James Bunting, CEO of Leighton, shares his insights on the trends redefining the technology consultancy space from agentic AI to AWS modernisation, as well as the cultural shifts powering innovation across the North.
For Leighton, 2025 has been a year defined by growth, evolution, and a deepened commitment to helping cusomers migrate, modernise and thrive in the cloud. Looking ahead to 2026, the focus is firmly on building capability, resilience, and value, both through emerging technologies and the people who power them.
“In terms of what we’re expecting the focus to be for 2026 it’s easy to talk about generative and agentic AI having an impact, and that’s definitely part of the story,” says James.
“But for us, the real momentum has been around cloud modernisation on AWS. Our customers are pushing hard for cost optimisation, and that’s where deep engineering expertise really counts. So, ensuring we continue to build and deepen our ability to support them in this area will be a huge priority for us.”
From project delivery to long-term strategic partnerships
This year has seen a clear shift in the nature of customer relationships. Where once the focus might have been on delivering project by project, consultancies like Leighton are now acting as long-term strategic partners, fully embedded into customers’ operations, getting involved in projects much earlier and helping to shape outcomes from the start.
“We’re also seeing a shift in how consultancies are looking to resource for project demand,” Bunting explains. “This year we partnered with Opencast and Spyrosoft to launch the Digital Capability Exchange UK. The exchange offers members an alternative to traditional recruitment, allowing them to share bench talent and project opportunities – offering our sector a smarter, more sustainable way to meet project demand.”
AI becomes a partner, not just a tool
AI continues to become more prominent in projects, but Bunting is quick to emphasise that its true potential lies not just in the technology itself, but in how it augments human capability. “In 2026, I expect AI to meaningfully verify up to 40% of the code, documentation and tests we write,” he predicts. “It’s becoming a peer in engineering, reviewing, validating and streamlining the process, and we’re only scratching the surface.”
Beyond engineering, Leighton is also seeing AI reshape the broader business workflow for customers. From managing inbound support tickets to prioritising product backlogs, automation and intelligent systems are freeing teams to focus on higher-value work. A powerful development but one that needs to be closely monitored.
Talent, culture and the power of place
The demand for broader, cross-disciplinary skills is rising, and AI fluency is quickly becoming an expectation across every role – from Scrum Masters to business analysts.
“Skills shortages remain a challenge, so we’re widening our talent pipelines and investing heavily in our employee value proposition,” Bunting says. “We’re committed to remote delivery for productivity, but we’re also anchoring recruitment around key delivery hubs in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester to support collaboration and to continue to build a community for our colleagues.”
Culturally, Leighton continues to prioritise learning and inclusivity. “We’re investing in learning time, building communities of practice, and contributing more to the AWS and the North East tech ecosystem. The goal is to grow gracefully, scaling without losing the culture and quality that define who we are.”
Looking Ahead: AWS, data and industry acceleration
Leighton’s ambitions for 2026 are clear. Its focus is on deepening its position as the North’s go-to AWS partner. The company is also expanding its footprint across the North, with a focus on growing its quality assurance, data, and AI practices.
“Industries like travel and retail continue to drive strong momentum for us, particularly where we already have deep AWS experience,” says Bunting. “But we’re also seeing exciting opportunities in energy, utilities and healthcare. These are sectors where technology can make a genuine difference and at Leighton we want to be part of those projects.”
Leighton is also developing industry accelerators designed to help customers innovate faster and more confidently. “ROI expectations are higher than ever, they need to be measurable, early, and tangible,” Bunting adds. “There’s less appetite for experimentation and more focus on proven value. We act as a strategic partner for our customers so we can really help move the needle for them in terms of using the right technology to drive them closer to their business goals.”
Putting the North on the Map
If there’s one theme that excites Bunting most, it’s the role of the North in shaping the UK’s digital future. “We’re building something special here,” he says. “We held the first AWS North Community Conference this year which was a fantastic inaugural event that really highlighted the depth of the experience in this region. Events like this alongside, for example, the new AI Zone is really helping put the North East firmly on the tech map. We have great people with great skills here, what we need to do is get better at showcasing that.”
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