glasgow 8 Leeds 4 Oxford 9 Liverpool 5 Birmingham 10 Cambridge
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