Scottish businesses head into 2026 trailing behind the UK average when it comes to confidence in their data strategies, despite having spent more in the past two years, according to research from local data centre operator Pulsant.

The research, carried out by Vanson Bourne, shows that just 29% of Scottish businesses are ‘completely confident’ their current data strategy will remain fit for purpose for the next two years. This compares with 42% across the UK.

When asked to describe how they matched the pace of digital change, just 24% of Scottish businesses said their data strategy had kept up, compared to a national average of 36%.

This is despite 85% of Scottish businesses reporting that they have increased investment in technology over the past two years – notably above the UK average of 78%. Investment in digital infrastructure is the top priority for businesses on both sides of the Border.

Steve Fearon, Chief Commercial Officer at Pulsant, said: “Improved digital infrastructure is a critical lever for organisations looking to safeguard sensitive data, optimise performance and control costs. These figures suggest that whilst Scottish businesses understand this better than most, and are happy to invest, they’ve yet to reap the benefits of improved confidence in their data strategies.

“Much has already been made of the opportunities for additional infrastructure and data centres in Scotland, where climate and energy costs are both very attractive. But if this does not translate to confident business activity – and subsequent growth – then clearly a piece of the puzzle is missing.”

Differences in the impact of AI and sovereignty

When it comes to the drivers behind this shift, over three-quarters (78%) of UK businesses ranked artificial intelligence in the top three changes to have the biggest impact on data strategy. By comparison, AI was in the top three of just 68% of Scottish companies.

However, when it comes to data sovereignty or residency, Scotland seems more aware than the rest of the UK. Across the UK, such concerns were cited in the top three by more than half of the businesses surveyed (55%), but this grew to 65% in Scotland.

This increased focus on compliance has impacted spending. Across the UK, nearly four-fifths of organisations (79%) said that sovereignty and residency considerations influenced their digital infrastructure investment. This increased to 85% in Scotland.

“While keeping data close to home is one factor businesses are thinking about, value is always important,” concluded Fearon. “As businesses work out how they’ll use generative AI, it will become clearer how to put the right infrastructure in the right place for the right workloads, avoiding unnecessary public cloud costs.”

Pulsant operates three data centres in Edinburgh, as part of a national network of 14 interconnected sites across the UK. Its South Gyle site is Scotland’s most connected data centre, enabling businesses to connect to more than 20 service providers and carriers. They include Megaport and the LINX Scotland internet exchange, which is designed to keep Scottish internet traffic local.