Procurement stories

Liverpool John Moores University launches AI Academy with Multiverse to upskill 134 staff and free hours weekly for teaching and research.

Australia will impose mandatory cybersecurity standards on smart devices from March 2026, forcing stronger passwords and update guarantees.

Rockwell Automation names Karen Hannify to lead Asia-Pacific EPC alliances as it ramps up engagement on major industrial and infrastructure projects.

Willo names Jim Berrisford VP of Partnerships to drive global alliances after GBP £3 million backing and new UK office openings.

Hunting deploys Legalfly’s AI platform to standardise contract review, cut repeat legal work and tighten governance across regions.

Synechron secures EcoVadis silver rating, placing it among the top 15% globally for sustainability across environment, ethics and labour.

Big consultancies tied to higher failure risk in Australian public IT overhauls, as research links them to delays and cost blowouts.

Leighton has secured a long-term deal to manage eaga Trust’s AWS cloud, modernising its digital estate and boosting cost efficiency.

ANYbotics becomes first four-legged robot maker with ISO 27001, easing security reviews for scaling autonomous industrial inspections.

Calero launches AI-powered assistant to give TEM and MEM teams instant, conversational insight from complex telecom and mobility invoices.

Wordly debuts Workspaces to bring its AI translation and captioning platform from big-ticket conferences into everyday corporate meetings.

UK firms ramp up travel and AI investment in 2025, even as advertising spend plunges 28%, signalling a sharper focus on productivity.

Oracle has embedded free prebuilt AI agents across its Fusion apps to automate CRM and supply chain tasks from campaign design to logistics.

Kalaam adopts Luminance AI to centralise contract data, cut review times and standardise legal work across its Middle East and UK markets.

North West mid-sized firms plan to ramp up apprentice hiring in 2026 after GBP £725 million reforms scrap training costs for under-25s.

Adactin has been added to Australia’s national AI Directory, linking its cloud and AI services with organisations seeking local expertise.

ImagiNxt 2026 partners with MeitY Startup Hub to put startups and policy centre stage at Mumbai’s new tech and innovation festival.

Celonis launches a defence and security push, pitching process intelligence to boost military readiness, supply resilience and IT modernisation.

Coverbase and Crowe forge AI-focused partnership to streamline vendor risk reviews and procurement oversight in tightly regulated sectors.

Lumenia’s ERP HEADtoHEAD returns to Birmingham in March with 13 systems, 28 live demos and expert talks on AI, readiness and pitfalls.