The case for a national CTO-as-a-service programme – and why it matters

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are still struggling to adopt digital tools, the government's Technology Adoption Review has found.

The review highlights that a lack of specialist skills, time, finance and uncertainty about benefits remain major barriers, especially for smaller firms.

The government's SME Digital Adoption Taskforce also found that the UK's SMEs are lagging behind their international peers when it comes to taking up digital and AI technology.

To remove these barriers, the government should back a chief-technology-officer-as-a-service (CTOaaS) model that gives SMEs impartial diagnostics, expert guidance and practical implementation support, all in one place.

What is CTO-as-a-service?

Put simply, it means giving small firms access to the kind of strategic tech advice a full-time chief technology officer (CTO) would offer, but on a flexible, funded basis.

A founder:

• completes a short digital health check

• speaks to an expert who helps them prioritise problems and options

• works through a focused project to choose, buy and embed the right tools

The service itself stays neutral. It doesn't push its own software, but matches businesses to vetted solutions and makes sure those tools are actually implemented.

This isn't a theoretical concept. Singapore's Chief Technology Officer-as-a-Service sits within the SMEs Go Digital programme and allows SMEs to:

• self-assess their digital readiness

• compare more than 450 pre-approved solutions

• access an initial layer of advisory support at no cost before they commission deeper consultancy

What Tech Hub is doing

In the UK, Enterprise Nation already runs its Tech Hub programme with partners including Cisco, Sage, Google, Dell and Square/Block.

To date, Tech Hub has supported almost 80,000 small businesses, with:

• 79,000 users accessing resources and advisers

• 13,000 attending webinars and events

• nearly three million unique users reached through digital policy campaigns

It already functions as a "one-stop shop" for diagnostics, action plans, training and signposting to technology vendors.

Enterprise Nation's proposal for a national programme

We propose scaling and formalising this model into a national CTOaaS programme. All registered SMEs with fewer than 250 employees (in line with the official definition) would be eligible over the course of a Parliament.

The programme would start by convening a coalition of delivery partners:

• digital adoption providers

• trade bodies

• regional growth hubs

• technology firms

• local authorities

• central government agencies

Together, they would agree roles, responsibilities and shared resources so support feels joined-up rather than piecemeal.

How it would work

At its core, each business would complete a simple "digital health check", then receive guided support from an adviser.

A typical SME would be eligible for up to 15 hours of technical advice funded through a grant or voucher (for example, £1,000 per firm).

Initially, the service would steer businesses towards lighter diagnostics and AI-powered tools.

As the firms mature, it would escalate to more tailored audits and support with implementing technology, including existing schemes such as Made Smarter and regional Made Smarter adoption programmes.

To keep the system impartial and scalable, the CTOaaS platform would host an open library of vetted digital tools, training offers, grants, mentoring and advisory services.

That library would be actively curated and governed so SMEs see quality-assured options, not a pay-to-play board of adverts.

On the ground, a cadre of 50 to 100 regional "Wayfinders" or digital champions would support businesses with low digital confidence or limited connectivity.

That echoes the Taskforce's call to partner with local and industry stakeholders such as trade bodies, accountants, bookkeepers and software providers.

Over time, AI and better platform design can reduce the load on this offline team.

What a programme like this might cost

Enterprise Nation's published modelling in our Autumn Budget 2025 submission suggests that a CTOaaS scheme of this design could cost around £13.75 million per year, with £7.5 million going directly to funding advisers.

Over four years, the total spend would be around £53.35 million, of which £30 million would support adviser grants.

At a £1,000 grant level, this would fund adviser-guided support for roughly 7,500 SMEs a year, or 30,000 over a Parliament.

This isn't a speculative idea. The SME Digital Adoption Taskforce's final report explicitly calls on government to "develop a scalable online CTO-as-a-service, providing AI-powered guidance and support to SMEs" integrated into the new Business Growth Service.

It also recommends co-ordinating policies on digital ID, open finance, Making Tax Digital, e-invoicing and prompt payment to support a highly digital business environment.

Pitfalls to avoid

We also know what happens when the design is wrong. Help to Grow: Digital aimed to support 100,000 SMEs with vouchers worth up to £5,000 for pre-approved software, but closed early with lower-than-expected take-up: fewer than 1,000 vouchers were redeemed.

Evaluations and commentary point to issues around awareness, eligibility, choice of software and the lack of a trusted ecosystem of advisers, rather than a lack of need.

A CTOaaS model addresses those failings by putting diagnostics, advice and delivery partners at the centre.

Internationally, programmes such as Singapore's SMEs Go Digital and New Zealand's Digital Boost show that combining diagnostics, advisory services, content and light-touch financial support can drive adoption at scale.

In the latest Digital Boost evaluation:

• 84% of the businesses taking part said they would recommend the programme

• 17% reported increased revenue

• 26% reported having grown more resilient

• 23% said they spent less time on existing tasks

If CTOaaS is coupled with wider reforms on e-invoicing, digital ID, open finance and export support – as set out in the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce's recommendations – the effect could be transformative. SMEs would get clearer choices, encounter less risk and benefit from credible guidance.

Put simply, when tech adoption rises, productivity follows. CTO-as-a-service would anchor tech adoption at the heart of small business growth.

People also read

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• How government and industry can empower SMEs through digital adoption

• How government and businesses can partner to drive small business adoption of AI

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